International travel ban set to continue to December 2020

KW72 it is not only Australia and North Korea but also countries like Malaysia which require prior permission to leave (recently eased to allow students and contract workers). Google the list it is quite extensive. Not sure why Gladys is your hero she blocks travel from Canberra to almost anywhere else except NSW, on the grounds that an ACT drivers license is insufficient evidence. Remember the ban on ACT residents returning to Canberra despite all sorts of assurances. So don’t worry Gladys is in the mix of blocking families and travel between low COVID incidence jurisdictions.

Sorry patrickk but Australia should not be benchmarking itself on countries such as Malaysia which have one of the most corrupt governments in the world.

Alas no, patrickk, Australia is pretty much unique in the world, apart from North Korea. There were a couple of countries that briefly, for a couple of weeks in April, introduced an exit ban, but these were swiftly removed.  Australia is, and remains, the only country in the world doing this. Even in Malaysia, there is no ban as such, and the rule is simply "Malaysians going abroad for studies and work are permitted to travel without prior documentation from Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia." However, you must explain your reason for travel to the Immigration officer, and if need be produce a student permit or other documentation. Citizens of other countries are not effected. Alas, in Australia, many non-Australian citizens are stuck here.

Dorn now I am nit-picking but most of the Mid-East as well. Australia like Malaysia and the ME countries allow exit for certain reasons related to their particular domestic policies and priorities, and many others advise against travel (e.g Canada and NZ) and I would suspect makes it very hard to get insurance.. Australia has such a list (or priority reasons) readily accessible, and from the latest news they are being less strict with up to one third allowed and presumably this will continue to increase. I agree that it is largely unnecessary as an advisory not to travel will ensure insurance will be next to impossible to get and  coming back very expensive so there is not need for such a restriction. DFAT doesn't want too much consular work that is the reason I suspect. A lot of the language in these forums is a little hyperbolic, suggesting Australia is unique when it is  not really so,. 

I almost wish this were true, but with respect, alas no other country comes close to the restrictions Australia has imposed.

Suppose you are these countries below, and wish to exit the country (listed), if you have been living and are resident but not citizen in the country listed.

Singapore: no restrictions

Malaysia: no restrictions, except for Malay citizens, who need to tell an official at the airport why they are flying.

Japan: no restrictions

Thailand: no restrictions but need "fit-to-fly" certification

Korea: no restrictions

UAE: no restrictions, but need negative coronavirus disease COVID-19 test

Hong Hong: no restrictions, but if via high risk area need to provide a valid negative COVID-19 test 

Australia: banned, unless you get lucky in the exit lottery. Going to a funeral doesn't count.

The only difference is that (just from this list) and wish to enter the UK, only UK residents in Hong Kong, Korea and Japan may enter the UK without 14 days quarantine. So in Australia you have to enter these three countries to leave again to enable entry to the UK without restrictions (since you can't fly direct). It's a nightmare.

And yet when I phoned up my local MP begging some way to get an exit pass from Australia, despite not even being a citizen, he repeated the myth that every other country had similar restrictions. And then said he couldn't help me as I am not allowed to vote here, despite living here! 

And that alas is why Morrison says the exit ban is uncontroversial: most people believe the myth that other countries are doing the same thing. 

Getting insurance is a totally different matter, and separate to actually being able to get on a flight.

I'm sorry patrickk, no other country in the world is. 

Dorn, good post. One slight correction though - to my knowledge nothing is needed, at least for a non-citizen (foreign national) to depart Thailand. They can freely do so by booking a ticket and going to the airport. The "fit to fly certificate" is required by Thais to enter the country. I have not heard any evidence they need one to depart too, but non-citizens definitely don't.

Whether a covid certificate is required depends on the airline and/or destination. Emirates requires one in all instances even if you don't enter the UAE.

This contrasts with neighboring Laos, where all individuals, Lao and foreign nationals, must produce a covid-19 free certificate in order to be allowed to depart the country.

last time I looked 17 December was 2020, not 2021

Agreed - now an antiquated country, very isolated and choosing to throw away its prosperity by cancelling immigration (the policy that brought its wealth & diversity), and now picking a fight with its main customer, China. Morrison and Hunt are clueless - and have no plan to get this country out of the economic mess its currently in. Instead they say "we've done better than the UK". Labor is even worse; do we need an uprising?!

