People will be able to travel freely to Queensland without a border declaration pass unless they have been in a COVID-19 hotspot from December 1.
With Queensland reopening its borders to all of New South Wales and Victoria on Tuesday, only travellers who have been in a hotspot or overseas within 14 days will be required to complete a border declaration pass.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) will also remove its road border checkpoints so motorists can travel freely across state borders.
Anyone who has been in a declared COVID hotspot or overseas will need to complete a border declaration pass online before travelling to Queensland.
They will be required to stay in hotel quarantine for 14 days and must enter Queensland by air, unless they have an exemption. They will not be permitted to travel to Queensland by road.
Police officers will conduct random interceptions along the Queensland state road border to ensure they have not travelled from a hotspot.
A police presence will remain at airports with compliance checks carried out on all flights from COVID-19 hotspots and random checks on passengers disembarking from other interstate flights.
State Disaster Coordinator Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the border control announcement was an important milestone in the road to recovery from COVID-19.
“Introducing border controls in Queensland has not been done for more than 100 years and it has been a mammoth operation,” Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said.
“We know it has been difficult for many people, particularly those in border communities and I would like to thank those residents for their patience and cooperation.
He said more than one million vehicles had been intercepted at road borders since March 27.
“I would like to acknowledge the effort of all police officers, members of the Australian Defence Force, SES, Department of Transport and Main Roads and all others who have assisted in the operation.
“Persevering through freezing cold nights and very hot days, they have been at the frontline of our COVID-19 response and have done an outstanding job of protecting Queensland.”
For more information about the changes to the Queensland border declaration pass, please visit qld.gov.au/border-pass.
