WA Set To Re-Open To The World On February 5th

After 2 long years, Western Australia (where I reside) has finally announced its re-opening plan after the state hit an 80% double vaccination rate overnight.

February 5th is still a while away, so expect no easing of borders in the meantime. WA has already locked out Queensland as it opened its borders (basically eliminating my quarantine free travel hack), and I’ve got a feeling the same faith is awaiting Tasmania…

Saturday, February 5th at 12:01 AM (aka freedom day) the following rules will apply when you want to enter WA from either overseas or domestically:

International Arrivals:

• Proof of double dose vaccination with an approved vaccine (age 12 and over unless exempt)
• PCR test required within 72h of departure
• PCR test required upon arrival — within 48h of your arrival.
• PCR test required on day 6 of being in Western Australia.
• Unvaccinated travel is capped at 100 per week, and arrivals must do 14 days of hotel quarantine.
• G2G Application required before entering the state.

Note: the day 6 rule doesn’t appear on the government’s information pamphlet below, but it’s what McGowan said during the live press conference (you can watch it here).

Domestic Arrivals

• Double vaccinated unless you’re not eligible (based on age) or medically exempt
• PCR test is required within 72h before departure.
• PCR test is required within 48h of arrival IF you plan to stay more than 6 days or more. If your stay is 5 days or less, no arrival test is required.
• WA residents travelling to another state for less than 5 days don’t need to test before they travel to WA but will need to test within 48h of arriving into the state.
• A G2G application will need to be made by anyone wanting to enter the state.

Conclusion

All the above rules will be reviewed 4 weeks after February 5th and can change at any time…

It’sIt’s also important to note that these rules are in addition to the federal border rules in place. This means that currently, there’s no set date outlining when tourism into Australia will restart.

At this stage, it’s unclear if the government (aka the taxpayer) will be funding the testing on arrival or if this will be at the traveller’s expense.