And now this border fiasco rubs salt into those oozing, bruised and agonising wounds. Get a grip Australia - wake and smell the harsh reality; let's not accept this. We must try to create a future for our children rather than just firing up the barbeque again, and opening the next case of Koonunga Hill.

Yes, the exemption is just vague enough to allow overseas travel for celebrities, billionaires and former prime ministers, but to prevent travel by your average Joe just trying to keep his business going.  We are definitely not all in this together.  The Federal Government is destroying businesses in a vain attempt to achieve zero rate of infection.  When they finally wake up that this is not sustainable, it will be too late for small business.  

We are in London (live and work) and willing to pay to get back for work, the birth of a grandchild and two of our childrens weddings whenever they can be held (they are in Melbourne) the biggest issue are the caps - these caps are forcing high fares, 23,000 on DFAT registrations to come back, and a worrying quarantine system. agree so much with Sam either work on a tagging system - happy to wear an ankle or wrist bracelet, have an app, get covid clearance before I travel (have to for Emirates anyway), be visited by police whatever just remove the ludicrously low caps which prevent citizens getting back by stealth.  

I suppose they fear if they open the restriction on those that can leave it will seriously affect the returnees - they really need to fix the back end of arrivals first

ljcoz - the same position here, currently in the UK awaiting return  to Australia purely to apply for UK Visa. Its ridiculous. Like you I am happy for quarantine, pay for it, get tested, be checked on and as long as they don't want to put anything into my system I'm happy to have/wear their tracking device too. 

I have heard some dreadful stories regarding objection refusals - death beds, funerals, childrens weddings etc. Terrible, and t his is for people holding passports to those countries but Australia wont let them out. My understanding is, you are more likely to get an exemption to leave approved if you are leaving permanently or for an extended time frame (more than three months). But if the UK goes into the second wave they are talking about, then arrival caps might well happen here too and affect it the other way, even when Australia lets people out.

It's an unacceptable situation all around. 

And for Permanent Residents (i.e. non-citizens) such as Dorn posting above, the restrictions are even more draconian. Our Govt is imposing bureaucratic barriers to the lawful exit of citizens of other countries who declare a valid reason to leave. 

A Thai (Aust Permanent Resident visa) friend of ours wanted to visit her seriously ill parent in hospital in Thailand. On the third attempt after a month of trying she was granted permission, but after booked flights had departed etc. Sounds like she was one of the lucky ones.

How can we as a nation tolerate this? A totally unintelligent over reach.

Joe not sure you can say medical bureaucrats are not affected mentally, many do front line shifts and work 20 hours a day to hold the place health wise together. Just see the exhausted faces on the media after 2-3 months of a daily grind.

Joe said Medical “ bureaucrats”. They ain’t nurses at n the COVID ward but sit in government offices restricting your Life. 

Ted as I said I think many of them who are doctors etc will do front line shifts and they will certainly take advice from and reflect the views of frontline staff. A hospital is also a government office is sorts.

front line shifts? you should stop smoking whatever it is you're inhaling cause its making you high. 

These are bureaucrats- thats their full time job. they're not ER doctors by night and CMOs by day mate. 

Rotate as I said see the article by maya cubit the chair of the Australian College of emergency medicine, a health bureaucrat job if there was ever one and she does her fair share of shifts and catches COVID. Some are ER doctors by night and senior medical officers by day. Best to avoid stereotypes as it can be disrespectful.

the chair of a medical college- not a bureaucrat but an actual full time physician. chair of racp prof john wilson- not a bureaucrat. full-time physician. like the chair of the ABC its buttrose- also not a bureaucrat. chair of sydney water- not. chair of sir services australia- no.  medical officers practicing medicine- not a bureaucrat. working as cmo of australia- a bureaucrat. cho of vic- also a bureacrat. you need to learn how the public service works.

Rotate these are the very people who advise or dare I say tell the bureaucrats what to do, in my mind they are a bureaucrats and yes I do know how the public service works having been in some of these roles. They are not full time physicians any more they spend quite a bit of their time on bureaucratic roles. You will find a lot of public service officials who are doctors also practicing. It keeps their qualifications current and also being hands on.

