Melbourne stage 4 restrictions and Covid lockdown rules explained

Stage four restrictions have been in effect across metropolitan Melbourne since Sunday 2 August.

Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced his government’s roadmap for easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions on Sunday 6 September. Face masks will remain compulsory and Melbourne’s stage four restrictions will be extended for two weeks, he said. But some small changes came into effect on midnight 13 September.

Here’s what you need to know about the restrictions in Melbourne.

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When can I leave my house?

You are only allowed to leave your house for four reasons: shopping for food and essential items, care and caregiving, daily exercise and work. Employers must support you to work from home if you can work from home.

Meeting one other person for social interaction outdoors i.e. a picnic, for a maximum of two hours is now allowed.

There is a curfew on Melbourne residents between 9pm and 5am (previously 8pm to 5am).

Caregiving includes managing shared custody arrangements, using a babysitter, leaving home to care for animals housed elsewhere, visiting someone in an aged care home and visiting someone in hospital. Specific directions apply.

You can leave your house if you are at risk of family violence or to apply for an intervention order, and to attend court or a police station.

You can also leave your house to access medical services. That explicitly includes leaving your house to give blood. Access to medical services is unrestricted: you can access them anywhere in Victoria.

How far can I travel from home?

Shopping for food and necessary supplies must be done within 5km distance from your home, except if the nearest supermarket is further than 5km.

Only one person in each household can leave to go shopping per day.

Exercise must take place within 5km of home, and must be in metropolitan Melbourne.

What are the rules for exercise?

You are not be allowed to leave metropolitan Melbourne to exercise, meaning long bush walks or leaving Melbourne to go fishing or golfing are not permitted.

From midnight 13 September, exercise is limited to two hours a day and can be broken up into two blocks (previously one hour, once a day).

As of 19 August, you are allowed to drive to a location in order to exercise, but your destination must be within 5km of your home and must be the closest practicable location.

Time spent in the car driving to and from your location is included in the one-hour time limit.

Swimming pools and gyms are shut, and community sport is also suspended. Outdoor playgrounds have reopened.

You can exercise with one other person, including members of your household.

What are the rules for wearing face masks?

People must wear a mask or covering whenever leaving the house. There are a few exceptions. People with a medical reason are exempt, as are children younger than 12. Those who have a professional reason are also exempt and “if it’s just not practical, like when running”, but those people will still be expected to carry a face covering at all times “to wear when you can”.

Related: Australia's face mask advice: are reusable or washable masks best, and what are the rules?

In schools, teachers will not need to wear a face covering while teaching, but students attending classes will. Both teachers and students will need to wear a mask on the way to and from school.

Andrews said “common sense” would guide how the new rules are enforced.

Breaking the rules is punishable with a $200 fine.

Is my municipality or suburb included?

All local government areas within metropolitan Melbourne are affected. That includes:

Banyule, Hume, Moreland, Bayside, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula, Boroondara, Knox, Nillumbik, Brimbank, Manningham, Port Phillip, Cardinia, Maribyrnong, Stonnington, Casey, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Darebin, Melbourne, Whittlesea, Frankston, Melton, Wyndham, Glen Eira, Monash, Yarra, Greater Dandenong, Moonee Valley, Yarra Ranges, Hobsons Bay.

Regional Victoria is now at step three of the state’s roadmap out of lockdown. You can find out more about restrictions outside of metropolitan Melbourne here.

Can I have visitors to my house? Can I see my partner?

You cannot have visitors or go to another person’s house unless it is for the purpose of giving or receiving care. You can leave your house to visit a person if you are in an “intimate personal relationship” with them. That is, there is no “bonk ban”.

If your partner lives outside Melbourne and/or 5km away from your home you can still visit them. If you stay at your partner’s place after 9pm, you must stay there until the next morning. That is, you can’t go home from there between 9pm and 5am.

