Australia to Roll Out Digital Arrival Cards Nationwide
Synopsis
The federal government will introduce the Australia Travel Declaration across international airports and seaports over the next 12 to 18 months, replacing paper arrival cards for overseas travellers.
Key Highlights
- Australia digital arrival card rollout to be implemented.
- The system will take over the role of the paper Incoming Passenger Card for international passengers.
- Over 450,000 passengers on Qantas have already experimented with the platform.
During the next 12 to 18 months, Australia will scale up its Australia travel declaration (ATD), which will be implemented across international airports and seaports in place of the paper incoming passenger card for international arrivals. The Australia digital arrival card rollout will be done after a successful pilot programme with over 450,000 Qantas passengers.
National Rollout After Successful Trial
Initially revealed in 2024, the Digital Declaration has been in a trial phase on selected Qantas flights, arriving into Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. The trial will be extended to Perth and Adelaide by the end of 2026, before a national rollout to other airlines.
While a custom mobile app is being worked on, travellers will first access the Australia Travel Declaration via an online form. They will continue to have paper arrival cards for those who require them.
How the Australia Travel Declaration functions
Eligible travellers aged 18 years and over must complete their declaration online from 72 hours before departure for Australia.
If details of the trip change, you can edit the declaration. After completion, travellers receive a digital pass with a unique QR code which can be opened offline to be scanned by border security on arrival. To support the rollout, over four years the federal government will invest $56.1 million in traveller modernisation at Australian airports.
Govt Pitches Crime Benefits, Tourism
The government said the system will streamline border processing, enabling more accurate input into risk assessments and swifter response to global events, such as biosecurity outbreaks. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the updated system would bolster feelings of national security and enable authorities to quickly pinpoint information about travellers.
The Australia Travel Declaration will allow us to identify the biosecurity risks that a visitor from overseas poses, and respond before they arrive in Australia’ Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Julie Collins said.
Introduction of the system ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games would be advantageous not just for overseas visitors but for Australia’s tourism industry, Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said.
The rollout was welcomed by the Australian Airports Association and the Tourism & Transport Forum, who said it would modernise Australia’s border processes while improving the international arrival experience.
Source: Acs
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