Joe I suggest you read the story on ABC by Maya Cubit about what a mild case of COVID does to you. When you get to the end you realise she is also a health bureaucrat.

@Joe

You would need to realise the “health advice” from health bureaucrats often involved 3 scenarios: “best case”, “worst case” and “most likely case”, which can be vastly different.

It’s the politicians who choose to hear what they want to hear and use it as a tool to justify what they do. 

Sometimes if you hear what the state CMO says in response to questions, it is often crafted not to come into conflict with the political leaders’ stances, while still delivering some form of truth. Sometimes we get too used to trusting the messages from experience early in the pandemic such that when the answers starts to be given with a certain nuance we still take it at face value.

Hence it is easy for some states to keep their border closed while underemployed/unemployed people still have federal support, but whenever that is withdrawn, the full economic impact of border closure will be revealed although state premiers will blame federal government for not continuing the jobseeker/keeper program going.

I don’t think any commonwealth CMO or dCMO ever properly address on camera the medical reasons for restricting outward bound travel for general purposes other than concerns about health safety of Australians overseas,  it I am happy to be corrected on that

And looks like the Tasmanian premier is the first one getting caught out for misusing the public health human shield as it suit him

Guesswho worth checking but border restrictions are being toughened right across Europe and Canada’s border with America is still closed. Not sure the whole world is moving on as much as you suggest.

But the whole world has recognised that locking up your own citizens, preventing them from exercising a basic human right for month after month, when less than 10% of all transmissions are from returned travelers, when there's a greater likelihood of an Australian getting Covid  at the AFL than in London or Copenhagen or New York, when there's no scientific basis in refusing to let someone go to New Zealand if they're perfectly happy letting them in - well, the whole world has recognised that that's just silly, cruel, and ignorant.  That's why no one else is doing it - except Malaysia.  As another commenter pointed out, that's a pretty low bar.

You're right, but none of them are implementing (what essentially amounts to) an exit visa policy. To be clear, I'm not suggesting inbound quarantine is the wrong approach, but preventing us leaving and capping inbound arrivals is insane, especially when we're paying our own way for the hotel quarantine (which I guess provides some level of much needed revenue for the underutilised hotels).

It's not rosy anywhere in the world right now, and of course the grass is always greener on the other side, but there's a lot wrong with the way we're being forced to go about our lives here, imo.

gueeswho the question is: is there enough quarantine hotels for 4,000 a day or 40,000 a day (for two weeks each: 4,000 a day would require 45,000 hotel beds over the two weeks for that day's arrivals alone, regardless of who pays). The 10% infections from returned travelers doesn't add up. The daily announcements from each state suggests it is much more. In QLD and WA it it pretty well all from travelers in quarantine, NSW one quarter to one third, and a small number only test positive later in their quarantine period. In Auckland that had seven positive cases on one  plane of returning kiwis..

And how many inbound flights into Australia and New Zealand have had zero cases? 

On a full and not selective level, there are 450 people per day arriving in Sydney a day, and 0-3 cases per day in hotel quarantine. This is a rate of 0% to 0.5%. I'm sure most of these cases, like the case of 7 people in NZ you're referring to would be from locations such as India. 

KW does it matter where they are from if they’ve got it they’ve got it. Note in the early days the US was a large source...remember Tom Hanks. If more flights were from America that is where they would be the main source. Note if those 3 or 4 weren’t quarantined then they would be local transmission. It is not the proportion from planes but the proportion of new cases is the issue and why quarantine makes sense.  You seem to be suggesting that because mostflights have zero cases we give up on quarantine. Just a reminder it only takes one who is on the move to be a super spreader.

Risk based approach. What the government won’t tell you is that most positive travellers come from the sub continent. There has been zero cases imported from NZ/HK/Taiwan residents for example .

The solution is electronically monitored home quarantine for arrivals from low risk countries and hotel quarantine ONLY for high risk counties. 

Electronically ( locked wrist band +Tracking app) monitored home quarantine has been used for MONTHS already in Singapore and HK. Their governments are hardly soft touches. 

Time for Australia to move out of the 19th century into the 21st. 

This solves quarantine capacity and therefore outbound bans in one fell swoop. 

