Australia announces big changes to pre-departure rules for international arrivals
Pre-departure rules for international travellers heading to Australia will be changed, saving them several hundred dollars.
National
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Travellers heading to Australia will be able to board their plane with a negative RAT test taken within 24 hours of travel after the government dumped rules requiring a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure.
The change, which could save some travellers several hundred dollars, will come into effect from the early hours of Sunday morning after Health Minister Greg Hunt signed them on Friday.
The Government is also reducing the time people must wait before they can travel to Australia after testing positive from 14 to 7 days.
The move will cut the increasing numbers of Australians forced to delay their returns home after contracting the virus overseas and is in step with domestic quarantine arrangements.
Qantas and Jetstar have welcomed the changes, with the airlines saying some travellers had been forced to wait as long as 21-days before flying back to Australia with Qantas, due to the seven-day processing time frame for documentation proving a negative PCR test.
Qantas Chief Customer Officer Stephanie Tully said travellers trying to re-enter Australia after contracting Covid have had a “very stressful time”.
“We have been approving these applications as quickly as possible, usually within a few days, and have been prioritising cases on compassionate grounds wherever possible,” she said.
“We are looking at removing the requirement for people flying into Australia to submit their medical clearance seven days before travel and instead have their documents verified at the airport before their flight. We hope to have this in place next week.”
Cutting the need for mandatory PCR tests will make overseas travel much easier as returning Australians will no longer have the inconvenience and expense of souring them while on holiday with some private clinics overseas charging several hundred dollars for a test.
Government sources said that in addition to helping Australians holidaying overseas the move was expected to make it easier for backpackers and skilled workers.
The change does affect the need for Australians travelling overseas to get PCR tests for the countries that require them.
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said the relaxed rules would be “absolutely critical” for stabilising the tourism industry.
“These types of changes that smooth the pathway for international arrivals back into Australia are very welcome,” she said.
“Everyday we are learning more and more about this virus, and how we find ways to live with it.
“The notion of a post-Covid world is a fallacy – we will be living with Covid, so these types of measures are really critical as we do what we can to encourage international visitation back to the state.”
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