The Australian Government is establishing a Safe Travel Zone with New Zealand.

This is the next step for a COVID-safe Australia that will reunite families and friends, offer opportunities for businesses looking for workers, and back the communities that depend on tourism.

Australia and New Zealand have worked closely together since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

We are committed to opening up both domestic travel within Australia and travel with New Zealand, as well as other low risk countries as soon as the health advice says it is safe to do so.

The Australian Government’s Department of Health has undertaken a public health risk assessment of COVID-19 in New Zealand, which indicated that New Zealand posed a low risk of COVID-19 transmission to Australia.

Passengers from New Zealand will be able to travel to Australia, quarantine-free, from Friday, 16 October, provided they have not been in an area designated as a COVID-19 hotspot in New Zealand in the preceding 14 days.

As has been announced already, the Australian Government is defining a hotspot using a three-day rolling average of three locally acquired cases per day.

There are currently no COVID-19 hotspots in New Zealand. The last locally acquired case with an unidentified epidemiological source occurred on 21 August 2020. We are working closely with New Zealand authorities to ensure we are notified promptly of any outbreaks there.

Any state or territory that imposes travel restrictions consistent with the Australian Government-defined hotspot, as advised by the acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, will be able to participate in the Safe Travel Zone.

After offering these arrangements at the latest National Cabinet, we have reached agreement for this first stage of quarantine-free travel with New South Wales and the Northern Territory. We welcome those jurisdictions’ commitment to reopening Australia to the world.

Normal visa requirements will apply and travellers returning to New Zealand from Australia will be required to comply with New Zealand’s travel requirements.

The Australian Government will provide increased Australian Border Force support at airports to support the establishment of green lanes of travel for New Zealanders and collecting information on arrivals to assist with contact tracing if required.

We expect the establishment of quarantine-free travel to Australia from New Zealand will also free up space for around an additional 325 passengers a week to enter quarantine in Sydney.

More information will be available at www.smartraveller.gov.au

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Asked if Australian states would have to be able to show 28 days without community transmission, Hipkins said it was among the criteria, however, the re-opening of borders within Australia was a sticking point, "slowing down our eagerness".

"There are some states that we could have travel with relatively quickly but if there is a risk that they will then re-open their borders between states then obviously that increases the risk of there being transmission between states in Australia which therefore makes us a bit more hesitant.

"We are being very cautious around that."

If safe zones were operating, Auckland International Airport would effectively be split in two, to separate travellers from other countries and transit passengers who would not be able to use the safe zone flights.

A technical advisory group was still looking into the possibility of a third Covid-19 test for travellers arriving in New Zealand, Hipkins said. This could be done a week after their release from managed isolation to pick up a minority of people who cultivate the virus for more than 14 days.
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The Australian tourism industry is hopeful that the upcoming one-way travel bubble with New Zealand will encourage more visitors - but also disappointed that discussions around arrangements have become "quite political". Three Australian states - New South Wales, Northern Territories and Australian Capital Territory - will not require travellers entering the country from New Zealand to undergo a quarantine period on arrival from October 16 - which is next Friday.

However, New Zealand is currently not offering a reciprocal exemption - so Kiwis heading to Australia would still need to undergo isolation, likely a their own cost, upon returning.

Australian Tourism Industry Council Executive Director Simon Westaway, speaking to TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning, said the exemption was good news, and that it hopefully signals the start of things to come. He agreed that the state-by-state exemptions were "very confusing" and said it was a shame that "it's become quite political".
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The Cook Islands could remove quarantine restrictions for people travelling from New Zealand as soon as next week.

Prime Minister Mark Brown said cabinet would meet on Saturday to discuss changing the restrictions. Currently, only Cook Islands residents and permit holders are allowed into the country, and they have to undergo two weeks' quarantine.
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But with that outbreak seemingly contained, Mr Brown and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern have both said those talks have resumed.

Mr Brown said things had progressed well and there were only a few finer points to iron out, which he hoped would only take a matter of weeks.
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From Friday, 16 October 2020, you can travel from New Zealand to Australia, quarantine-free, if:

• you have been in New Zealand for 14 days or more and not been in a designated hotspot, and
• you are travelling to Australia on an quarantine-free flight.

You do not need to be a New Zealand citizen to travel to Australia quarantine-free if you meet the above criteria, but you will need a valid visa to enter Australia. New Zealand citizens do not need to apply for a visa before coming to Australia. If eligible, they will be granted a Special Category visa (subclass 444) (SCV) on arrival.

A quarantine-free flight only carries passengers who have declared they have been in New Zealand for 14 days or more and have not been in a COVID hotspot in New Zealand in the last 14 days before travel. Quarantine-free flights will be determined by your airline.

Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand will initially be to New South Wales and the Northern Territory only. Other states and territories may be added at a later date.
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Arrival in Australia

Green and red zones have been created at airports in Australia to ensure the separation of passengers arriving on ‘quarantine-free’ flights, from other passengers who are required to enter 14 days mandatory quarantine.

If you travel on a quarantine-free flight, you will be guided through the green zone to complete all border clearance processes in the airport of arrival in Australia.

Key points:

• Quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia is currently limited to New South Wales and the Northern Territory
• The detained passengers arrived in Sydney before flying to Melbourne
• Arrivals from New Zealand have to satisfy health requirements before being allowed into Australia

Fourteen passengers have been detained in Melbourne after they arrived from New Zealand under the trans-Tasman bubble arrangements. The ABC understands the passengers flew to Sydney and got a connecting to flight to Melbourne.

Melbourne is currently not accepting international travellers.

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"The Victorian Government has made it clear to the Commonwealth that we expect NZ passengers who have not undertaken quarantine will not be permitted to board flights in Sydney bound for Melbourne."

In a statement, Australian Border Force said "domestic border restrictions are a matter for states and territories".

But the Australian Department of Home Affairs says on its website that "quarantine-free travel from New Zealand will initially be to New South Wales and the Northern Territory only. Other states and territories may be added at a later date."

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There will be a total of 16 flights between the two countries each week, with Jetstar and Qantas joining Air New Zealand and Qatar Airways in advertising the trans-Tasman flights.

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Speaking on the ABC, Wilson said he couldn't see the problem.

"To be frank, I don't really understand what the issue is. NSW are accepting flights as part of the transtasman bubble from New Zealand. There is no quarantine obligations when people go from NSW into Victoria," Wilson said.

"There is in reverse. So, once people have arrived here and have been assessed ultimately as safe, then the ordinary pathways for people to be able to travel into Victoria, if they wish to do so. So, I want to know what the basis of – and it's not clear to me what the basis of – is there a new requirement to go into Victoria? I'm in the ACT right now. If I go to Victoria, I'm not expected to quarantine, because it isn't a source of Covid-19."
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The 17 passengers from New Zealand who flew into Melbourne last night are still in Victoria, authorities say.

The passengers flew to Sydney as part of a new trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel bubble, and then caught a connecting flight to Melbourne.

Victoria is not accepting international travellers due to the coronavirus crisis and the passengers were stopped at Melbourne Airport last night.

But Premier Daniel Andrews said the passengers left the airport within minutes of arriving.

"Our officers have absolutely no power to stop someone, to detain someone in those circumstances, particularly given they were coming from a very low virus part of the world," he said today.
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