Queensland border roadmap: Everything you need to know ahead of reopening

Queensland’s border will reopen on Monday, with travellers warned there will be delays entering the state.

As of 1am on December 13, when the state is expected to have reached its 80 per cent vaccination target, those who are fully vaccinated from interstate hotspots can arrive by road or air, and no quarantine is required.

They must provide a negative COVID test in the previous 72 hours.

International arrivals must also be fully vaccinated and return a negative COVID test within 72 hours of departure.

They will be required to get a test on arrival and must go into home or hotel quarantine for 14 days.

Travellers will no longer have to wait two weeks to be considered fully vaccinated - one is enough - but anyone from a hotspot must get a test on day five after their arrival.

Those on the border who are vaccinated will be able to move freely into the state without needing a PCR test, but border passes will still be required, which will be valid for 14 days.

Authorities say people who are not vaccinated will be restricted to travel for the limited reasons that exist now.

The road border, sealed since July 22 amid Sydney’s Delta outbreak after an extended closure in 2020, had been flagged to reopen on December 17 unless the 80 per cent vaccination target was met sooner.

The reopening will see families reunited after months of separation.

“I know people have said to me personally some of them haven’t seen their grandkids for the first time,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters this week.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit: Getty Images

“Some of them haven’t seen their aunts and uncles, their mothers and fathers. This is going to be a very, very special time of the year.”

Once the 80 per cent target has been reached, unvaccinated people will be banned from a range of venues including cafes, pubs, and hospitals, while restrictions for businesses and fully vaccinated people will ease.

After confusion surrounding whether travellers would need a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to enter the state, state authorities said a standard text message result sent to people under the standard free national testing regime would be accepted.

Meanwhile, the federal government has pushed back the date for international students and other visa holders from December 1 to December 15, following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Home quarantine rules:

Returning Queenslanders and eligible interstate travellers are able to home quarantine now the 70 per cent double-dose vaccination mark has been reached.

People can quarantine at any self-contained dwelling, as long as it has no shared common areas that are accessible by people outside the household.

Travellers will be able to arrive at any Queensland airport, but can transit to another destination only if they go through Brisbane.

People will be allowed to drive to their home quarantine residence, as long as it is within two hours without stopping. Travel can be by private car, a hire car with contactless pick-up or an endorsed transport provider.

People wanting to home quarantine must still:

• Be fully vaccinated (must have had two doses of the vaccine, with at least two weeks between their second shot and their entry into Queensland)
• Have returned a negative COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before entry
• Ensure anyone else residing in the household also quarantines
• Use the home quarantine check-in service
• Maintain contact records for anyone attending the property
• Get a COVID PCR test at a drive-through clinic, using a private vehicle, on days 1, 5 and 12

At 90 per cent vaccinated

There will be no entry restrictions or quarantine for vaccinated arrivals from interstate or overseas at 90 per cent vaccination coverage.

The target is expected to be reached in January.

Unvaccinated travellers will need to apply for a border pass or enter within the international arrival cap, and undertake up to 14 days’ quarantine (subject to review by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee).

Travel for visa holders (pushed back to December 15)

Subject to review, from December 15, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders – which includes skilled and student cohorts, humanitarian, working holidaymaker and provisional family visa holders – can enter Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.

Travellers must:

• Be fully vaccinated with a vaccine that is approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
• Hold a valid visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses
• Vaccination status proof
• Have a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure

Fully vaccinated citizens from Japan and the Republic of Korea will also be allowed to enter Australia. They must hold a valid Australian visa to travel from their home country without quarantining to participating states and territories.

These travellers must:

• Depart from their home country
• Be fully vaccinated with vaccine approved or recognised by the TGA
• Hold a valid Australian visa
• Provide vaccination status proof
• Provide proof of their vaccination status
• Present a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure