Australia Set To Drop Pre Arrival Testing On April 17th

The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally been set! Australians and visitors to Australia will no longer require to do a pre-departure test before travelling to Australia. This could spell an uptick in international travel as many people would have been holding off for this exact reason. There’s nothing worse than being stuck overseas because of a positive result (false or otherwise), so this new rule will offer a lot of assurance for international travellers.

Current Rules Up Until April 17th

Currently, travellers to Australia need to take a pre-departure test which can be either a rapid antigen test 24h before your first flight or a PCR test within 72h of your first flight departure to Australia. On or after April 17th, there will be no more pre-departure testing requirements for Australia.

New Rules From April 17th

From April 17th, there will be no more testing requirements provided you’re fully vaccinated. However, on arrival testing might still be required depending on which state you are flying to. Here’s are the requirements by state which are currently in place:

• NSW: Rapid antigen test within 24h of arrival
• VIC: Rapid antigen test within 24h of arrival
• QLD: PCR test within 24h of arrival
• WA: Rapid antigen test within 12h of arrival
• SA: PCR test within 24h of arrival
• TAS: No test required
• NT: No test required
• ACT: No test required

Keep in mind that each state still has a pre-arrival form you need to complete, and there’s also the Australian DPD which is still required.

Summing Up

With many countries removing testing and vaccine requirements around the world, we’re quickly sensing a return back to normality which is welcome news after 2 years!