After two long years, Australia’s borders finally opened up again to travellers on 21 February.
For many of us who have been itching to travel ever since MCO 1.0, this news is met with great anticipation and joy. After all, who doesn’t love a fun trip to the Land Down Under? As many Malaysians also have family members living in Australia, it’s also a relief to finally be able to visit loved ones and reunite with family and friends again.
Australia is now thrilled to welcome back Malaysian travellers, with the tourism industry taking a massive hit over the past two years. Tourism Australia is also partnering with Malaysia Airlines to support the recovery of the airline industry and recommence services into Australia in the coming months.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, International Visitor Survey YE Dec 2019, Malaysia is Australia’s eighth largest source market for international visitation and tenth most valuable for spending. Plus, 72% of Malaysian leisure travellers are repeat visitors to Australia, of which 61% have visited the country more than twice.
Beautiful natural surroundings, interesting wildlife, shopping, international cuisine, and many more attractions are what draws tourists to Australia. While Western Australia is still off-limits to international travellers, all other states and territories are open to fully-vaccinated tourists.
Tourism Australia Regional General Manager South and South-East Asia, Brent Anderson, said, “In this new era of global travel, Australia’s endless opportunities to get out into nature while enjoying cosmopolitan and multicultural city landscapes have never been more precious or desirable.
“Australia has in store a range of diverse, creative and sustainable new experiences to entice Malaysian travellers – our numerous tourism operators have continued to innovate and evolve, and this comes to life in our artisanal coffee and restaurant scene as well. For everyone who’s missed Australia, there’s no better time to awaken your sense of wonder and unlock your imagination by taking that trip to Australia now.”
Here’s what you should know before packing your bags and booking a flight to Australia now that borders are open.
How to enter Australia since borders have reopened:
From 21 February, all visa holders who are fully vaccinated with two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved COVID-19 vaccine can travel to Australia quarantine-free, without the need to apply for a travel exemption.
- In order to be eligible to enter Australia, international travellers must:
- Hold a valid Australian visa.
- be fully vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and provide proof of vaccination status.
- Present a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) taken within 24 hours, or Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours, of departure (unless a medical exemption applies).
- As of 7 February 2022, fully vaccinated visa holders can enter all states and territories quarantine-free from 21 February 2022, except for Western Australia.
Travellers will also need to comply with requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territories that they plan to travel to.
Information on entry requirements is updated regularly so it is important to check the latest requirements before travelling. Travellers are also encouraged to check any requirements for stopover destinations that they are transitioning through.
For more information on travelling to Australia, please visit: Department of Home Affairs or Travelling to Australia
