The Prime Minister has announced formulation a four-stage plan to reopen Australia, including reopening international borders, titled ‘The National Plan to Transition Australia’s National COVID-19 Response’.
The plan focusses at no imposition of lockdowns (except in extreme circumstances) and opening international borders as COVID-19 vaccination rate rises. The four stages are as follows:
- Vaccinate, prepare and pilot (current Phase) to minimise community transmission of the virus.
- Post Vaccination Phase to minimise serious illness and fatality caused by the virus, including restoring inbound passengers caps for unvaccinated returning travellers and larger caps for vaccinated returning travellers; and allowing entry of student visa and economic visa holders.
- Consolidation Phase to manage the virus with public health management, including abolishing caps on returning vaccinated travellers; allowing increased capped entry of student, economic, and humanitarian visa holders; lifting restrictions on outbound travel for vaccinated persons; and extending travel bubble for unrestricted travel to new countries.
- Final Phase to manage the virus with public health management, including allowing uncapped inbound arrivals for all vaccinated persons, without quarantine; and allowing uncapped arrivals of non-vaccinated travellers.
Further recommendations on finalising the plan will be made by COVID-19 Risk Analysis and Response Task Force in due course of time.
