Queenslanders will be reunited with family and friends in NSW and Victoria by Christmas after the Palaszczuk government said it would finally reopen its borders to Australia’s two biggest states by December 17.

In the long-awaited release of the state’s road map out of pandemic-induced isolation, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged Queenslanders, especially those in regional areas, to get vaccinated to allow the state to open its borders to Sydney and Melbourne.