Australian border rules further relaxed for some international travellers including students and skilled workers from 1st December 21

Fully vaccinated visa holders and international students will be allowed to enter Australia without seeking an exemption, in one of the biggest changes to Australia‘s international border policies since the beginning of the pandemic.

This will open the door for tourists, backpackers, skilled migrants and international students to fly in for summer.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said eligible visa holders would be able to come to Australia from the 1st of December without needing to apply for a travel exemption.

"The return of skilled workers and students to Australia is a major milestone in our pathway back, it's a major milestone about what Australians have been able to achieve and enable us to do," he said.

Anyone hoping to visit Australia must be fully vaccinated and return a negative PCR test within three days of departing for Australia. However, because of the different rules in each state and territory, only New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory will allow travellers to fly in without quarantining.  Travellers will be subject to the quarantine arrangements of the other state/territory they are travelling to.

Yesterday Australia passed the key milestone of 85 per cent double vaccinated for adults aged over 16, triggering the final phase of its reopening strategy.

Australia considers you to be fully vaccinated if you have completed a course of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised vaccine. This includes mixed doses. Current vaccines and dosages accepted for the purposes of travel are:

• Two doses at least 14 days apart of:
  • AstraZeneca Vaxzevria
  • AstraZeneca Covishield
  • Pfizer/Biontech Comirnaty
  • Moderna Spikevax
  • Sinovac Coronavac
  • Bharat Biotech Covaxin
  • Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV (for 18-60 year olds).

• Or one dose of:
  • Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen-Cilag COVID Vaccine.

The TGA is evaluating other COVID-19 vaccines that may be recognised for the purposes of inbound travel to Australia in future. The most up-to-date information on approved and recognised vaccines is available on the TGA website.

More than 200,000 international students, eligible skilled migrants and refugees are expected to return to Australia over December and January without a need for an exemption, as the nation moves to its final phase of the reopening plan. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, international education contributed about 40 billion to the Australian economy in 2019.

In addition from December 1, Japanese and Korean citizens who have been double-jabbed can also visit Australia without needing to quarantine.