Ted do we have to remind you that the US has been a major source of infection: remember Tom Hanks or the Vale skiing party. As others have noted Australians would not accept the Taiwan tracking app which is for everyone, and compulsory, and far more intrusive than our COVD safe app. Australians would also not take to tracking wrist bands as well (as WA is finding out).  You could try wrist stamps like they do in India but no one would come at that either. By the way both Singapore and Taiwan still have outbreaks.

As a returning traveller, I would take a wrist band any day and stay in my own private accommodation rather than be stuck in a hotel room with my husband for two weeks in a static cruise ship called Hotel Quarantine

I'd challenge that - WA receives 500 quarantine passengers a week say and have 2 active cases - so that would be across a number of weeks.  Very, very low risk now they have multiple protocols in place.  Also Emirates requires a covid test within 72 hours of departure again cutting risk - not eliminating it - but cutting it

Only the Canada-US land border is closed. No problem flying in either direction (though in Canada you have to self-isolate for 14 days coming from anywhere outside the country, or even across most provincial borders).

If you don't like it, leave :)

You tell me how to do that then.

How do i leave Australia if i am an Australian Citizen ?

P progressive politicians of the 70s and 80s. Malcolm Fraser with John Howard as treasurer; surely not.

Patrick if you dont recognise or want to acknowledge the huge progress made by OZ in the 70/80s then more fool you. You should stop trying to defend every lousy decision and policy stance of Aust Govt, bureaucrats and AJ. There is so much that needs to change but with mindsets like yours Australia will continue to go backwards. 

P I agree there was progress in the 70s but largely undone by Fraser and Howard. There was more progress in the 80s largely undone by Howard.  It seems we disagree on that on some fundamental ideology. Most of Australia is on stage 2 restrictions or lighter at the moment (except parts of NSW and Victoria) while the rest of the world is tightening. This is because of state policies. The economic impact is much less than in most countries. So while Australia may be going backwards relative to others not as far. I’m in the ‘go early go hard’ camp like Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand and dare I say it China. There are clear ideological differences (I think you call it mindsets) between us on what the state should do. I fully respect yours but don’t agree with the outcome of the policies you are advocating.

This is true - and the average vaccine takes 10 - 15 years to develop (check my source if you don't believe me) 

https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IFPMA-ComplexJourney-2019_FINAL.pdf

So the option is to continue to close border for the next 10 - 15 years or actually work out a way to have international travel done in the most Covid safe way

Well be prepared to wait for 10 - 15 years - the average vaccines takes this long to develop.

Research it yourself if you don't believe me

Travel the current set of vaccines are all built on the earlier work on SARS over the past ten years. It depends on your starting point. As we are at stage three trials we are reaching the end of the 10-15 year period you correctly point out. Won’t be the end of this year but we will know the results of the stage 3 trials by then and have quite a bit of manufacturing happening by then, so mid to late next year is my uneducated guess for a broadly available vaccine that sort of works. Another year for one that really maybe in concert with others.

Having the medical profession run Government policy is a worry for sure. I'm in the music / touring business and believe me, I want all borders open ASAP. 

TZ and our economy has been much less affected than those more open ones such as Sweden, the UK or the US. Be careful for what you wish for.

Affected less due to one word answer: Jobkeeper

@TZB88

You are right about medical officers not considering the the economic impact; it is not their role. 

But not right about them steering the ship; they are used as the excuses to suit whatever political decisions are made. See my comments above to Joe

And federal money to support workers make it easier to keep the border closed if that is the decision

Surely they'd let you leave if you're relocating to another country. I know first hand people that are citizens that have left Australia recently to take up residency in other countries.

flyingshark, some might have been allowed to depart but I'm sure it was a bureaucratic nightmare. I think I'd choose a better time to move overseas than one where the entire world is closed.

You are 100% correct Dorn. I posted below re a similar situation to yours. Totally unacceptable, abjectly embarrassing. As a seventh generation Australian I'm seriously considering leaving  for good too (if ever allowed).

