Overseas returned rules tightened

Australians who live or work overseas will no longer get an automatic exemption for travel. Australians living overseas say a federal government rule change that could see them trapped if they return to visit family and friends might force many to abandon trips altogether.

The federal government this week quietly expanded its ban on Australians leaving the country that has been in place since March 2020. Citizens and permanent residents could apply for an exemption on compassionate and work grounds but certain people didn’t need one. Citizens who ordinarily lived overseas, as well as foreign nationals who had been living in Australia but were moving elsewhere, could simply pack their bags and jump on a plane.

But now, the government has tightened the rules for visiting Australians who live overseas. On 1 August, the health minister, Greg Hunt, amended a declaration to the Biosecurity Act to remove the ability for them to leave the country without an exemption.

/ Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt

They will now have to apply for an exemption and prove that they have a compelling reason to return. Some grounds for an exemption include caregiving and work, urgent medical reasons and travelling in the national interest.

Exit exemptions have been notoriously difficult to secure during the pandemic and the government has previously committed to being less lenient in its approvals process as quarantine spots have been reduced.

Mr Hunt did not formally announce the change – which is set to take effect from 11 August – but after it was reported the finance minister, Simon Birmingham, defended the tightened policy as “one of the tools … to keep a lid where possible on the number of people exiting the country in the first place”.

The change has left many Australians wondering if they will be able to return to their loved ones and jobs overseas. Currently every Australian has to apply for an exemption to travel in order to leave Australia for another country.