Sport and active recreation sector

More information for the sport and recreation sector is available on the Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture website including:

• answers to frequent questions
• information about response and resilience programs such as the Sport and Active Recreation Sector Immediate Response and Resilience program.

Restrictions on sports activities, facilities and clubs now apply.

The following activities and venues are closed:

• gyms
• indoor sporting venues
• golf courses (indoor and outdoor facilities are closed to customers and members)
• boot camps, personal training operating outside and inside - however, outside events, limited to groups of no more than two people where physical distancing is exercised, can continue
• *community and recreation centres
• health clubs, fitness centres, yoga and Pilates centres, and other wellness services (excluding remedial/sports/lymphatic massage)
• outdoor gyms and skate parks
• social sporting-based activities
• public swimming pools, water parks and recreational lakes.

*Facilities may remain open for the purpose of hosting essential voluntary or public services, such as food banks or homeless services.

Where other sporting activities cause individuals to gather, all physical distancing measures and hygiene practices must be applied.

Greenkeepers and facility maintenance

While sporting facilities are closed to the public, staff can still access the premises to perform work that is required for the running of the business and to ensure the business can reopen once restrictions are lifted.

Restrictions on gatherings and advice to practice physical distancing measures still apply.

Fishing

All recreational fishers must remember that the health of the broader community is our first priority.

If you do go fishing, you need to do the right thing and protect all Territorians by following these legally enforceable rules.

All remote communities in the Northern Territory have been closed to all non-essential travel, and access permits for the purpose of going fishing will not be granted.

This means you won't receive an Aboriginal Land permit if your fishing activities require you to do any of the following:

• stop at a remote community
• pass through a remote community
• enter into a designated area.

You may not enter a designated area by road or water (on a boat) – this means currently there is no access for recreational fishers to many rivers such as the Daly, Wildman, and East Alligator Rivers.

Refer to the map showing designated areas and boat ramp locations.

At this stage, if you are traveling to sites that don’t require passing through a remote community (like Shady Camp or Corroboree Billabong) you should be able to do so.

This includes fishing in:

• Darwin Harbour
• Dundee
• Leaders Creek
• Bynoe Harbour
• Channel Point
• Adelaide River (mouth)
• Cox Peninsula
• Shoal Bay

Only people from the same household can go fishing together, whether that is immediate family members or housemates as long as:

• you provide proof you all live at the same address
• you are not sick
• you are not in self-quarantine.

If you go fishing, maintain good hygiene practices, fish locally if you can and do not overcrowd any areas, including boat ramp car parks.

If the boat ramp is busy, either stay in your car until physical distancing can be practiced or move to another location/boat ramp.

Horse and pony riding

Horse and pony owners should continue to exercise their horses as part of the standard care for their animals.

Horse and pony riding can continue to occur but must be solitary and no organised gatherings of horse rider clubs or pony clubs are to occur. Clubs are closed but the animals still need to be cared for and this includes regular exercise.

Reserves remain accessible to the public for solitary exercise. No events or gatherings are permitted in the reserves but the public can continue to utilise the space for exercise including horse and pony riding.