The Northern Territory’s resource sector

As part of measures for controlling the transmission of COVID-19, the Northern Territory Government has implemented border controls,  effective from 4pm on Tuesday 24 March 2020.

These controls, applied to all access points by road, rail, air and sea, apply to all people entering and leaving the Northern Territory (NT), including employers and employees operating across the NT’s resource sectors. These controls seek to protect the health of Territorians in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

What you need to know:

• Resource industry operations in the NT are considered ‘critical industries’.
  Specialists critical to maintenance of competitive operations of critical industries are considered ‘essential travellers’ and fall into exemption categories if they:
  • are essential to operations
  • must undertake time-critical work
  • must be physically present, and
  • cannot be temporarily replaced with workers sourced from within the NT.
    .
• Cross-border transit to work sites:
  • Interstate employees and contractors will be assessed at border control points and should carry photo identification such as a drivers’ licence.
  • Employers should provide transiting employees an authorisation letter stating their name, working dates, transit path and work location to show to border control staff.
  • Workers who live in the NT and work interstate must satisfy the requirements of their destination jurisdiction.
    .
• Transport and freight:
  • Non-residential transport and freight services are exempt from the border control arrangements and will continue to come in and out of the NT. This will not impact the delivery of essential goods and services.
    .
• Application for continued operations:
  Resource companies should submit an application for exemption to self-quarantine to the NT Chief Health Officer for merit assessment on the grounds that this class of persons, is governed by a COVID-19 management plan, imposed by the employer of the person or class of persons, to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to the public. Applications should include: 
  • company transmission prevention control measures in accordance with NT Department of Health advice and the Minerals Council of Australia/Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association Resources Sector National COVID-19 Response Protocols
  • evidence of strategies to reduce staff movement to essential staff only
  • evidence of measures to support isolation and contact tracing in the event it is necessary.

Applications for exemption should be submitted to doh.pcc@nt.gov.au which are being reviewed with priority.

Alister Trier
Chief Executive