Coronavirus: Digital border pass to allow vaccinated Aussies to travel
A new digital border pass for global travel will be introduced within months as the Morrison government looks to reopen Australia.
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A new digital border pass for global travel will be introduced within months as the Morrison government looks to reopen Australia’s international borders.
The Digital Passenger Declaration will collect and share the personal information of international travellers with the states and territories for contact tracing and other health reasons,
IT firm Accenture has been awarded the tender to deliver the Digital Passenger Declaration, which will replace the physical incoming passenger card and the COVID-19 Australian Travel Declaration web form
The new digital pass will capture essential information — including passengers’ vaccination status — up to 72 hours prior to boarding.
Passengers coming into Australia will be able to complete the Digital Passenger Declaration on their mobile device or computer.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the Morrison government was taking proactive steps to ensure the safe reopening of the border when supported by health advice.
“The DPD will support the safe reopening of Australia’s international borders, by providing digitally-verified COVID-19 vaccination details,” she said.
“This will help us to welcome home increasing numbers of Australians, and welcome the tourists, travellers, international students, skilled workers, and overseas friends and family we’ve all been missing during the pandemic.”
The implementation of the Digital Passenger Declaration pass could lead to changes in other government services, Employment Minister Stuart Robert said.
“The overarching digitisation program could include visas, import permits, personnel identity cards, licenses, registrations, and other documents, making previously cumbersome processes easier, safer and more transparent,” he said.
Accenture was awarded the work through a competitive tender process run independently by the Department of Home Affairs.
The Digital Passenger Declaration will now move into a testing phase before being deployed, at scale, throughout major Australian airports.
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