VICTORIA and New South Wales will open their borders to one another at midnight as both premiers vow to "live with the virus".
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorian counterpart Premier Daniel Andrews said with COVID-19 case numbers coming down and high vaccination rates continuing to rise in both states, New South Wales and Victoria were "normalising living with the virus".
Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer declared that from 11.59pm tonight, the ACT and all remaining orange zone areas in New South Wales would become green zones under Victoria's travel permit system.
This meant, for the first time in more than six months in Victoria, all local government areas in all states and territories across Australia would be green zones for the purposes of entering Victoria.
Travellers, including workers, who are entering Victoria from a green zone face no testing or quarantine requirements, but are still required to obtain a permit from Service Victoria before they arrive, to verify they aren't COVID-19 positive or required to isolate as a close contact.
There are no requirements for fully vaccinated Victorians entering New South Wales, unless they have been to a place of high concern in Victoria.
A Victorian who is over 16 years and not fully vaccinated is not allowed to enter NSW for recreation or a holiday.
This comes as 93.8 per cent of people in New South Wales aged 16 and over have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 89.1 per cent have received both doses.
In Victoria, 92.7 per cent of people aged 16 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 82.5 per cent have had two doses.
People entering Victoria must sill comply with any vaccinated economy requirements in place and can apply for a travel permit at service.vic.gov.au.
Mr Perrottet said this announcement showed the rest of the nation the way forward.
"NSW is set to pass 90 per cent double dose vaccination in the near future, with Victoria not far behind, allowing family and friends to be reunited in the lead up to Christmas after many months of being separated," Mr Perrottet said.
"This milestone has only been made possible because people across NSW and Victoria have rolled up their sleeves and led the nation on the road back to normality thanks to our high vaccination rates."
Mr Andrews thanked people on both sides of the border for rolling up their sleeves and getting the jab.
"Thanks to the incredibly hard work of Victorians and people in New South Wales in getting vaccinated, we're delighted to be able to have free travel between the two states once again," Mr Andrews said.
"Victoria and New South Wales have been through so much over the last few months, and we're pleased that more families will now be able to reunite just in time for Christmas and the holiday season."