The smug bureaucrats, risk-averse population and so-called progressives approve of the new Australia. It makes me sick to the stomach, and expect our prison island reputation will return to bite us.

we've given the snotty kids from school, the nigel-no-mates, too much power. these bureaucrats have no skin in the game. 

regular you may be able to book them on a non-QANTAS fights: you can try as you may be an exempt person, but for most I suspect the government wont allow it. If QANTAS are taking bookings it is just to see what the pent up demand is (or for cash flow if people are silly enough to book them) but they will cancel them a month or two out.

There is no guarantee that Australians will be allowed to travel freely from mid-December. The ban may be extended again, just as it has been this time. Or - if there's a vaccine or cure, it could be lifted before December. The short answer is no-one actually knows when we will be able to travel overseas again (without an exemption).

They will move the goal posts again later. Incompetent clowns. 

What was announced is that other ports will accept more incoming arrivals but it is up to the commercial airlines whether they choose to service them.  Obviously Perth and Brisbane have existing flights that could increase the number of pax they carry.  It is hard to see many airlines being too interested in operating flights to DRW, HBA or CBR unless there is significant currently unfilled demand for outbound freight from those locations.

Hobart can certainly do outbound freight as it already does heaps to China. Canberra could only take one a week anyway due to bed capacity but then ag freight out from the region could work. Darwin likewise on tropical fruit and high end beef. So Darwin Hobart and Canberra could take an A330 per week. Inbound freight is harder case for Canberra in particular, but the others are quite remote say there may be inbound freight demand.

I dont want any Here

Best of luck mate. Wish I was there, rather than in the Orwellian isolation of Brisbane 'burbs.

Hi Thaifarang,

If your passport movements show you have spent more time in another country over the last 12-24 months than you have in Australia, then you can claim to be “ordinarily resident in another country”.  If that is the case then you are already exempt. That means that not only do you NOT have to apply for an exemption to leave, but that if you do it will likely be refused. I read recently that they automatically refuse applications for those already in exempt categories.

If you haven’t spent more time in another country, you could rely on your citizenship maybe, or try on compassionate grounds or “urgent personal business”. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why they approve or refuse exemption requests.

I feel your pain; i was halfway through a move from Australia to the UK when this hit, now here in England with continually bounced flights back to Australia (where I am ONLY going to for the purpose of lodging uk visa application) and husband is back there so I’ve not seen him in six months. I cant believe Australia has locked its citizens in. Nightmare.

Good luck with it, all the best.

Morning Matilda50

Firstly thanks you for the information.My passport shows that every RnR that i have my time off work that up until Covid-19 came along I flew home to Thailand to be with my wife.So that is well documented in my passport. But i am in Australia(up working on a mine site) for 14 days at a time as my roster is 14 days on and 7 days off so that has me concerned that they will decide that since i am in Australia for work  that i am residing in Australia the majority of the time , even though i fly home to be with my wife in my adopted country of Thailand.

The problem with this is that nowhere can i find someone to actually talk from Border Force to to get confirmation that they view me as "Ordinarily a resident in another country"And I have tried twice on compassionate grounds and both times have been rejected. So I'm trying to find out now exactly where i can go to speak with a real person in regards to me flying home as I am Ordinarily a resident of Thailand.

And your predicament shows just how draconian these measures truly are so i too wish you good luck as i do to everyone trying to get things done.

Its absolutely draconian to prevent your Citizens from leaving the country !

Fingers crossed

From what I understand from another ET forum, they count the actual number of days in and out of Australia in the last 365 days on the day of departure so you have to be fairly confident of your calculation and had to be on the proposed departure date since the “ normally overseas resident “ clause does not need online approval (hence cannot be preapproved)

Would your tax state show you are an australian tax resident - no luck otherwise - or if you spend over 183 nights in Australia.  They look at these and say no if you fit in either of these categories

Thanks NBen well said

The answer will be no, for a very practical reason. The expiry date of the passport is part of the encoded info that the machines scan when you swipe/insert your passport. They could only be changed by issuing a new passport with a new date. Even if Australia was to say they would ignore the expiry date for the next 12 months, the foreign country that you were trying to enter would not.

Regular I’m not sure who the civil war would be between. Most of the country’s on stage 2 mild restrictions and public support is through the roof. People in WA, Tas, SAcand Qld like the closed borders evidenced by the reluctance of the relevant opposition parties to make it an issue fearing it would be the kiss of death. One half hearted demonstration in Melbourne doth not make a civil war. We see what is happening in America and Europe and certainly don’t want that here.

