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At 3.00 pm on 28 September 2021, the Government announced changes to travel during the current Alert Level 3. Travel across the border from Level 3 into Level 2 has been strictly limited, but the new rules that take effect at 11:59 pm tonight (28 September 2021) now permit travel across the border if one or more of the following situations applies to you:
• To relocate your home permanently, for example because you have bought or rented a home, you are starting a new job or you are travelling to a tertiary education residence;
• To maintain a shared childcare arrangement; and/or
• To return to your main home, for example if you have been sheltering in a place in Auckland.
If you are a parent or guardian of a child or children in a shared care arrangement where you or the other parent or guardian are split between Auckland (currently in Alert Level 3) and another region of New Zealand (currently in Alert Level 2), then as of 11:59 pm tonight you can travel across the border for the purpose of maintaining the care arrangement.
If you are intending to cross the border, you also need to meet the following criteria:
• Everyone aged 12 and over must have evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result administered no more than 72 hours before your travel. However, if you are travelling to maintain a shared childcare arrangement, you just need to have evidence that you have had a Covid-19 test in the past seven days.
• Proof of your destination and reason for travelling, unless you are travelling for shared childcare purposes in which case you do not need to provide proof (this may mean you do not need to keep a copy of a Parenting Order on you while travelling, but we would advise this to be safe).
• You should not travel if you have visited a location of interest or if you have Covid-19 symptoms – if so, you must isolate and get a Covid-19 test.
If you are travelling for shared care reasons, it is advisable to ensure that you and the other parent (or your lawyers) have communicated about dates, times and pick up/drop off locations to ensure care arrangements are safe.
If you are in need of our legal services, we remain open during lockdown via online platforms to assist you on any family matters you may have. Please contact family law partner, Alissa Bell at abell@mcveaghfleming.co.nz.
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© McVeagh Fleming 2021
This article is published for general information purposes only. Legal content in this article is necessarily of a general nature and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you require specific legal advice in respect of any legal issue, you should always engage a lawyer to provide that advice.
