New Zealanders from coronavirus-free areas will be able to travel quarantine-free to parts of Australia from October 16, Australia’s deputy prime minister announced Friday.
Michael McCormack revealed the first phase of the trans-Tasman travel bubble, which would see one-way quarantine-free travel into New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
The arrangement will be possible for visitors who “have not been in an area designated as a COVID-19 hotspot in New Zealand in the preceding 14 days to travel,” McCormack told reporters.
Although Australia will open its borders to New Zealand from October 16, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern had said earlier in the day that the changes, which had already been rumoured, were not a two-way street.
New Zealanders will still have to quarantine upon their return, a spokesperson for Ardern confirmed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both Australia and New Zealand have had international travel restrictions in place since March.