Australia Reopens its Borders to Vaccinated Travelers

Australia has finally reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from around the world.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday, February 7 after a meeting of the government's national security committee.

Why did Australia close its borders in early 2020?

Australia, a country whose borders were closed to most international travelers since the early of 2020, has been slowly easing its restrictions since November through travel programs with Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.

Currently, permanent residents, citizens, and their families, along with backpackers, international students, and migrant workers are allowed entry into the country though they must show proof of having two doses of an approved vaccine.

As of Feb 7, AU had confirmed 2,727,260 cases of COVID, of which there were 4,200 deaths.

Last year, Tourism AU, the hospitality body and national travel, released an ad campaign entitled "It's Our Best Shot for Travel" across all media platforms.

The campaign brought encouragement to get Covid-19 vaccines to open up the national borders and to be able to travel again. Currently, about 80% of eligible adults in the country are fully vaccinated.

How does this affect me?

Fortunately, unless you’re planning a trip to Australia, you probably don’t need to worry about your vaccines. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, travelers arriving in Australia must be double COVID vaccinated.

Anyone arriving in Australia from New Zealand or neighboring Pacific islands can present a passport with an Australian Border Force (ABF) travel COVID sticker instead.

Where can I get travel vaccines?

Except for Covid19, If you’re traveling outside of Australia and don’t have evidence of yellow fever vaccination or your last dose is more than 10 years old, get vaccinated.

If you are a frequent traveler (greater than 12 times per year), talk with your doctor about booster vaccines for MMR and varicella. And if you travel frequently, consider getting a joint MMRV vaccine that will immunize against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and varicella.

What about getting travel Covid19 vaccines in my country?

In Australia, anyone traveling from an infected area is required to have a valid vaccination certificate. This includes Australian nationals and residents returning from overseas.

If you are planning to travel or move overseas for work, see if your country requires you to be vaccinated before departure; Australia is not alone in making such a requirement.

Most travel vaccines can be given to travelers right before their trip abroad. The only exceptions are vaccines that require an injection into a muscle, such as typhoid and yellow fever vaccines. These types of vaccines cannot be given until at least three weeks before travel because they take longer to start working.

For these two vaccines, in particular, it’s recommended that you get your shot earlier rather than later so that you have time for any potential side effects from the vaccine (if there are any) to go away.

Next Steps

For vaccinated travelers looking to visit Australia: The country has reopened its borders to those who have been vaccinated against meningococcal disease.

When traveling with Covington International Group, we ensure that every one of our customers has been appropriately vaccinated, not only before but also during their international journey.

Therefore, please be aware that if you’re planning on traveling to Australia, we strongly advise you to receive additional vaccination(s) before your departure date to travel safely with us.

Make sure to check the latest updates in AU here or travel restrictions in general.

Travel Safely!