QLD international borders to fully reopen – but there could be a cap

Queensland’s borders are set to reopen to international for the first time in almost two years, as the state government considers limiting the number of arrivals. Here’s what you need to know.

Queensland’s borders will reopen to international tourists for the first time in almost two years in just two weeks, with double-vaccinated travellers only needing to undertake a rapid antigen test to get in.

The Queensland Government is having early discussions about whether there will be any cap on the number of overseas arrivals allowed in when Australia’s international borders reopen on February 21.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday that the Commonwealth’s border restrictions for all visa holders, including tourists and business travellers, would be dropped for vaccinated visitors.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s international borders will reopen to tourists with two vaccine doses from February 21. Picture: Mark Stewart

“We just wanted to be sure in taking that next step we wouldn’t be overloading the hospital system, and the Chief Medical Officer was able to give us good confidence about that,” he said.

“The condition is you must be double vaccinated to come to Australia. That’s the rule. Everyone is expected to abide by it.”

But Mr Morrison said any state-based quarantine and arrival cap requirements would remain in place until that jurisdiction chose to remove them.

A Queensland Government spokesman said fully-vaccinated international visitors will be allowed to enter without quarantining, but they will be required to undertake a Covid test within 24 hours of arriving and they must self-isolate until the receive a result.

A RAT test will be accepted as the test.

“Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, Queensland has started considering the impact this may have on arrival caps,” he said.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council boss Daniel Gschwind said it was the news tourism operators had been “desperately waiting for”.

“It’s not nearly two years since we decided to kick them out and of course … that was a devastating blow,” he said.

Mr Gschwind said the absence of international travellers had cost Queensland approximately $12 billion in accumulated losses.

“That is not just from abstract figures, that is revenue lost to thousands of businesses in our communities across the state and for many it has been extremely difficult to survive without that revenue,” he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s international borders will reopen to tourists with two vaccine doses from February 21. Picture: NCA/Gary Ramage

He said it was “big machinery” that needed to be started up and arrivals this month would begin with a “strong flow, rather than a flood”.

Flight Centre CEO Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner said the Federal Government’s announcement on Monday was “better late than never”.

“It’s a bit hard to fathom why we haven’t allowed international tourists in until now,” Mr Turner said.

Mr Turner predicted the first to snap up airfares to Australia would be a flurry of friends and family, followed by tourists coming from the UK, USA, Europe and Canada in “three to four weeks”.