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Australians can finally travel overseas after 20 months of being trapped in the country due to Covid-19 border closures, Scott Morrison has announced.

From November 1 vaccinated Aussies and their immediate family can travel overseas from any state but only NSW will let them come back without any quarantine.

In a press conference on Friday morning, the NSW government announced that two-week hotel quarantine for international arrivals would be scrapped and vaccinated residents and foreigners will be allowed to freely enter the state.

The move blindsided Mr Morrison - who hadn't fronted the cameras in eight days - and forced him to emerge from Kirribilli House to overrule NSW and clarify that Australia's borders will not yet open to tourists.

Scott Morrison (pictured on Friday) backed NSW's plan to remove quarantine altogether for international arrivals

'All we are talking about now is Australian citizens, residents and their immediate families,' he said.

'We are not opening up to everyone coming back to Australia at the moment. I want to be clear about that. 

'We will take this forward in a staged way as we have done in all these things.

'It is for the Commonwealth and Federal Government to decide when the border opens and shuts at an international level and we will do that. 

'In the first instance it will be for Australian residents and their families. 

'We will see how that goes and then we will move to other priorities set out as being skilled migration as well as students to Australia and then we will move onto the challenge of dealing with international visitors to Australia.' 

Mr Morrison also said he was looking at changing the definition of immediate family from just partners and children of Australians to parents as well, without saying when this change could be made. 

Before Friday, NSW had been planning a seven-day home-quarantine system - but this was scrapped after a trial showed it was too costly and wasted too much police time.

Mr Morrison admitted that the first he heard of NSW's plan to scrap quarantine altogether was on Friday morning.

'I've written to the premiers and chief ministers earlier this week asking them to confirm the arrangements they would have... the premier wrote back to me today and confirmed that would be on November 1 and under those no quarantine arrangements for vaccinated Australians,' he said. 

Mr Morrison said other states would continue home quarantine trials.

'We'll continue to support those trials. I think it's good to have a range of options that are being pursued by the states and territories. Remember, no state or territory is coming from the same place. They're all starting in different positions, with different rates of Covid in their states and territories,' he said.

Australia's international border has been closed since March 2020 to reduce the spread of coronavirus and the country has been alone among democratic nations in banning its own citizens from leaving.

The move has been successful in reducing the impact of Covid-19, which has only claimed 1,496 lives in Australia, compared with 138,000 in the UK and 721,000 in the US. 

The national re-opening plan agreed by all states and territories in August states that once 80 per cent of over 16s are vaccinated then there will be a 'gradual opening of inward and outward travel with safe countries'. 

NSW will reach this target on Monday, a week after the state government ended a gruelling four-month lockdown for vaccinated residents. 

But in a shock move that sparked confusion, NSW said it would welcome people from any country around the world as long as they are vaccinated from November 1.

NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said the state would not discriminate based on nationality.

But he flagged the Federal Government will let people from some countries in before others because it will be quicker to set up systems to test the vaccination status of arrivals from certain countries.

'There is no doubt that the Commonwealth will be able to do that with some countries faster than others,' he said.

'They will also be able to do that in conjunction with many airlines faster than others so there will be some incremental staging that has brought about by the ability for the Commonwealth to verify vaccination status but we are not delineating between countries.

NSW will not enforce any quarantine at all on vaccinated arrivals from November 1. Pictured: Sydney Airport in December 

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Friday October 15

'There is no delineation between Australian citizens and other citizens of countries around the world. 

'The focal point here is a delineation between vaccination status so vaccinated and unvaccinated. 

'We will require the Commonwealth to ensure that a person is fully vaccinated,' he said. 

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said was not aware of NSW's announcement which he described as 'hot off the printers'. 

Mr Perrottet said he had spoken to the Prime Minister about the changes.

'I've had numerous discussions with the prime minister over the course of this period about dispensing with hotel quarantine - they support this policy,' he told reporters in Sydney.

'They will need to implement it from a border perspective and we want tourists back into the state as quickly as possible.'