From midnight 13 September, people living alone are allowed to have one person visit in a “social bubble”. You can only have one nominated person, but you can travel more than 5km to visit their house, and that can include a house where they live with others. You and your nominated person are allowed to visit either person’s house. However if the nominated person lives with other people, they cannot be home when the single person visits.

Cleaners, tradespeople, gardeners, painters and renovators are not allowed to visit your house for work. Exceptions exist for emergency issues such as a burst pipe, and for providing care for welfare and wellbeing such as Meals on Wheels. But “it’s not the time to be painting your house or having unnecessary, non-urgent work happen,” Andrews said.

Do I have to stay in Melbourne?

The stay-at-home rules apply to your main place of residence so you will not be able to get out of Melbourne and stay in your holiday house. The government says this is to stop the virus being spread to other parts of the state.

Can I still dine in at a restaurant or cafe?

No. Restaurants and cafes will only be able to trade as takeaway and delivery businesses.

Are the shops open?

Supermarkets, grocery stores, bottle shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, and local bakers and butchers are allowed to trade but subject to density rules limited by people per square metre.

General retail is closed. Stores are allowed to operate contactless pick-up, delivery and “click and collect”. Hardware stores are open to tradespeople only.

Strictly speaking, you are only allowed to go to the shops to buy food and essential items. If you need help with shopping, or need to help a friend or family member, you can go shopping together but remain 1.5m apart.

What about other businesses and services?

Pubs, bars and nightclubs are closed and bottle shops are takeaway only. Beauty services and hairdressers are closed.

Entertainment and cultural venues such as music venues, museums, indoor and outdoor cinemas, and the casino are shut. Brothels and strip clubs are also shut. Libraries and community venues can only stay open for essential services, or to host funerals.

Real estate inspections are by appointment only and auctions will be conducted remotely.

What are the changes to warehouses and abattoirs?

Warehouses (in Melbourne) are limited to two-thirds of their normal workforce onsite at any time since Thursday 6 August.

Abattoirs (across all of Victoria) are also limited to two-thirds of their normal workforce, with strict safety measures in place akin to being a frontline health worker.

What is happening to construction?

Major private construction projects have been limited to only 25% of their normal workforce onsite since Thursday 6 August.

Small construction, such as home renovations or new homes, are limited to only five people onsite. Government construction projects have already halved the number of people onsite, and the government is looking to reduce them on a project-by-project basis.

How do I get a permitted worker permit?

If your organisation is on the list of industries allowed to remain open in any form, you are able to fill out a form with your employer that you can present if asked by police if stopped travelling while working.

You can present the document, or a photo of the document on your phone if needed.

Can I still move house?

People can still move house, but it must happen within curfew hours. The Victorian government advises people to take extra precautions, including wearing a mask.

What is happening with schools?

Year 11 and 12 students, along with all other students, returned to remote learning from Wednesday 5 August across Victoria, except for children of permitted workers and vulnerable children.

Childcare and kinder are closed except for children of permitted workers and vulnerable children.

What happens to weddings, funerals or religious services?

Religious services will need to be broadcast online. Weddings are not permitted, while the limit is 10 people at funerals (not including those conducting the service).

Holiday accommodation and camping venues are closed. Travel within Victoria is allowed only for work and only if necessary.

What if I break the rules?

Victoria police are monitoring traffic seeking to leave metropolitan Melbourne and residents now face $5000 fines if they leave the city without a valid reason (providing or receiving care, medical needs, visiting an intimate partner or for work with a valid work permit).

Police can issue on-the-spot fines of up to $1,652 for individuals and up to $9,913 to businesses, for general breaches of the stay-at-home orders.

The on-the-spot fine for not wearing a face covering is $200 and the fine for breaching isolation orders multiples times after testing positive for coronavirus is $4,957. This can be increased through the courts to a maximum of $20,000.

• Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is regularly updated to ensure it reflects the current situation at the date of publication. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.