NSW Police clarify Jet Ski and boating rules in current lockdowns – UPDATE

The NSW Police Marine Area Command has spelled out the rules for boaters and Jet Ski riders amid current health order restrictions.

NSW Water Police have given the clearest explanation yet of the rules for boating and Jet Skis during the latest COVID-19 lockdowns in place across the Greater Sydney region since mid-July 2021.

As this article was published, parts of Greater Sydney required residents to stay within their local government area, or 5km from home. Before restrictions tightened, residents were allowed to travel within their local government area or 10km from home.

The designated distance limits are from your front door and include any travel on the water, not the distance from the boat ramp. Or you must remain within your local government area when on the water. 

The NSW Government website says: “Coastal waters (up to 3 nautical miles off land) are included as part of the adjacent local government area, but you cannot travel on a waterway outside of your local government area, or more than 5 kilometres from your home if you are entering another local government area.”

You can boat offshore if the location is “within your local government area, or you stay within 5 kilometres from your home.”

“Where a body of water is bounded by several local government areas you may be in that body of water, but may not travel through or past other local government areas to reach other locations.”

During the early stages of the latest lockdowns, NSW Police fined recreational boaters from a Sydney COVID-19 hotspot who had travelled about 40km offshore to go fishing.

Authorities say public health order distance limits still apply even when on the water. You can check distances from your residential address on this website.

Distance limits and the suburbs affected by them are subject to change. As this article was published, on 14 August 2021, NSW Police Marine Area Command provided the following information on its Instagram page.

NSW Police clarified recreational boating and fishing “is allowed but the same rules/restrictions for exercise and recreation under the Public Health Order apply”.

The social media post, which also used humour to help get its message across, continued: 

1) You can take your boat out but you have to stay within 10km (or 5km if you live in a hotspot) from your residence. It’s not 10km from the boat ramp, 10km from nearest headland, or if the moon is in Sagittarius you can go wherever you want on the water.

2) You can take with you as many people from the same household as the boat is legally and safely allowed. If they’re from a different household, only one other person can go with you, irrespective of the size of the boat. 

NSW Police Marine Area Command added: “We know a lot of people don’t agree with this, but they’ve tried to bring in rules to cover everyone, not seperate rules for people with boats and rules for people without boats.

We understand there’s a lot of ‘but what if?’ but the rules are about restricting movement, and if people are on the water and they break down, need assistance, need to get fuel or food etc, then all of a sudden they’re in different (local government areas) or interacting with people.”

The social media post noted that restrictions are “reviewed daily and can change, so keep up to date, stay safe.”

Helpfully, the post also went on to answer questions from boaters, who wanted to understand if there were exceptions for different types of transport.

“There are no special provisions for motorbikes … doesn’t matter if you’re in a boat, on a bike, walking, running, skateboarding, or doing backflips … 10km is 10km,” said the NSW Police Marine Area Command.

“You can cross a lot of (local government areas) on the water. It wouldn’t be so much what (local government area) you’re in, it’d come down to the 10km/5km (distance) from your residence and whether you’re in that boundary.

“As long as you’re always within that boundary, there isn’t an issue. The rules are about restricting people moving around, so you can go fishing – but you shouldn’t be going out fishing then going ashore somewhere else to ‘stretch your legs’.”

When asked about permission to travel by water to get a moored vessel serviced, the NSW Police Marine Area Command said:

“Case by case basis, but for a recreational vessel, initially no. You need to ask yourself does it have be done today, or is it something that can wait a few weeks. If it’s urgent – ie your vessel will sink – then there’s other provisions (such as) calling us, Maritime, Marine Rescue, local marinas.”

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