Australia will scrap a rule whereby international arrivals have to return a negative PCR test 72 hours before boarding a flight, while people who test positive overseas will have their wait time to be cleared for entry halved.
Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the major changes in a joint statement with Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Friday night.
From 1am on Sunday, overseas travellers will instead be able to show a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) result within 24 hours of their flight departure time.
Previously they had to take a PCR test and return a negative result within 72 hours of getting on the plane.
“While PCR tests remain the gold standard test, a RAT within 24 hours is an acceptable indicator of whether a traveller has Covid-19 before flying to Australia,” the joint statement said.
“This is consistent with moves within Australia to accept RATs for diagnostic purposes.”
In another significant change, people who have tested positive overseas and want to come to Australia will have their wait time to be cleared for entry slashed from 14 days to seven.
“The time between receiving a positive test result and being able to be cleared for travel to Australia will be reduced from 14 to seven days,” the statement read.
“This will reduce wait times for travellers who contract Covid-19 overseas to return to Australia in line with the new domestic isolation requirements.”
Mr Hunt said the pre-departure testing requirement would continue to be reviewed regularly.
“Travellers to Australia must still wear a mask during their flight and follow the directions of state and territory governments regarding quarantine and on-arrival testing,” he said.
The statement said the changes were introduced to provide more flexibility for international arrivals.
