Australia's international border set to reopen in NOVEMBER
Dust off your suitcase and make sure your passport is still valid, because Aussies may be given the green light to travel internationally earlier than expected.
According to several reports, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to announce a new plan this morning paving the return of overseas travel.
This would include moving international border bans forward in states that have hit vaccination targets.
Currently, borders are closed until at least December 17.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the federal government will begin to issue international Covid-19 vaccination certificates and will continue to work out what vaccinations will be recognised in Australia. The publication anticipates borders will reopen in November.
Borders closed in March 2020
International borders were closed in March 2020, with Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families needing to apply for an exemption to travel to Australia.
Currently, international arrivals need to quarantine at a hotel for 14 days, which costs around $3000.
The PM is expected to address the media in the next hour or so, ahead of national cabinet, about expected resumption of international travel from Australia
— Andrew Brown (@AndrewBrownAU) September 30, 2021
Quarantine system needs improvement
AAP reported that the government is planning to lift travel restrictions and has encouraged states to shift to home isolation when 80 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
However, health experts have warned that Australia's quarantine system may need to be improved before that milestone is hit — predicted to be in mid-November — and international travel resumes.
Jane Halton, who has reviewed the nation's quarantine arrangements twice, says the system isn't ready for borders to reopen yet.
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"We should be clear that it'll be a limited, probably, opening in that early point and remembering of course that each of our states and territories are in a different place," Ms Halton told the ABC on Wednesday.
"To make it a success, we need to use technology to make sure people are where they say they are.
"We also need to make sure that we can test to ensure that they haven't developed Covid"
with AAP
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