Highlights
- Australian Border Force in touch with his counterparts to learn about safely reopening borders
- COVID-tests before departure, splitting airports to separate passengers among measures possible
- More than 23,000 Australians and thousands of temporary visa holders are waiting to return
COVID-19 tests before and after the journey, splitting the airports into different zones to separate arrivals from safe places and hotspots and establishing bio-secure corridors are some of the measures that Australia might consider when it is time to reopen international borders, ABF Commissioner Outram has divulged.
Nations across the world, including Australia, have imposed travel restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Though there is no fixed timeline as to when will Australia reopen its border, ABF Commissioner Outram has shared Australia is learning from other countries who have reopened their borders and resumed international travel.
Listen to what ABF Commissioner Michael Outram said:
LISTEN TO
ABF Commissioner indicates how COVID-safe travel might look like when borders reopen
SBS Hindi
11/09/202002:54
Speaking on ‘Recovery through strong border management’, Commissioner Outram told Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s (CEDA) live stream audience that he was in touch with his counterparts in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada to understand how they were managing their borders and learning from them.
“It is interesting to see for us what is going on in Europe and North America because they seem to be trying to open their borders whilst they have got quite high levels, frankly, of COVID-19 and of course, we are talking to them,” he said.
“I have this phone hook-up this Friday night with, what we call my Border-Five colleagues – I was on phone with them on 26th of January, the first time – that are my colleagues in the United States, in New Zealand, in the UK and Canada.
“And we have been talking at least monthly, through this, comparing notes, how we are doing things, what's happening in your jurisdiction, how you are thinking of solving that problem and of course, we doing that more broadly in the region.
“I have had calls with my counterparts in Indonesia, in Japan, in Singapore, in Malaysia. So a lot of ongoing conversations, so we get a good handle on, what’s going on around the world, what are the countries doing within, so that we can try and extrapolate that in the Australian context, once we get the green light to start doing that in a particular state or wherever National Cabinet determines,” he said.
A passengers in the baggage hall at Sydney Airport. (Representational image). Source: James D. Morgan/Getty Images
“We are of course looking at what's happening in Singapore, and we are working with New Zealand to try and open a bio-secure travel corridor in that regards, cause New Zealand is pretty low-risk,” he said.
“In Singapore, they are putting in place, things like they are requiring some travellers to do a COVID test pre-departure, so [in] the country of departure 72 hours before boarding. They have to be able to prove, if they have been in the country 14 days, prior to departure. So we know low-risk destinations, and we know hotspots.
“And then, I think maybe things like a test on arrival or in a couple of days, or few days in quarantine rather than 14,” he said, adding how DFAT, Department of Health and the ABF was constantly monitoring what is happening around the world.
Mr Outram though cautioned Australia was nowhere close to reopening its border.
Returning passengers from a special Nepal Air flight repatriating Australian and New Zealanders from overseas, arrive at Brisbane airport, April 2, 2020. Source: AAP
He said it was up to the National Cabinet who is being advised by the AHPPC () to decide when to reopen the borders.
“But until the AHPPC and the National Cabinet really start to, I suppose, open up to the idea that we are going to start going that way, we can just watch what the rest of the world is doing and we are, of course, putting in place contingency plans.
“We have done a lot of work with the airport operators, so for example, Sydney. We have worked out we need to split the airport in two – a red zone and a green zone. Cause you don’t want travellers coming in who may have a high risk of COVID-19 and need to go to 14-day quarantine, co-mingling with the passenger who is coming through a bio-secure corridor.
“So you can imagine the borders won’t just open, all of a sudden. There would probably have to be different means, for different people.”
Australia closed its borders to non-citizens and temporary visa holders in March 2020.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said borders are unlikely to reopen this year and reduced the cap on the number of international arrivals from 6000 to 4000 in July.
More than 23,000 Australians and thousands of temporary visa holders stuck overseas are waiting to return to Australia.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others.
Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
