Monday is the big day when fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 12 and over may travel again internationally without having to apply for an exemption to leave the country.

To qualify as fully vaccinated, a vaccine must be approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This includes two doses at least 14 days apart of: AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca Covishield, Pfizer/BioNtech Comirnaty, Moderna Spikevax or Sinovac Coronavac, or one dose of Janssen-Cilag Covid vaccine. Children under 12 and those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons will also be able to travel overseas without an exemption.

If you love to travel but haven’t been vaccinated, there couldn’t be a better incentive to get jabbed. But before you rush out to book flights, it’s worth asking some key questions:

What are Australia’s exit and re-entry requirements?

Exit: vaccination evidence

To travel internationally without needing an exemption you must show your International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) at check-in when departing Australia. You can create your ICVC on your myGov account. It will be provided in PDF format for printing or electronic storage on your phone.

Pre-departure test

At check-in, everyone who is five years of age or older must give proof of a negative Covid-19 (PCR) molecular test provided by a laboratory to be done no more than 72 hours before the scheduled departure of the first leg of your return flight to Australia. This is required in addition to the Covid-19 vaccine. A negative PCR test result certificate will still be valid if your flight is delayed longer than the 72-hour window, but if the flight is rescheduled or cancelled, you will need to take a new test no more than 72 hours before the new flight.

Re-entry

The Australian government regulates visas and exemptions, but state and territory governments regulate quarantine (and other inbound health related requirements). Therefore, even when you can leave Australia without an exemption, you must keep up to date with your state’s rules for your return.

From Monday, fully vaccinated returning Australians will not be required to quarantine in hotels or at home on arrival into NSW, Victoria and the ACT. Children under 12 will not be treated as unvaccinated.

If you arrive from overseas directly into another state, at this stage you will still be directed into mandatory hotel quarantine. Tasmania will open its borders on 15 December and South Australia has announced a slow reduction of restrictions starting on 23 November. Queensland has a very cautious reopening plan that will evolve as vaccination targets are reached. The Northern Territory has a home quarantine plan, for interstate arrivals, to begin around 23 November. Western Australia has not announced its reopening plan.

Where can you go?

As travel restrictions ease, Australians are showing the most interest in travelling to Fiji, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, the US and UK. Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia will resume from Monday.

Fiji

From 1 December, Fiji is reopening its borders to fully vaccinated tourists (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen), aged 18 and above, from Australia and a select group of countries, including the US and New Zealand.

United States

The US has changed its vaccination requirements for non-US citizens entering the country. In the past, since Australia was considered a low-risk country for Covid-19, Australians did not have to be vaccinated to travel to the US.

Singapore

Vaccinated Australians will be able to travel to Singapore quarantine-free from 8 November. Starting on Monday you can apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass to enter as a short-term visitor under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL).

UK

The UK recently scrapped its traffic light country system and will remove its red list of countries on Monday so that all fully vaccinated international travellers will no longer have to quarantine in a hotel.

Thailand

Thailand is a bit of a grey area because, while the country is opening to Australia and 45 other “low risk” nations on Monday, the current advice on the Smart Traveller site is at Level 3 (“Reconsider your need to travel”).

Bali

Bali has recently opened to fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries, who must quarantine in hotels for five days and follow strict visa requirements under new entry rules. 

What is your tolerance and budget for potential disruption caused by Covid-19?

It is important to remember that most airlines are adding their own requirements in addition to those of destination countries. All are requiring mask-wearing in airports and for the duration of flights, except when you are eating. For flights to and from the US this applies to children as young as two. All airlines operating into and out of Australia are also requiring PCR tests and in some instances you may be asked to take a rapid antigen test requiring a negative result before you board. You also need to factor in the extra time and hassle with all the Covid-related checks while travelling.