Mr Morrison later clarified: 'What the Premier did today was advise me and announce today that when international students, when international travellers, when skilled migrants are permitted to return to Australia by the Commonwealth Government, then they will not be required to quarantine when they come. 

'The Premier understands that that's a decision for the Commonwealth Government, not for the state governments.' 

NSW said it would welcome people from any country around the world as long as they are vaccinated from November 1. Pictured: Sydney passengers before lockdown

Australians who arrive in Sydney will still face quarantine requirements when entering other states. 

The Premier urged overseas travellers to spend time in Sydney if they needed to.

'If you're a returning Australian and you want to come here, stay in New South Wales and stay in Sydney,' he said.

'Have a great time here before you go home and spend up big.'

The Morrison government has urged states to drop hard borders when 80 per cent vaccination rates are reached - but some jurisdictions are not expected to reach that target until December at the earliest.

The WA government has signalled it won't open to states with coronavirus until next year.

NSW recorded 399 new local coronavirus infections on Friday, while case numbers in Victoria continue to soar with 2,179 registered.

There were six deaths in Victoria and four in NSW.

Australia has fully vaccinated 65.4 per cent of its eligible population aged 16 and over, while more than 83.6 per cent have received their first dose. 

What are the four phases of opening up? 

A. Vaccinate, prepare and pilot (from July 14)

Arrival caps cut in half to 3,035 a week; early, stringent and short lockdowns if outbreaks occur; trials of seven-day home quarantine for vaccinated arrivals in South Australia; medicare vaccination certificates available on apps like apple wallet   

B. Post vaccination phase (when 70 per cent are jabbed, expected late this year)

Lockdowns less likely but possible'; vaccinated people face reduced restrictions; caps for unvaccinated arrivals increased; a larger cap for vaccinated arrivals with 'reduced quarantine requirements'; capped entry for students and economic visa holders  

C. Consolidation phase (when 80 per cent are jabbed, time not announced)

Lifting all restrictions for outbound travel for vaccinated travellers; no caps for vaccinated arrivals; increased caps for students and visa holders; more travel bubbles being set up with countries such as Singapore; booster shots rolled out 

D. Final phase (percentage or time not announced)

Uncapped arrivals for vaccinated people without any quarantine and uncapped arrivals for unvaccinated people with testing before departure and on arrival 

 

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NSW opens to the WORLD in just two weeks as hotel quarantine is scrapped, limits are lifted on weddings and funerals from MONDAY, community sport returns and pubs & restaurants return to normal 

By Michael Pickering 

Hotel quarantine will be scrapped in NSW and new freedoms will be restored next week as the state prepares to open up to the world on November 1.

NSW is the first state in the country to announce it will open to travellers from overseas and scrap quarantine rules for the fully-vaccinated. 

'Sydney (and) NSW is open for business,' Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Friday.

'We want people back... Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and NSW to the world - and that date will come on November 1.

'We will work closely with the Commonwealth to ensure protections are in place so we keep people safe but re-join the world. This is a significant day for our state.'  

Mr Perrottet declared Sydney is Australia's 'truly only global city' as NSW re-opens to the world while Victoria and Queensland remain shut.

He pointed to the Harbour Bridge as he delivered the stunning dig on Friday while announcing changes to Covid-19 restrictions and hotel quarantine.

'The alternative is to stay closed from the world, we're not doing that. Sydney is Australia's truly only global city. When people think of Australia, they think of this,' he said as he pointed to the landmark.

NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said fully vaccinated people would be able to return to Australia without any form of quarantine.  

'That is not hotel quarantine, that is not home quarantine, you will be able to return home. If you are a person from another country who wants to visit or work in Australia, and you are fully vaccinated, you will be able to come to Australia and not have to quarantine,' Mr Ayres said.  

Unvaccinated people will still be required to hotel quarantine. 

'People coming into NSW, if they are transiting on to another state, they'll have to abide by restrictions in that state so if that state requires quarantining people coming from NSW, they will still have to abide by that,' Mr Ayres said. 

