Article: Australia Ends Most Remaining Travel Restrictions

[AFF Editor]

Australia Ends Most Remaining Travel Restrictions is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Australia Ends Most Remaining Travel Restrictions

The days of travel bans and restrictions in Australia are largely over, with the government officially ending the Biosecurity Emergency Period yesterday.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[Beasley]

Common sense finally prevails

 

[Pushka]

Great times. One minor correction. SA has now ditched the PCR requirement and now just a RAT because with the new Govt SA is now going to be consistent with the National Plan.

 

[justinbrett]

Can we get rid of masks on planes and airports now.

LHR no longer mandates them.

 

[OATEK]

Can we get rid of masks on planes and airports now.

LHR no longer mandates them.

Agree. Both LHR and DUB were broadcasting messages about wearing masks being a good, but not compulsory thing. I reckon about 20-25% of pax had masks on when I passed through these airports in the last 2 weeks.

The dropping of the testing requirement will be a big relief. After both testing positive in London we had to get supervised fit-to-travel RAT tests (and fail them by returning positive results) to then seek a medical clearance . Together the 4 tests cost about $400, just to be allowed boarding at LHR. And yet we were able to travel LHR-DUB-LHR without any testing requirements in the week before we flew home to SYD.

 

[AFF Editor]

Great times. One minor correction. SA has now ditched the PCR requirement and now just a RAT because with the new Govt SA is now going to be consistent with the National Plan.

Thanks for that. I had checked this on Sunday morning and I'm sure it said a PCR test was required then, but I see it does now say the test can be a RAT.

Travel

www.covid-19.sa.gov.au

I guess it's either been updated in the last day or so, or I had spent so much time reading through government websites on travel requirements that I'd gone a bit crazy by that point!

I've updated the article.

 

[Anna]

If it's SA Health, it'll take them ages to update anything Even today I can find 2 different statements in different places about whether it's necessary to wear a mask in the gym. Nobody is, so I guess it's not required, or at least not enforced. Still waiting to hear about the requirements inside state govt workplaces like the one I'll be working in today.

Anyway, on the topic of the federal govt, don't give them credit for 'ending' anything. They just let the emergency period lapse at its next end date without renewing it this time. If they'd wanted to do something proactive they could have 'ended' it so that it didn't lapse in the middle of Easter But they would have had to make that arrangement before the election caretaker period so it was probably way down their priority list. (Yes, cynical much ).

 

[Pushka]

Thanks for that. I had checked this on Sunday morning and I'm sure it said a PCR test was required then, but I see it does now say the test can be a RAT.

Travel

www.covid-19.sa.gov.au

I guess it's either been updated in the last day or so, or I had spent so much time reading through government websites on travel requirements that I'd gone a bit crazy by that point!

I've updated the article.

As per Anna, if a ruling came in on a Monday then the information provided by SA Health won't be updated until at least the Wednesday and if you call them on the next Friday they will quote you the situation as of two weeks earlier.

 

[AFF Editor]

As per Anna, if a ruling came in on a Monday then the information provided by SA Health won't be updated until at least the Wednesday and if you call them on the next Friday they will quote you the situation as of two weeks earlier.

This reminds me of a time in August 2021 when the SA Health website stated that it was possible to travel quarantine-free from the Cook Islands to South Australia. I thought this seemed odd as the federal government had not entered into a quarantine-free travel arrangement with Cook Islands and no other states were allowing this, so I submitted a media inquiry with the SA government.

SA Health initially told me that travel from the Cook Islands to SA was indeed allowed without quarantine, but advised me to contact SAPOL for further clarification about how this would be enforced at the border.

SAPOL then told me that this was definitely incorrect (travel from Cook Islands to SA not allowed) and directed me to the SA Health website... which stated that this was allowed.

I pointed this out to SAPOL and they then agreed that actually, this is what their current directive said.

I never got a chance to test this any further because the following day, Australia closed its border to New Zealand anyway and there were no more flights from either New Zealand or the Cook Islands to Australia for months after that.

I still don't understand why SA had this policy at that time or how it actually would have worked.

 

[Anna]

I think someone in SA Health may have jumped the gun on an idea of getting Cook Island workers to come to the Riverland to pick citrus fruit??

Cos Australia has such a fantastic record with bringing in Pacific islanders to do agricultural work ....

 

[ceetee]

Australia Ends Most Remaining Travel Restrictions is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Australia Ends Most Remaining Travel Restrictions

The days of travel bans and restrictions in Australia are largely over, with the government officially ending the Biosecurity Emergency Period yesterday.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

Finally able to go into Qantas lounge in brisbane after discrimination of unvaxd stopped! Can’t wait for Melboure to follow suit.

 

[mrsterryn]

Really hoping USA follows. However so pleased we don't need to text to come home

 

[justinbrett]

Really hoping USA follows. However so pleased we don't need to text to come home

And you don't need to test!

 

[mrsterryn]

And you don't need to test!

Oh my gosh.

 

[cwphoto]

Finally able to go into Qantas lounge in brisbane after discrimination of unvaxd stopped! Can’t wait for Melboure to follow suit.

Now for QF to remove their dumb policy for QF-operated International flights.

 

[drron]

And the NT Government will not renew their Emergency order so from 16/6 Howard Springs will close as a Covid Quarantine centre.

Public Health Emergency to End

 

[FoothillFlyer]

Happy 20th anniversary on AFF, drron!

 

[N860CR]

Still signs up in SYD arrivals this morning flogging the “you must test within 24 hours and isolate until receiving a negative result” despite this being ditched weeks ago.

Coming in from SIN in Y (haven’t don’t that for a while!) proved just how dumb the mask mandate was. Did not see a single mask worn correctly, and that’s when the lights were on!