Sydney to allow quarantine-free international travel for Australians

Fully vaccinated Australians arriving in Sydney from overseas will no longer have to quarantine starting Nov. 1.

At a briefing, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet implied that quarantine-free travel was also available for all vaccinated international travelers when he said, “We are opening Sydney and New South Wales to the world.”

But he was overruled by Prime Minister Scott Morrison who later said the easing of entry restrictions at the border is meant only for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families.

People who fall under those categories would be allowed to leave and return to Sydney without needing to quarantine.

“This is about Australian residents and citizens first,” Morrison said at a briefing, following Perrottet’s announcement.

“Commonwealth Government has made no decisions to allow other visa holders … to come into Australia under these arrangements. They are decisions for the Commonwealth Government, as the premier and I know,” he said.

The prime minister did not give any indication Friday as to when the border restrictions would be eased for other travelers, but said it would be done in a staged and careful way.

Australia’s other major state, Victoria, has a similar reopening roadmap, which will see certain restrictions lifted when the vaccination rate hits a certain milestone. The state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton reportedly told local media this week that Melbourne could exit lockdown earlier than planned.

The rest of Australia still has some way to go before hitting the 80% vaccination threshold. Information collated by online publication Our World In Data showed around 53% of all eligible people in Australia have been fully vaccinated.