Australia will reopen its international border from November, giving long-awaited freedoms to vaccinated citizens and their relatives.
Since March 2020, Australia has had some of the world's strictest border rules - even banning its own people from leaving the country.
The policy has been praised for helping to suppress Covid, but it has also controversially separated families.
"It's time to give Australians their lives back," PM Scott Morrison said.
People would be eligible to travel when their state's vaccination rate hit 80%, Mr Morrison told a press briefing on Friday.
Travel would not immediately be open to foreigners, but the government said it was working "towards welcoming tourists back to our shores".
Pilot plans
Pilot plans to facilitate international students’ return to Australia appear to be back on track. New South Wales will bring back some 500 international students from December 2021. Education partners involved in the pilot plan include Australian Catholic University, Macquarie University, The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney, UNSW, UTS, University of Wollongong, and the Western Sydney University.
Victoria has also recently announced that it will be facilitating the return of a small group of students by the year-end. A total of 120 international students could be permitted to arrive in Victoria per week. Ultimately, these announcements on Australia’s border updates sound promising for international students hoping to return to Australia soon.
It was previously reported that major Australian airports are gearing up to facilitate the return of overseas travel. The Australian government is investing 64 million Australian dollars in international security screening requirements, reported International Airport Review.
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