In the fifth change in 10 days for border communities, residents will need to carry a permit to travel between Albury and Wodonga and other Murray River towns from 6pm on Friday.

Permits previously existed when NSW shut the border to Victoria last year, creating long waits at checkpoints in Albury.

Driver licence checks have operated when Victoria has closed the border to NSW on multiple occasions.

But Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has brought in a permit system in response to COVID-19 cases continuing to climb in Greater Sydney and recent outbreaks in regional areas of NSW.

NSW has recorded back-to-back days of 300-plus infections.

"If this virus can get from Sydney to Byron Bay, to Dubbo, to Armidale, to Tamworth, only a fool would think it can't get to Albury," Mr Andrews said.

"It absolutely can and that is why we need to go beyond just the bubble.

"We need to have permits so people can apply once, have their permits and then we have a clear sense of who is moving within those border towns."

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The Border Mail has sought confirmation whether permanent checkpoints will be created on the Lincoln Causeway and Hume Freeway when permits become mandatory to travel for the existing allowable reasons including work, health and getting vaccinated.

But the latest move has been condemned by the Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien and National Party leader Peter Walsh.

"These measures just add more red-tape on communities already struggling with inconsistent and illogical rules," Mr O'Brien said.

Mr O'Brien said Labor should listen to border communities.

"Red-tape and dividing people won't keep them safe," he said.

"Daniel Andrews is treating border communities like hotspots in Sydney or Melbourne and doesn't understand the practical impact these changes will have on the ground.

"Daniel Andrews has no plan to keep border communities open, safe and COVID free."

Mr Walsh said permits would be a throwback to long waits at checkpoints for residents in a COVID free area just wanting to get on with daily life.

"Border communities have had our lives and livelihoods decimated by the Andrews Labor Government's political border-battle with NSW," he said.

"Families, business owners and community leaders the length of the border are at our wit's end with restrictive and non-sensical border rules that have sliced our communities in two and paralysed local economies.

"Instead of more red tape, the Liberals and Nationals are calling for a commonsense, proportionate approach that uses rapid testing and better contact tracing to allow our communities to open up and stay open."

Border bubble residents will be able to apply for a permit from 1pm today at the Service Victoria website, service.vic.gov.au.

The revolving door of border impacts began last Monday when the permitted reasons to cross were reduced to six reasons before later tweaked to include intimate partner visits, moving house, inspecting a property or attending an auction.

Then late last week another lockdown was called in response to an outbreak in Melbourne followed by regional Victoria being set free on Monday.

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