Victoria will today introduce a traffic light system to simplify restrictions for all interstate travellers.

Under the new system, which comes into effect a 5.59pm today, anyone wanting to come to Victoria from another part of Australia will need to apply for a permit from the Services Victoria website.

Areas of the country will be designated as red, orange or green zones, depending on the COVID-19 risk.

Those who have visited red zones in the past 14 days will not be allowed to enter Victoria without an exemption.

Travellers from orange zones will need to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours after arriving in Victoria, and must isolate both before and after being tested, until they recieve a negative result.

Those coming from green zones will need to apply for a permit to travel to Victoria.

From 6pm today travellers arriving into Victoria from anywhere in Australia will have to follow these directions. pic.twitter.com/0BalzkIh0A

— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 11, 2021

Anyone caught travelling to Victoria without a permit faces fines of $4957.

From 5.59pm tonight, regional NSW including the Central Coast will move from red to orange, allowing Victorians in regional NSW to return home.

Greater Sydney and Greater Brisbane remain red zones.

Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Swinburne University, Professor Bruce Thompson, said problems may arise when areas are reclassified.

“The problem is when the rules get changed, so if you’re over in a spot that was green and it’s gone to yellow, that’s when it gets tricky,” he told Stephen Quartermain and Emily Power, filling in for Ross and Russel.

Professor Thompson called for a consistent travel approach nation-wide.

“Having a sort of national, federal response to this would make a lot of sense,” he said.

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Image: Nine News