Blog

17 Jul 2020

International arrivals to Australia capped at 4,000 people a week

Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has announced the rate of international arrivals into Australia would be halved to just over 4,000 people per week from Monday 13 July to avoid straining hotel quarantine systems and better manage the risk of COVID-19 infections.

International arrivals have been capped for several states:

Perth: 525 people/week (or 75 people/day)
Brisbane: 500 people/week
Sydney: 3150 people/week (or 450 people/day)
Melbourne: All flights are being diverted at this time.

The costs for 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine will also be charged to returning travellers.

How will the reduced international arrivals rate impact travellers to Australia?

While the number of international flights to Australia had already drastically reduced due to Australia’s overseas travel ban and the need to have a valid travel exemption, the Government’s announcement to further limit international arrivals will mean even less flights will be available.

-Eligible travellers can still travel to Australia, however this may become more difficult as less flights are available.

-To facilitate the reduction in arrivals, the Australian Border Force is liaising with airlines to manage the number of incoming passengers. Travellers will need to wait longer for an available flight and book well in advance.

It will also be costly to travel home to Australia, as mandatory quarantine will soon need to be paid for by travellers.

-New legislation is being prepared that will allow the Australian Governments to charge for mandatory hotel quarantine costs. The mechanisms for how this will occur are being decided.

-Quarantine costs for work arrangements is commonly paid for by the employer, while quarantine for people returning home from overseas is funded by the Government. The changes will make it more costly for people to return to Australia for personal reasons.

Paid quarantine arrangements are already in place in Queensland.

What if I have already booked a flight to Australia?  

Overseas arrivals are being managed by the Government and airlines. Last week, WA Health Minister, Mr Roger Cook indicated there may be some flexibility while WA transitions to the new cap restrictions. He said,

“We’re expecting it to come into place over the coming week, obviously there are a number of flights that have already committed arrivals and so we can’t simply turn the tap off but we do want to start getting on top of it.”

If you have already booked flights to arrive in Australia, you may wish to contact your airline to confirm your flight is still operating.

Immigracious | Migration connections made simple

If you have any visa or migration concerns, please get in touch. Consultations are available to discuss your evidence requirements for Travel Exemptions, assess your eligibility for Permanent Residence and help with any questions you may have.

You can reach our Registered Migration Agents on +61 8 6185 2770 or hello@immigracious.com.au

Source:

The Canberra Times

SBS News


Sheila Woods

Posted by: Sheila Woods

A very experienced migration agent, Sheila has always been fascinated by this field. Her university degree thesis was on Australia’s post-war immigration history (and it earned her first-class honours).


Filed in: Uncategorized

Comments

Comments are closed.


Topics

Follow us