Australians are able to travel a little more freely within the country as of today! After months of restricted domestic movement (thanks, COVID) and political battles between State premiers, interstate travel is opening up again. So which borders are open in Australia?
It can be hard to keep track of every update — here’s what you need to know (and where you can actually go).
Keep an eye on this post, we’ll update it whenever there is a change to which borders are open in Australia.
*Latest Update: 2 Feb 2021
New South Wales
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the state will end their Melbourne border restriction on November 23.
On this date, NSW will be the only state with borders open for unrestricted travel. There will be no quarantine requirement for any interstate travellers. International arrivals will still be subject to mandatory hotel quarantine.
Current: NSW is open, kinda! Travellers from the affected WA regions of Perth, Peel and the South West can come to NSW, but they must adhere to special rules:
- If you had a COVID test before Feb 5, you must stay in your ‘place of residence’ until 9pm Feb 5
- Otherwise, you must stay at your place of residences until 9pm Feb 14
- This is not a quarantine per se, you can still leave your house for: groceries; for education (if it cannot be done from home); for exercise; or for medical or primary carer reasons.
Victoria
Victorians (especially Melbournians) had been cut-off from the rest of the country since July. We saw the NSW-VIC border closed for the first time in 100 years.
The state has recently implemented a permit system for interstate travel. Essentially, everyone must apply for a permit, but approvals will be granted based on which state you are coming from. Approvals are granted based on a traffic light system of green, orange and red zones.
Current: Travellers from WA’s Perth, Peel and South West regions are currently not permitted to enter; all other states can enter with a valid permit
Full details from coronavirus.vic.gov.au
Queensland
State premiers Annastacia Palaszczuk (QLD) and Gladys Berejiklian (NSW) were been openly taking shots at each other in the media over the border closure between the states. Berejiklian wanted Sydneysiders allowed into Queensland, but Palaszczuk held off on announcing an open border for months.
The beef has finally been resolved, with QLD open to all states from December. They are taking a ‘smart border’ approach, keeping restrictions for any areas deemed to be ‘hotspots’ (rather than barring the entire state).
Current: Travellers from WA’s Perth, Peel and South West regions are not permitted to enter without an exemption; exempt travellers must do 14-days hotel quarantine at their own expense; all other states are allowed to enter.
Full details from covid19.qld.gov.au
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Western Australia
WA’s hard border has been one of the most controversial border during the pandemic. The state kept itself closed off to the rest of the country long after others began creating ‘travel bubbles’. On top of that, the state’s controversial G2G application system is heavily criticised for possible human rights infringements.
In late January WA has it’s first community case of COVID-19 in over 10 months – confirmed to be the UK strain, contracted by a security worker at a quarantine hotel. It’s triggered a 5-day hard lockdown and borders closures to the Perth, Peel and South West regions of the state.
Current: Travellers from NSW and VIC must self-quarantine for 14-days, taking a COVID-19 test on Day 11; all other states are permitted to enter, must must register with G2G prior.
Full details from wa.gov.au/covid-communications
South Australia
South Australia was one of the first states to open its borders after the initial travel shutdown, and is currently open to most of the country. It was the first state to open back up to NSW; and removed it’s border restriction to Victoria on December 1.
Adelaide successfully navigated a 6-day hard lockdown to squash an outbreak in November 2020, and South Australians are now free to travel to any other state in the country.
Current:
- Travellers from Greater Sydney, Woollongong and Central Coast (NSW) must self-quarantine on arrival in SA. They must take a COVID test within 24hrs, and remain in quarantine until a negative test result is received
- They must take additional tests on Day 5 and Day 12 of their trip
- Travellers from WA must self-quarantine for 14 days, and take COVID tests on days 1, 5 and 12
Full details covid19.sa.gov.au
Tasmania
Along with WA, Tasmania implemented a hard border early on in the pandemic. This gave us the iconic “We’ve got a moat” headline on the front page of Hobart’s The Mercury newspaper.
Being separated from ‘the mainland’ protected Tasmania throughout the pandemic, and registration on the Tas e-Travel platform is now required for all interstate arrivals.
Current: Travellers from Perth, Peel and South West WA are not permitted to enter Tasmania unless they are an exempt traveller; exempt travellers must complete 14-day hotel quarantine
Full details at coronavirus.tas.gov.au
Northern Territory
Anyone travelling to the Northern Territory from Perth, Peel or the South West region must complete 14-days mandatory supervised quarantine (at their own cost). For the rest of the country, the NT is open for business – you just have to complete Border Entry Form on arrival.
Full details at coronavirus.nt.gov.au
Australian Capital Territory
Travel from Perth, Peel or the South West of WA is not permitted – only exempt travellers will be allowed into the ACT, and must complete mandatory quarantine until February. The ACT is currently open to all parts of Australia.
Full details from covid19.act.gov.au
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