Travelling from the UK to Australia from 01 November 2021

This information is subject to change. It reflects arrangements that are expected to come into force on 01 November 2021.

Check If you can access reduced quarantine arrangements

If you are fully vaccinated — you may be eligible for reduced quarantine requirements on arrival to Australia from the United Kingdom.

Some airlines require testing arrangements that are in addition to Australian Government requirements. Always check with your operating airline for their requirements.

The Commonwealth has recognised the following COVID-19 vaccines:

Pfizer (Comirnaty),
AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria),
Moderna (Spikevax),
COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen
Coronavac (Sinovac)
Covishield (AstraZeneca/Serum Institute of India)

This covers all the COVID-19 vaccinations utilised in the United Kingdom.

At least 7 days must have passed since the final dose of vaccine in a course of immunisation for you to be considered fully vaccinated. Mixed doses count towards being fully vaccinated as long as all vaccines are approved or recognised by the TGA.

Children under the age of 12 are considered fully-vaccinated for the purposes of travel.

At the request of the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have agreed to apply an exemption for those Australians aged 12–17 to arrive from overseas who do not meet the criteria for fully vaccinated.

For New South Wales (Sydney) and the ACT (Canberra)

A fully vaccinated arrival is a person who, before arriving in New South Wales, has received the number of doses required for a complete course of a COVID-19 vaccine, or a person aged under 12 years who, before arriving in New South Wales, has not received the number of doses required for a complete course of a COVID-19 vaccine, but only if they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated person who is aged 18 years or more.

If you meet the requirements of vaccination and pre-departure testing, you are not required to quarantine or self-isolate, and you may leave the airport and enter the NSW community after you clear border control.

You must be tested and you must not enter high risk settings.

After arriving in NSW, you must have a COVID-19 nose and throat PCR test:

within 24 hours of arriving in NSW
on or after day 7 after arriving in NSW.

A test on day 12 after arriving in NSW is strongly recommended for children who are not fully vaccinated.

You are not required to isolate while waiting for your results, unless you have symptoms. If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19 at any time while in NSW, you must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until you receive a negative result.

Learn more here.

Vaccinated travellers returning from overseas are able to enter the ACT subject to the following requirements:

Undergo a COVID-19 test within 24 hours of arrival in the ACT.
Undergo a second COVID-19 test on day six

Learn more about arriving in Canberra here.

At the request of the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have agreed to apply a class exemption for those Australians aged 12–17 to arrive from overseas who do not meet the criteria for fully vaccinated.

Travellers aged 12-17 who are not fully vaccinated must:

Undertake a negative COVID-19 PCR test 72 hours or less before your scheduled departure;
Undertake a COVID-19 test within 24 hours of arrival;
Quarantine at home for 7 days;
Undertake a test on day 5 of the 7 day quarantine period

For Victoria (Melbourne)

From 6pm on 5 November 2021 returned overseas travellers arriving in Melbourne who are fully vaccinated no longer have to complete hotel quarantine if you:

are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration or have a medical exemption
have your vaccine status or medical exemption validated by the Commonwealth government
apply for a permit to enter Victoria from Service Victoria
have a COVID-19 test within 24 hours after arrival and a second test between days five and seven after arrival

Travellers aged 12-17 who are not fully vaccinated must:

Undertake a negative COVID-19 PCR test 72 hours or less before your scheduled departure;
Undertake a COVID-19 test within 24 hours of arrival;
Quarantine at home for 7 days;
Undertake a test on day 5 of the 7 day quarantine period

Obtain The certificate you need to prove your vaccination status

If you were fully-vaccinated in Australia, simply use your International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate. Find out how to obtain that here: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19/COVID-19-vaccination-certificates

If you were fully-vaccinated in the United Kingdom, your NHS COVIDPass is suitable for providing your vaccination status provided it matches the name on your passport.

If you were fully vaccinated in a country other than Australia or the United Kingdom, please follow the generic advice below:

Your vaccination certificate must have been issued by a national or state/provincial-level authority or an accredited vaccination provider. Paper and digital certificates are equally acceptable.

Your certificate must be in English. A certificate is also acceptable if it is written in multiple languages and one of those languages is English.

Your certificate must show, at a minimum:

your name as it appears in your passport
either your date of birth or your passport number
the vaccine brand name, and
either the date you got each dose or the date on which you completed a full course of immunisation.

If your vaccination certificate doesn't meet all these requirements, you won’t qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller.

Keep a hard copy or an electronic copy of your Vaccination Certificate. Airlines will check this when you check-in to your flight.

Complete A pre-departure COVID-19 test and your Australia Travel Declaration

Before you travel to Australia, you should complete the Australia Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before your departure.

This includes uploading your vaccination certificate and confirming its authenticity (criminal penalties apply for providing false information).

Find out more about the Australia Travel Declaration.

A negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result is required for travelling to Australia. Evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken 72 hours or less before your scheduled departure must be provided to your airline. Self-administered tests are not acceptable.

Present A pre-departure COVID-19 test and your Australia Travel Declaration