Australia to drop COVID-19 vaccination requirement for incoming travellers

Travelling to Australia is going to be easy starting 6 July. According to a new plan by the government, visitors will not have to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status. They will also not be required to obtain a travel exemption to be able to tour Down Under. The government has also scrapped the maritime travel declarations. This means the exemptions apply to maritime crew and passengers coming by sea on cruise ships as well. The announcement was made on 3 July by the Minister for Home Affairs of Australia, Clare O’Neil, and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler. Restrictions have been in place since the late 2021 when the country reopened its borders. One of the requirements before entering the country was to file the Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) that was introduced in September. Following the advice from the Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, the government decided to make changes to the Biosecurity Act 2015, thereby removing the need for passengers to file the DPD before entering. “The Chief Medical Officer has advised it is no longer necessary for travellers to declare their vaccine status as part of our management of COVID,” Health Minister Butler said.<br/>