Australia opened its borders yesterday, welcoming international tourists and reuniting families after nearly two years of closure.
Fully vaccinated tourists are no longer subject to quarantine (the expensive quarantine has been a major subject of contention), but unvaccinated travellers need a travel exemption to enter the country and are subject to state and territorial quarantine requirements.
"The wait is over," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Sunday briefing at Melbourne International Airport.
The country has one of the world's highest vaccination rates – over 94% of people 16 and over are double-jabbed. There have been 5 000 deaths in Australia, a fraction of the numbers experienced in other developed countries and on other continents.
Australia has been gradually reopening since November, initially allowing Australians out and in, followed by international students and specific workers. Yesterday was the opening for leisure travellers and all business travellers. Visa regulations will be applied.
In Sydney and Melbourne, the ban on singing and dancing in night clubs has been lifted, and mandatory QR-encoded vaccination passes to enter buildings were also scrapped.
From Friday, February 25, mandatory mask-wearing will be dropped in many places, but will remain on public transport and indoors at airports and hospitals.
WA, maverick state
Western Australia (WA), the largest state, is set to open its borders only on March 3, allowing in triple-vaccinated VFRs, families and corporate travellers without the need for quarantine.
The state has been criticised for its isolationist attitude for about two years and for its unbending stance, and especially for keeping out Australians from other states in the country.
Currently, up to March 3, border controls for WA dictate that visitors have to apply for permission to enter from other Australian states, and this must be for family or urgent business reasons. If the visitor is granted permission, they currently have to enter into seven days’ quarantine and a series of antigen tests.
But a lot of that changes on March 3. From that date, to enter WA, Australians will need to complete a G2G pass form, and take a rapid antigen test within 12 hours of arrival. Returning Australians who are unvaccinated will be required to undergo seven days quarantine as a condition of entry into WA.
Foreign travellers to WA are subject to the Australian government’s biosecurity and border requirements and will need to complete the G2G pass prior to entry into WA. They too will be required to take a rapid antigen test within 12 hours of arrival in WA.
Qantas will review its domestic schedules to and from Perth in the coming days.
