Western Australia to reopen borders to international visitors

Western Australia will embark on its Safe Transition Plan as announced last month, to safely ease its hard border controls in line with a 90% vaccination rate on 5 February 2022.

Having achieved the 80% vaccination rate, the locked-in transition date is based on the latest projections for when WA is at its target rate of 90 per cent double dose vaccination for eligible Western Australians aged 12 years and above.

WA’s current zero-COVID environment and high vaccination rate will help deliver the softest landing, to minimise the impact of the virus when it enters our State and to keep Western Australians safe for the long term.

To safely enable quarantine-free travel into the State, new testing requirements for arrivals will be introduced to assist with the safe transition of COVID-19 in the WA community.

Double dose vaccinated international arrivals will be required to:

• return a negative PCR test result within 72 hours prior to departure; and
• return a negative PCR test within 48 hours of arrival to WA and on day six.

While double dose vaccinated international arrivals will not be required to quarantine and are not subject to the arrivals cap, unvaccinated international arrivals will be required to quarantine for 14 days either in a designated hotel or the future quarantine facility.

All international travel into WA remains subject to the Commonwealth’s biosecurity and border settings – as that being the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.

Make sure to check the details on the health and safety protocols prior to travelling.

Premier Mark McGowan says, “Today is a momentous day. Western Australia will safely ease its hard border controls on Saturday, February 5 and re-connect with the rest of the country and the world. That transition date is locked in – and is based on our expert public health advice.

“This will be welcome news to many Western Australians who have waited so patiently, abiding by the border controls and doing their bit to keep our State safe. Since the start of the pandemic, Western Australians have come together to protect themselves and each other. Being cautious, patient and listening to the health advice has enabled Western Australia to reach a high level of vaccination, which will provide a soft landing when the virus arrives here.”