The Australian Border Is Opening Here’s What We Know

Today Australian the Australian PM announced the plan to re-introduce international travel to and from Australia without exemption and hotel quarantine for those fully vaccinated. The plan is welcome news, but before you rush off to buy tickets, here’s what we know so far:

• While we have no specific date, the international border will reopen next month for those states that have reached 80 percent vaccination rates starting with NSW and followed by SA once they reach 80%
• Fully vaccinated Australians and permanent residents arriving in NSW will be able to home quarantine for a week. If you’re unvaccinated, the current 14-day hotel quarantine process will continue. Home quarantine will also be available for those under the age of 12 or with a medical condition.
• Commercial flights out of Australia will be accessible again for fully vaccinated Australians (no need for an exemption which is currently the case).
• Quarantine free travel between select countries will continue once it’s considered “safe” to do so…
• Sinovac and the Covishield vaccines will be recognised in Australia to allow travel from India and China, where these types of vaccines are the norm. This should be welcome news for international students.
• Pre-departure tests and arrival tests will still be a thing of the procedures, but PCR will most likely be supplemented with rapid antigen tests, which are cheaper and faster.
• Tourism will not be allowed at this stage. Travel will only be possible by residents of Australia. It’s unclear at this stage if this will include visa holders, but they will likely be part of the allowed inbound travellers.
• If you live in another state, you would only be able to fly back via NSW if you had a home there in which you could quarantine for 7 days. Staying with friends would not be an option.
• All going well; there will be more restrictions eased come November. Hopefully, at that time, we will see a more precise roadmap for hermit states such as Queensland and Western Australia, who have locked themselves off from the country and the world.