Guide: Quarantine-free travel to Australia from Malaysia starts today

In case you missed the news, Australia officially opens its borders for fully vaccinated visa holders, tourists, business travellers, and other visitors around the world today (21 February, 2022).

The decision is part of the country’s international travel plans and builds on quarantine-free travel arrangements with Singapore, which came into effect on 21 November 2021. According to Tourism Australia, Malaysia is Australia’s eighth largest source market for international visitation and tenth most valuable for spend. About 72 per cent of Malaysian leisure travellers are repeat visitors to Australia, 61 per cent of which have visited the country more than twice.

Under the rule, travellers will be able to travel to Australia quarantine-free as long as they have received double doses of a TGA-approved vaccine and hold a valid visa. On the other hand, visa holders who are not fully vaccinated may still enter Australia with a valid travel exemption, but will be subject to state and territory quarantine requirements.

Read on for the full SOPs for Malaysians travelling to Australia.

• Visa holders who are fully vaccinated with two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved Covid-19 vaccine can travel to Australia quarantine-free, without the need to apply for a travel exemption 
• Travellers must hold a valid Australian visa, which you can apply for online

• Travellers must provide proof of vaccination status, which includes paper or digital certificates
• Travellers must present a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) taken within 24 hours or Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure (unless a medical exemption applies)
• Quarantine-free travel applies to all states and territories in Australia, except Western Australia

• Travellers will need to comply with requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territories that they plan to travel to. Information on entry requirements is updated regularly so it is important to check the latest requirements before travelling via the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website

• Travellers are also encouraged to check any requirements for stopover destinations that they are transitioning through

To celebrate the announcement, Tourism Australia will be kicking off a new tourism campaign to welcome Malaysian visitors back to Australia in the coming weeks. The campaign will involve partnerships with a range of key distribution and airline partners to maximise opportunities and drive bookings and recovery for Australia’s hard-hit tourism economy.

Among the partners include Apple Vacations, Corporate Information Travel, Forever Travel, Holiday Tours & Travel, and Sedunia Travel, who will provide tactical offers aimed at stimulating travel to Australia from Malaysia.

Tourism Australia will also partner with Malaysia Airlines to support the recovery of the airline industry and resume services into Australia in the coming months.  

“We are really excited that Malaysians can once again discover the incredible tourism experiences that await them in Australia,” said Karen Saw, Tourism Australia’s Business Development Manager in Malaysia.

“Come and enjoy incredible experiences featuring Australia’s world-class natural beauty and wildlife, food and drink, and welcoming people—as well as some of the lesser-known parts of Australia that make us such a popular holiday destination.”

For more information on travelling to Australia, visit the official website. For other information and tips on where to go and what to see, visit Australia.com.