Australians wanting to take a holiday overseas will have to wait a bit longer, as the government has extended the international travel ban.
The biosecurity emergency period was set to end on December 17, but will now ease on 17 March 2021. It will mark a full 12 months since the country's borders were closed to outsiders and all outbound departures were strictly limited.
"The emergency period, which has been in place since 18 March 2020, is now set to cease on 17 March 2021,” Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced.
“The international world remains a challenging and dangerous environment,” he added.
“The risks abroad are enormous, and if we don’t maintain these important protections, then we won’t be protecting Australians,” Hunt concluded.
At the moment, citizens and permanent residents are not permitted to leave the country unless they apply for an exemption and must meet at least one of the following:
- travel is as part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the provision of aid
- travel is for your business/employer
- you are travelling to receive urgent medical treatment that is not available in Australia
- you are travelling outside Australia for three months or longer
- you are travelling on compassionate or humanitarian grounds
- travel is in the national interest.
