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Trans-Tasman bubble: Australia releases new rules for Kiwi travellers

Siobhan Downes
13:41, Oct 15 2020

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/...iwi-travellers

One day out from the limited trans-Tasman bubble, Australia has released its requirements for Kiwi travellers.

From Friday, passengers from New Zealand will be able to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory without having to quarantine on arrival, as the first stage of what has been dubbed the “safe travel zone” between New Zealand and Australia.

Since March, Australia’s borders have been closed to all except Australian citizens, residents and immediate family members of citizens and residents. Non-citizens and non-residents have had to apply for an exemption to be able to enter the country.

But on Thursday, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs published an update on its website which confirmed New Zealanders travelling under the safe travel zone arrangement will be automatically exempt from Australia’s travel restrictions.

The website states people can travel from New Zealand to Australia, quarantine-free, if they have been in New Zealand for 14 days or more and not been in a designated “hotspot”.

A Covid-19 hotspot is defined as a place with a rolling three-day average of three cases a day. There are currently no hotspots in New Zealand.

These passengers must travel to Australia on a “quarantine-free flight”, which only carries those who meet the requirements.

“You do not need to be a New Zealand citizen to travel to Australia quarantine-free if you meet the above criteria, but you will need a valid visa to enter Australia,” the website says.

“New Zealand citizens do not need to apply for a visa before coming to Australia.”

The arrangement is currently limited to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory, but other states and territories may be added at a later date.

According to the website, before travelling to Australia, passengers must print and compete a Covid-19 declaration form and present it at check-in at the airport.

If passengers don’t present this form, they may not be able to board their flight, the website states.

On arrival in Australia, there will be green and red zones at the airport to separate passengers arriving on “quarantine-free” flights and those who must complete 14 days of mandatory quarantine.

“If you travel on a quarantine-free flight, you will be guided through the green zone to complete all border clearance processes in the airport of arrival in Australia,” the website says.

Air New Zealand chief executive officer Greg Foran said in a statement the airline has introduced “quarantine” and “quarantine-free” flights to Australia in line with the safe travel zone requirements.

“The quarantine-free flights will be for travellers originating from New Zealand who are flying from Auckland to Sydney and are not required to quarantine on arrival in Australia,” he said.

“Quarantine flights will be open to passengers who do not meet the safe travel zone criteria and will be required to quarantine on arrival in Australia.”

Air New Zealand is currently operating eight return flights between Auckland and Sydney per week and would look to operate two quarantine flights per week, while the remaining flights will be quarantine-free.

Between October 16 and 24, the airline would operate three quarantine flights – on October 17, 22 and 24 – and all other flights would be quarantine-free. On October 22, the airline would operate both a quarantine-free and a quarantine flight.

The airline said it was working through flights from October 25.

Passengers planning to travel interstate beyond New South Wales would need to ensure they have checked state and territory travel restrictions and have the appropriate exemptions and approvals to travel.

Customers would not be able to book onwards domestic flights via Air New Zealand due to Australian state restrictions.

The safe travel zone is currently only one-way, with passengers returning to New Zealand from Australia still having to complete 14 days of managed isolation on their return.