COVID-19: Parenting arrangements and WA travel restrictions
Travel restrictions imposed within WA by the WA and Commonwealth governments may have an impact on your ability to travel to fulfil parenting arrangements you have in place.
The different restrictions and their possible impact are summarised below.
The only WA and Commonwealth government travel restrictions currently in place for travel within WA relate to remote Aboriginal communities.
See the COVID-19: Travel restrictions page for details.
WA Government Restrictions
Under the WA government rules, people are permitted to enter or remain in a remote Aboriginal community for a number of reasons including for “family or cultural purposes”. You will therefore generally not be in breach of these rules if you are travelling to fulfil your obligations under the following:
- Family Court parenting order
- Parenting plan, or
- Other parenting arrangement.
You should carry a copy of the relevant Family Court parenting order, parenting plan or other written evidence of the current parenting arrangement with you when travelling. You may need to provide this as evidence of the reason for travelling into a remote Aboriginal community.
You can also apply for a G2G PASS. If your application is successful, you will be provided with a QR code. This can quickly verify that you have an exemption from travel restrictions and you will be able to move through a checkpoint faster. See more information about the G2G PASS.
The list of remote Aboriginal communities to which the WA rules apply are found in the Remote Aboriginal Communities Directions (No.2).
Commonwealth Government Restrictions
A higher level of restrictions applies if you want to enter the Commonwealth government “designated area” in WA, which includes remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley and parts of the East Pilbara and Goldfields-Esperance regions. This map shows the parts of WA that are included in the Commonwealth designated area.
Generally, unless you need to escape an immediate threat to your life or you are a biosecurity official or member of the ADF, you can only enter a designated area if you have self-isolated for 14 days or another exemption applies and you meet the criteria in relation to exposure to COVID-19.
Parenting arrangements do not fall within the listed exemptions, therefore you may not be allowed to travel into a designated area to fulfil your obligations under a parenting arrangement.
However, if you consider an exemption may apply to you, you can ask for permission to travel into the designated area by applying for a G2G PASS.
For more information about travelling to the different parts of WA that are within the Commonwealth designated area, see the WA Government’s Kimberley travel restrictions FAQs.
More information
For information about how to obtain a copy of your current Family Court parenting orders visit the Family Court of WA website here.
Reviewed: 29 May 2020