[COVID Travel] Inbound/Outbound Strategies of Fortress Australia

(Source: https://www.usatoday.com/travel/)

A federal ban on Australians leaving the country is in place – why can I leave the country?

Fortress Australia has one of the world’s harshest limits on the number of international arrivals – how do I return?

In this post I will share my inbound/outbound strategies of the Australia’s borders.

Remember all sorts of travel plans in the pandemic must be planned. Do your research thoroughly to avoid any drama or disappointments.

Outbound Strategy

There's a ban on overseas travel from Australia. If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, you can’t leave Australia unless you get an exemption from the Department of Home Affairs. However, you can travel between New Zealand and Australia without needing a travel exemption.

Note that temporary visa holders in Australia can depart Australia at any time, however, they will generally not be permitted to return to Australia.

The reasons of your travel must meet at least one of the following:

• your travel is as part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the provision of aid

• your travel is for your business/employer

• you are travelling to receive urgent medical treatment that is not available in Australia

• you are travelling outside Australia for a compelling reason for three months or longer

• you are travelling on compelling or compassionate ground

• your travel is in the national interest

• you are ordinarily resident in a country other than Australia

That basically means leisure travel is forbidden.

Here’s the link to apply for the exemption: https://travel-exemptions.homeaffairs.gov.au/tep

You MUST provide evidence to support your application. If you are leaving for 3 months or longer, there are stricter requirements on the required evidence.

All travel exemption should be submitted at least 2 weeks, but not more than 2 months, prior to travel. You do not have to have booked flights before requesting a travel exemption.

The form is rather easy to fill out. It took me about 15 minutes including the proof attachments.

I applied on the night of 4^th June (Friday). I received the outcome/authorization to travel on 7^th June (Monday) in the afternoon by email. I am very impressed by the efficiency of the Department of Home Affairs as I got the approval in less than 24 business hours. 

The travel exemption is valid within 3 months from the date of approval and is for a single departure from Australia only.

You will also be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine up until the expiry date of your travel exemption.

I did print out the approval email, but the departure custom didn’t ask for it. Maybe it is electronically embedded to your passport.

 More details can be found here:

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-restrictions

 

Inbound Strategy

Australia has locked its gate since March 2020. Only Australian citizens or permanent residents can enter the country. The measures are extreme, and among the strictest in the world.

Since 13 July 2020, the weekly 'passenger cap' limit on international arrivals has been imposed to all states. To combat the Delta variant of Covid-19, Scott Morrison further announced the weekly intake to be halved from the previous cap of 6,370 to 3,070 starting from mid-July 2021.

It is obvious the level can be reduced at any time - causing flight cancellations and route changes. This limit on arrivals into Australia has driven up airfares.

Take a look at the warning stated on the government website:

If you apply for a travel exemption, you must read and acknowledge advice about travel risks, including delays returning to Australia. You must ensure that you have sufficient resources to support yourself overseas for a significant period of time in the likely event of flight cancellations and other disruptions to your travel plans.

Getting a seat is highly competitive. For those who needs to go home essentially, be prepared for skyrocketed flight ticket and recurring flight delay.

I booked my return flight on 8^th June, which is scheduled on 24^th Aug to fly from Hong Kong to Brisbane through Cathay Pacific. This is the only commercial flight that still operates a direct flight between the cities, but they cut down to one flight per week. Cathay called me up 2 weeks beforehand to confirm my seat and literally said “I am within the quota”. You have no idea how relieved I was when I received this call!

(Disclaimer: I did up end up flying on 30^th Aug, one week of delay of my scheduled flight. This is purely due to my own wrongdoing – I messed up the departure paperwork. This has nothing to do with the airline.) 

So, what are my advice to return to Fortress Australia under this unprecedented situation?  

Get a business class ticket or above and plan your trip 2-3 months in advance. This will avoid getting bumped by the airline.   

Let’s have a look at the whooping prices for a single trip from Hong Kong to Brisbane of various classes:
Economy HKD15,000 (~AUD2,600) 
Premium Economy HKD30,000 (~AUD5,200)
Business HKD45,000 (~AUD7,800)
First Class HKD60,000 (~AUD10,000)

In the pre-covid world, the cheapest to fly from Hong Kong to Brisbane is about HKD4,800 (economy). That said, a current business class ticket can cover the costs of about 10 passengers in the normal world. On my return flight to Brisbane, there were about 20 passengers. I would say ¾ were on business while the rest were on economy/premium economy. 15 business class tickets x 10 = 150 pre-covid passengers.

Now, do you understand why some airlines are still operating? You may also think I am selfish to suggest people to buy business class ticket as a strategy – but I believe you do understand the reason behind. The extra money buys you a more guaranteed seat and priority to get on the next earliest available flight when your seat does get bumped.        

Also, arrive the airport 2-3 hours earlier to check-in and get your boarding pass. Check-in can be a competition as well. Online check-in is currently unavailable due to all the travel rules from different countries. You will be manually checked in by the airline staff as they will check if you get all the required paperwork to get on board. For example, a negative covid test.

To board an Australian flight, you need a negative covid test result within 72 hours of your flight. There are strict requirements on the format of this test result (which I will cover in another blog post). If for some reasons, the negative test result you hold is not compactable with what the Australian government requires, and if you arrive the airport early enough, you buy yourself time to re-do a covid test right at the airport. This test takes about 2 hours and is more expansive than testing at the community centres. 

Of course, this is a last-minute resort, but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of showing up early at the airport. Just remember you are now travelling in the new era. Everything is different from what you used to.    

The cap has become a permanent fixture. It’s devastating to see countless stranded Australians stuck overseas. Millions of families have been kept apart by border closures. But apparently people like celebrities and sports stars are still granted exemptions.

(Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56924188)

This is violation of basic human rights. No one likes the new normal we are living in. We hope to see the Australian government reviews their travel policies while the rest of the world is starting to re-open from isolation. I also hope this article gives you some insights to plan your trip back home.