'This will create a chance for people to come to NSW through Sydney and will also present a huge opportunity for Australians who haven't been able to access flights because of the caps that we put in place to protect our local health systems.'

Mr Ayres said the NSW would not discriminate on who the state allowed in based on nationality.

'Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and New South Wales to the world, and that date will come in on November 1st,' NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Friday

'There is no delineation between Australian citizens and other citizens of countries around the world.

'The focal point here is a delineation between vaccination status so vaccinated and unvaccinated.'  

But he flagged the Federal Government will let people from some countries in before others because it will be quicker to set up systems to test the vaccination status of arrivals from certain countries. 

There were suggestions the Federal government was unaware the NSW announcement would apply to international travellers as well and that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had been blindsided by the news. 

The national re-opening plan agreed by all states and territories in August states that once 80 per cent of over 16s are vaccinated then there will be a 'gradual opening of inward and outward travel with safe countries'. 

Mr Morrison is yet to comment on the changes announced by NSW. 

Meanwhile, Mr Perrottet said from Monday house visitation limits will double from 10 to 20 and outdoor gatherings from 30 to 50. 

'Standing up in pubs will be back. There will be no limits on weddings and funerals,' he said.  

Major recreation facilities will be allowed to host 5,000 spectators while entertainment facilities can return to 75 per cent capacity.

Weddings and funerals will no longer have a cap on the number of guests.

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

The 20-person cap on bookings at restaurants and other hospitality venues will also be scrapped from November 1. 

'We have only been able to do this because of the significant effort of the people across New South Wales have made in getting us to this point,' Mr Perrottet said. 

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole confirmed the decision to delay travel to the regions until November 1 had been taken because of the risk to communities where vaccination rates lag behind the cities.

Delaying regional travel was necessary to protect communities from a virus outbreak because only 36 per cent of regional local government areas have populations where 80 per cent are double vaccinated.

'We have to make sure that there is a balance between protecting communities and opening up,' Mr Toole said.

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday

Extra support for businesses in regional NSW affected by the delay in opening up the rest of the state would be provided, Mr Perrottet said.

'The Job Centre payment which we are tapering off - we will extend that for regional New South Wales at 30 per cent of payroll until November 1,' he said.  

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday.  

Earlier Mr Toole said the decision to delay regional travel was 'frustrating'. 

'I know it's a very difficult time because I know that people are wanting to pack their bags,' he told 2GB on Friday morning.

'They're wanting to go to regional NSW, they want to go on a holiday, they want to go and catch up with family and their loved ones.' 

Regional travel, which was expected to restart once the milestone was hit, has now been delayed until November 1

'I know it's not an easy decision that's been made. We have a responsibility here to make sure we keep our regional community safe.'    

The eased restrictions will come after NSW quietly launched the vaccine passport overnight.

For those who have received both jabs and have the updated Service NSW app on their phones, their vaccine status will pop up when they check into a venue using the standard QR code process.

Sydneysiders earlier had to scroll through their Medicare app or carry a paper certificate to prove to staff they'd been jabbed but now a green tick will appear whenever they sign into a business.

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

For those wanting to take advantage of the new 'VaxPass' they will need to ensure their MyGov account account has been linked to Medicare.

Then either through the online MyGov site or the Express Plus Medicare app users are instructed to click 'Proof of vaccinations' and then 'View history'.

They will then be given the option to choose their Covid vaccine digital certificate and link this with the Service NSW app.

Customer Service minister Victor Dominello tweeted a photo of his vaccine passport while checking into a cafe on Friday morning.

The system had earlier attracted criticism for not being ready when Sydney was finally freed from its gruelling four-month lockdown on Monday.

With the launch overnight, the vaccine passport was up and running three days earlier than Mr Dominello had planned, making it a whole lot easier for pub goers heading out for Friday night drinks.

Several security measures will be in place including a hologram of the NSW Waratah logo to help businesses ensure their customers are complying with the rules. 

Trials of the app had been carried out in clubs and aged care facilities in Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and Lismore.