Northern Territory Police will today re-establish a control point on the Barkly Highway at the border with Queensland following two cases of COVID-19 being discovered on the Sunshine Coast.
Police will continue to monitor the South Australian border but there are no cases in that state and there remains a hard border with Victoria providing the Territory with an extra layer of protection.
Last night Northern Territory Police issued four travellers in their 60s with infringement notices for failing to lodge border entry forms.
Two vehicles registered in Victoria were captured on the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system crossing into the NT yesterday.
A/Commander Sachin Sharma said, "They were located in Timber Creek in the afternoon. Investigations determined they had first entered the NT on 30 May, and at that time their home locations in Victoria were not declared hotspots. They had not been at any exposure sites and were not subject to any quarantine rules. It must be made clear that these infringements have been issued for not lodging the required travel forms. Each traveller has been fined $5056."
The same travellers had been picked up by Western Australia Police the day before and were issued infringements for failing to lodge the required travel forms for that state.
"It is the responsibility of the traveller to ensure they are aware of travel requirements for their destinations and to ensure they have lodged the necessary forms.
"NT Police have deployed automatic number plate recognition systems and conduct compliance checks on a regular basis. It beggars belief that individuals have taken such a casual approach towards legal requirements imposed by the NT Chief Health Officer.
"NT Police along with our partner agencies will continue to take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance in an effort to safeguard the Territory.
"I encourage our community members to report any possible breach to Police on 131 444 or report online at pfes.nt.gov.au/reportonline."
The penalty for failing to abide by the Chief Health Officer Directions issued under section 56 of the Public and Environment Health Act 2011 is $5056 for an individual and $25,280 for a business.
For more information on COVID-19, visit www.coronavirus.nt.gov.au
