Australia & International Students: the Federal Government looks forward to receiving the International Students by the end of November

By the most recent announcements of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the goal for receiving International students by the end of November is set. This is aligned with the new measures in relation to Australia’s border situation: protocol measures taken by the New South Wales Government and the Queensland Government.

Dominic Perrottet declares the New South Wales measures

The Premier of New South Wales State, Dominic Perrottet, announced on Friday morning that from November 1st family members and parents of Australian citizens and residents who have two doses of the vaccines permitted by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) -Pfizer, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria), Moderna, Janssen, Coronavac (Sinovac), Covidshield (AstraZeneca / Serum Institute of India) -, and a negative PCR,  will be able to enter the country without the need for quarantine. Unvaccinated persons may also enter the territory, but must undergo the compulsory 14-day quarantine in the hotels provided by the Government. However, it is important to clarify that these will only have 200 places per week, a rather small number considering the number of foreigners who are waiting for Australia’s borders to open. This came as a surprise to many because, although the state of New South Wales had already submitted a protocol to the International Federal Government in June indicating certain measures they could take to start allowing international flights, this was not expected so soon. 

Likewise, to understand the measures that are being taken in each state, we must first take into account the measure taken by the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, a week ago, where he shared the beginning of the opening of Australia’s international borders. But, unlike what Dominic Perrottet shared, this decision did not include international travellers, but only Australian citizens and residents. This is why the decision by Premier Dominic Perrottet has come as such a surprise. 

A few hours after the announcement by the Premier of the State of New South Wales, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that he supports and welcomes the decision by Premier Dominic Perrottet. The State of New South Wales, as stated by the Premier, will only be able to receive Australian citizens and residents, and immediate family members of Australian citizens and residents, including parents. While some of this group of people are foreign nationals, it would be a small number, to begin with to open borders and assess how it evolves in terms of protocols and contagion. 

Annastacia Palasczuk and measures in the State of Queensland

Upon receiving this news, the Queensland Government did not want to be left behind. On Monday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that with zero cases across the territory in the last 24 hours, they estimate that by  December 17th, all fully vaccinated and PCR-negative people will be able to enter freely and without the need for any kind of quarantine. In this way, shares the Queensland Premier, families will be able to be reunited for Christmas after such a long period of isolation. «[From December 17] travellers from a designated interstate hotspot can travel by road or by air, they must be fully vaccinated, they must have a negative COVID test in the previous 72 hours and no quarantine will be required,» Ms Palaszczuk said.

While there is still no specific talk about international students and their possible entry in the coming months, all this news is good news for our community and allows us to have some hope of being able to return to Australia soon to continue the incredible experiences that each of them is looking forward to. The latest from the New South Wales Government is that Premier Dominic Perrottet shared that international students still cannot travel to Australia without mandatory quarantine.

In summary, the New South Wales Government declared that from November 1st international flights throughout the territory will be limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents. As Dominic Perrottet shared in his statement, the important thing is that Australia begins to rejoin the world, «I want NSW to rejoin the world. We can’t live here in the realm of hermits.» On the Queensland Government side, Premier Palaszczuk stated that from December 17th a re-opening of international borders will be enabled under certain protocol measures. 

ACE Australia will be updating you as new news comes to light, and we remain available to answer any questions you may have.