Patrick, I could suggest a war between those who are receiving gob loads of cash while engaged in zero economic activity and those who are working their backsides off for, often, less money, who will need to pay those gob loads of cash back at some time in the future. Or both groups against the so called "leaders" who deliberately shut down the economy. Unless, of course, the guv'mnt has secretly embraced MMT and the cash is simply created out of thin air which is a distinct possibility. In which case and with an effective vaccine, maybe, perhaps, Fortress Australia may prove to have been the least deadly place to be during COVID. The collateral consequences, however, remain to be determined and may make the effects of COVID pale into insignificance.

This is an example - of what a free market hotel quarantine could look like:

 Ibis Hotel Quarantine - basic meals, limited internet and entertainment for 14 days = $800 14 days

Marriott - Wellness meals with a focus on organic foods, unlimited virtual fitness classes by resident PT trainer, unlimited internet = $1000 14 days

Hilton Hotel - 5 star meals with unlimited snacks, beverages, cocktails, unlimited internet, daily amenity wellness kit, limousine transfer after release from quarantine = $3000 14 days

You get the idea!!!!

All hotels would have the same strict protocols and ADF outside etc

I don't want to go to a hotel to quarantine. I don't want to quarantine at all.

Azureroo

Have tried the spousal visa route.Thailand said yes i can enter Thailand but the faceless cake eater in Canberra has rejected my application for an exemption on both compassionate and also spousal grounds.Twice.This is now just cheap political point scoring using us Citizens as pawns on the chess board.

What they would do if that was not the case would be to open the border for citizens that wanted to either leave the country for 2-3 months or even for good.I left for Thailand as the PC madness in my former home is like a cancer eating at the very fabric of Australian society.And now they force me to stay here.

And yes, i thought they may use the how many days in Australia get out clause, even though my 14 days are spent on a locked minesite in the middle of bloody nowhere.

Politicians shit me !!

Absolutely right and I wish more people like you were voicing out their opinions.So many families( including children) abroad are separated  because of this.Not to mention all these people who have partners both interstate and in other countries.We are just being unrealistic and think we an control a virus.Pure madness.

I don't like the Qld Gov't but, at this stage, I'd expect them to be returned.  They don't deserve it but they are playing the parochial politics well.  The economy will be a smoking wreck but it is all about power.

Hello Emily, in my opinion - no one knows when the borders will open!..not even the AU PM.  My guess is they will start to open when a vaccine is approved and becomes available.  AU seems to be managed by health professionals, certainly not the PM and the state premiers seem to weild more power than the PM anyway. They want votes.  COVID-19 seems very unpredictable..and the climate must have an influence too.  The EU cases are now increasing with cooler weather; the AU cases are decreasing.  As for the airlines, freight is their livelihood, not people.  There are many people in your position (I am one) - we really just need to wait for travel clearance in or out.  I think we will start to see some return to normality in the early months of 2021.  Until then, I will remain patient!...and the signs seem to validate this.  The vaccine is the answer. 

triggman 

what vaccine ?

Might never even be a vaccine like with hiv/aids.

don't u know how this works ?

Some uni says, we've almost got a vaccine, just give us $10 zillion more & we'll get there.

Looks like NZ border is now being fast tracked & rest of international borders open 17 December 2020.

Dear Regular flyer, indeed!..but I am close enough to know that a vaccine is imminent.  I agree, its very easy to be cynical.  Have faith!  This is a global pandemic and all countries are affected.  Each day brings more data and advances.  There are existing vaccines and they are, so far, successful.  We just need to wait until phase 3s are complete.

Regular,

There will be some restriction still as Sco Mo said. What they are we won't know until early December.  There are not that may airlines that can line up to take off internationally but the existing  airlines (Qatar, SQ, CX, AA) may increase their frequency and QF may use its A333s depending on where they can go to and what the return requirements are. e.g Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Any further is unlikely

patrickk

You make statements as if they were facts.

You don't know, eg.

1. There will be some restriction still as Sco Mo said. What they are we won't know until early December. 

2. e.g Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Any further is unlikely

I wouldn't be surprised in fiji air put an A350 on BNE/NAN dec 18 & the aircraft continues onto LAX or SFO.

