Novak Djokovic legal papers claim Home Affairs cleared ‘quarantine-free arrival’

Novak Djokovic’s legal team revealed a letter clearing the player to enter the country, but the document may not be the “rubber stamp” they think it is.

Novak Djokovic's legal team argued it had an exemption. Photo: Getty Images

The plot has continued to thicken in the Novak Djokovic visa saga as his legal team claims the world No. 1 had received word from the Department of Home Affairs that he had met “the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia”.

However, the claim appears to refer to the Australian Travel Declaration which is an app travellers can use to give an indication of whether they will be allowed into Australia based on information provided by the traveller.

The app does not validate whether the passenger has a valid visa, travel exemption or provide approval for entry into Australia.

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After a week of confusion and finger-pointing between the federal government, Victorian government and Tennis Australia, Djokovic’s legal case is set to be heard on Monday January 10 at 10am and is expected to be resolved on the day.

If he wins the case, it’s expected Djokovic will be able to continue on to the Australian Open, but if he loses or the case is drawn out, he is expected to be deported.

Before leaving for Australia, Djokovic posted that he had received “exemption permission” after months of refusing to reveal his vaccination status.

But this claim was refuted by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said “such an exemption was not in place, and as a result he is subject to the same rule as anyone else”.

Djokovic was reportedly subjected to a horror eight-hour Melbourne airport ordeal, and is now being held in hotel detention.

But in his legal team’s documents submitted to the Federal Circuit Court, it is argued that Djokovic received a document from the Department of Home Affairs seemingly clearing his way into the country.

“Mr Djokovic had also received, on 01 January 2022, a document from the Department of Home Affairs (‘Department’) in regard to his ‘Australian Travel Declaration’ (‘Declaration Assessment’). The Declaration Assessment told Mr Djokovic that, ‘(his) Australia Travel Declaration (had) been assessed,’ and that ‘(his) responses indicate(d) that (he met) the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia where permitted by the jurisdiction of your arrival,’ that jurisdiction being Victoria.”

The court document in question.

The documents also revealed he had received also received a visa on November 18 and “a letter from the Chief Medical Officer of Tennis Australia (“Exemption Certificate)” on December 30, which Djokovic believed was enough to enter Australia.

And while it’s not entirely clear whether it is the same form, OpenCourt.ca journalist Stephanie Myles tweeted that she had received a message saying she had met “the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia where permitted by the jurisdiction of you arrival” as well.

This is the approval you get when you fill out the ATD online.

If you get to the question where they ask you about your vax status, you can tick off "I declare that I am exempt from vaccination requirements and I have evidence to support this" pic.twitter.com/TE61wWQJja

— Stephanie Myles (@OpenCourt) January 8, 2022

Myles said she wasn’t sure if evidence was uploaded in the same way as vaccination information but said a declaration of evidence would likely also “get you the green check”.

The Times’ Stuart Fraser however tweeted that the travel declaration wasn’t “the rubber stamp that some people think it is” as it “still relies on me to present valid documents at the border to back up my answers”.

Djokovic court documents make for interesting reading. Appears his side strongly believe the wording and application of these new border laws is not fit for purpose. But how much background surrounding Djokovic's prior views/positive test will the judge take into consideration?

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) January 8, 2022

It comes after it was revealed in the same documents that Djokovic had tested positive for Covid on December 16 and had sought a “medical exemption from Covid vaccination” on the grounds he had recently recovered from the virus.

Djokovic has been slammed for his actions on the days after, where he attended an event hosted by the Serbian National Postal Service on December 16, an award ceremony on December 17 and a photo shoot on December 18, however it is unclear whether he was aware he had tested positive at the time.

It is the second time Djokovic has tested positive to Covid after he contracted the virus during his ill-fated Adria Tour in June 2020.

But the claims may not be the whole story.

Djokovic is chasing a 10th Australian Open title. Photo by David Gray / AFP

Speaking on Weekend Today on Sunday, Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said there was a difference between visas and entry requirements.

“Visas are issued, as part of a course and process,” he began. “The entry requirements into Australia though are where we have, in response to COVID-19 at different points, banned all entry or put additional requirements that sit over and above the visa conditions. One of those requirements very clearly is that you need to be double dosed vaccinated if you are not an Australian citizen to come into Australia. That’s been a very clear entry requirement, very clearly communicated to Tennis Australia as well.”

It continues what has been a baffling order of events to this stage.

On Friday night, the Herald Sun reported a leaked document from Tennis Australia (TA) which told unvaccinated players they needed to prove they’d had the virus in the past six months to gain an exemption.

This is despite the Federal government informing TA prior infections were not covered in its guidelines for medical exemptions.

Letters from Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt sent to TA in November allegedly show the governing body was aware of this caveat before giving players advice.

The Tennis Australia letter said players needed an overseas medical exemption certificate and a second exemption either signed off by an Australian medical practitioner or a panel of expert medical personnel.

“Recent PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (after 31 July 2021), where vaccination can be deferred until six months after the infection,” it said, under a heading of “valid reasons for a temporary medical exemption”.

Novak Djokovic has been dragged into an absolute mess. Photo by Matt King/Getty Images

In a statement to the Herald Sun on Friday night, TA denied misleading any players.

“We have always been consistent in our communications to players that vaccination is the best course of action — not just as the right thing to do to protect themselves and others, but also as the best course of action to ensure they could arrive in Australia. We reject completely that the playing group was knowingly misled,” the statement said.