Australia scraps pre-departure COVID testing from 18 April

Australia has announced its plans to scrap pre-departure COVID-19 testing from 18 April 2022 onwards for all arrivals, whether Australians or foreign nationals. 

“Given that the vaccination requirements remain and the masking requirements, the medical advice is that [the test] would no longer be required”

-Health Minister Greg Hunt

It’s important to remember that pre-departure test requirements are dictated by the Federal government, while State governments decide on-arrival tests. There’s no indication this will change yet, but even if it doesn’t, all states (except South Australia) allow the use of self-administered ARTs for on-arrival testing.

With Singapore also moving to eliminate on-arrival tests from 1 April 2022 under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF), round-trip travellers from Singapore to Australia could soon be looking at just two COVID tests in total.

Australia to scrap pre-departure testing from 18 April

Currently, international travellers to Australia must take a pre-departure COVID-19 test, which can either be:

• A PCR test within 3 days of departure
• A professionally-administered ART within 24 hours of departure

Children under the age of five are exempt from the pre-departure testing requirement to Australia. 

For avoidance of doubt, remotely-supervised tele-ARTs offered by providers like DoctorAnywhere and Raffles Connect are acceptable as pre-departure tests.

The timing refers to the scheduled departure of your flight to Australia, or first flight if you have one or more connecting flights booked for your travel to Australia.

If you’re going for the PCR route (why though?), do note that three days is not the same as 72 hours. For example, if my flight to Australia is departing at 10 p.m on 20 March 2022, I can take the test anytime from 12.01 a.m on 17 March 2022. This means that “three days” can be up to 95 hours 59 minutes, in certain situations. 

From 18 April 2022, pre-departure testing will be scrapped. Travellers will simply need to:

• Be fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine
• Complete the Digital Passenger Declaration within 72 hours of departure

On-arrival testing may still apply

On-arrival testing is still enforced by some Australian states, as detailed below.

There’s no word yet as to whether these will be maintained after the federal government lifts the pre-departure test requirement, but even if not, they’re unlikely to be major inconveniences to your trip. Only South Australia requires a PCR test to be done; the other states either do not have on-arrival test requirements, or permit the use of self-administered ARTs. 

In all cases except South Australia, self-isolation is required until a negative result is received (which should take all of 15 minutes upon landing). For South Australia, self-isolation is only required until the PCR test is taken. 

Singapore – Australia travel: Total testing costs

Travellers from Singapore to Australia currently do four COVID-19 tests, but this will be cut to three from 1 April when Singapore scraps on-arrival testing under the VTF, and two from 18 April when Australia scraps pre-departure testing.

When returning to Singapore, travellers can opt to do an overseas remotely-supervised tele-ART with a telemedicine provider based in Singapore. A list of providers can be found below. 

Cheapest overseas tele-ARTs for pre-departure testing to Singapore

This means that total testing costs on this route will be just over S$20 by mid-April, almost negligible compared to before. Remember: Singapore is also contemplating scrapping pre-departure testing in the next 2-4 weeks, which means we could soon be down to just a single test!

Travellers who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days may be exempt from pre-departure testing when traveling to Singapore, subject to presenting documentary proof.

For the cheapest pre-departure testing options in Singapore, refer to this post. 

Travel from Australia to Singapore

From now till 31 March 2022, travellers from Australia to Singapore must take designated VTL flights to avoid a quarantine on arrival, as per the rules below.

From 1 April 2022, travellers may take any flight to Singapore, as per the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF) rules below. 

For the full details of travel under the VTF, refer to the article below.

Goodbye VTLs, hello VTF: Singapore reopens borders to all fully vaccinated travellers

Conclusion

Australia is scrapping pre-departure testing from 18 April 2022, removing yet another barrier to travel and inching us closer to pre-COVID conditions. 

With Singapore also allowing remotely-supervised tele-ARTs for travellers departing from Australia, you could soon go through your entire Australia trip without ever seeing the inside of a clinic!