If we don't let them fill aircraft with passengers without any restrictions or stupid quarantine, then they might go to china for aid.

Regular I did use the term 'may', and 'unlikely', which means I agree with you, and like you, I don't know. I can remember you predictions form March April, which were far more certain than mine.

Andy other countries with looser lockdowns are being hit harder economically, and they are locking down again now with the second wave.. See "Why harsh COVID-19 lockdowns are good for the economy" By Ian Verrender on the ABC website.

ABC ? Who would listen to them. Know then the opposite is probably true.

Regular this is about reading rather than 'listening' and the evidence is put out there for you to be the judge after reading it, rather than before..

as usual disagree with you. Don't think evidence IS out there.

I have a major problem believing anything a public servant, who is trying to justify his/her employment, says.

I can understand your argument if you are talking about lockdowns, i.e. not letting people into your country.   But why stop your own citizens leaving? How does that give you a better economic outcome?  In fact its the opposite.  If the government would let me resume my business overseas I would be generating export income in services, on which I pay GST and income tax.  It makes zero sense.  By all means lock us up when we come back to Australia, and I am happy to pay the hotel bill. That is a small (tax deductible?) price to pay for allow my business to function again.

PFM I fully agree on the ban on leaving the country no logic whatsoever. I had a colleague who's work insurers wouldn't let then travel from Alice to Darwin all within a territory with no cases: go figure as they say.

I did mean insurer (in this case) as for businesses the risk is a public liability one, which private travel insurance doesn't, and doesn't have to cover. Many workplaces require it, even though the risk is very low, but they do go into a COVID panic. If there were COVID cases around cases and the person caught it and was debilitated then it could get costly: but in this case there are no cases, and so the risk is negligible..

public servants don't care as long as they are paid. Most have just recd. a pay rise.

If we cut public servants pay, they would all recommend we open everything up immediately.

Regular you realise you are talking about doctors in public hospitals, who staff emergency departments and COVID wards, and have among if not the highest COVID infection rates in the workforce. Hp

Patrick fair point, but there are far to many faceless bureaucrats in Australia that contribute very little to the economy or quality of life for the majority of Australians. Over regulated over governed and far to many layers. Efficiency, progressive, visionary, leadership NOT. We are not talking about doctors, social workers and schoolteachers!

tourer, if you are talking about riding it out in another country you might get around it. I understand that an exemption is more likely to be approved if the  applicant is making an extended trip (more than 3 months) or leaving permanently. Its the return factor that they are concerned about apparently. 

But otherwise, I agree - ridiculous and outrageous. 

Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case.I have now applied 4 times to leave for over 90 days to be with the sick wife and still a no go.

The shit part is that the Australian Government is so gutless that you cannot speak with someone face to face.All roads lead you to the online form to apply and then you get a reply email saying you don’t fit the criteria.

Bloody cake eaters !

Excellent news Matthew - so happy for you.

I suspect your continued refusals were because you were already exempt - I remember reading that they were refusing to grant exemptions to people already in exempt categories (mind you, they could have told you that in the first place).

I hope all is well with your wife and you enjoy your visit home.

All the best. 

Cheers Matilda

Now to find flights...the struggle continues

And thats the first of many more hurdles as it seems SIA do not have any flights from Perth.Actually finding it hard to see a flight from Perth to Singapore so the struggle continues.

Will you need to go Perth-Syd-Singapore? Brisbane? At least in Perth you are not a hot spot so the other states might  let you transit through with no problem if you cant find a direct  flight, hopefully. 

I'm  wondering if Sydney has gone into another lockdown or something as Ive  just opened my email to see my seventh flight has just been cancelled, London-Syd. I thought Sydney was a good bet since landing in Melbourne gets me cancelled every time. Have to investigate as I dont get the Aussie news right away but my advice would be to get out of Australia by the speediest way possible before they change the rules again.

Safe travels. 

Really? Good grief. Is there any way you can provide evidence of a move - house purchase, rental agreement, job offer.  proof you have moved possessions?

I dare say you would have done that if you could have but thought I'd ask. I only know you can apply as many times as you want so just keep hassling would  be my advice.