Australia’s international travel ban will be scrapped from November 1, 2021, as New South Wales reopens to quarantine-free overseas travel for the fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the end of travel restrictions which have been in place since March 25, 2020, when the nation’s borders went into lockdown at the onset of the pandemic.
“We will be allowing Australians, permanent residents and citizens and their families, to leave Australia from wherever they live in Australia and return,” Morrison confirmed on Friday.
It’s been a long 586 days since the Department of Home Affairs made it necessary for Australian citizens and permanent residents to receive a special exemption from the blanket ban on international travel.
Government data indicates that around 210,000 Australians were granted approval to fly overseas over the past 19 months, while over 122,000 applications were rejected.
That all changes from November 1, with Sydney Airport becoming the country’s first and for now only quarantine-free gateway for all double-jabbed travellers.
The decision has seen Qantas and international airlines relaunch overseas flights to and from Sydney, or opening up existing flights to a full load of bookings rather than capping the number of seats.
With the travel ban lifted, any Australian – regardless of where in the country they live – will be able to travel overseas from November 1, including catching a domestic flight to Sydney and connecting with an overseas flight.
However, after returning to Sydney, interstate travellers will still be subject to restrictions and quarantine arrangements of their home state if they intend to head back there.
November 1 will also see NSW remove its caps for overseas arrivals, although inbound travel will be restricted to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents.
If fully vaccinated with a shot approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, they won’t need to quarantine on arrival in Sydney.
However, 14 days of hotel quarantine will still be mandatory arrivals who are not fully vaccinated by a TGA-approved jab, with those quarantine spaces capped at 210 people per week.
