COVID-19: travel ban extended yet again

“On 27 February 2020, the Australian Government supported recommendations from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) to maintain current travel restrictions. These will be reviewed again before 6 March 2020. Read the statement from the AHPPC”. Further, the federal government had announced on 22 Feb 2020 that “[s]enior high school students who remain in China due to Australian travel restrictions have been offered a strict pathway to resume their studies in recognition of the importance of the final 2 years of school”. However, on 27 Feb, the Prime Minister told reporters there were “no carve-outs” as part of the extended travel ban, which seems to contradict the government’s own assurances relating to students made only 5 days earlier.

The Department of Health’s webpage on the Coronavirus includes the following statement:

On 27 February 2020, the Australian Government supported recommendations from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) to maintain current travel restrictions. These will be reviewed again before 6 March 2020. Read the statement from the AHPPC. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advise there is a heightened risk of sustained local transmission or significant outbreaks of coronavirus (COVID-19) in:

 

Disclaimer: the above is a mere extract of a webpage. The views there expressed might not reflect the views of the OMARA, Department, the AAT or the courts. The law or policies might have changed between the writing and reading of this article. The author of this article and Migration Law Updates disclaim any liability for any action (or omission) on their part based on any information provided (or not provided) in this article and are under no obligation to keep the general public nor practitioners informed about the matters discussed in this article or any other matters, or any future changes to any of those matters. It is the responsibility of each practitioner to obtain access to primary sources of law and policy by themselves and to carry out their own research and come to their own conclusions on legislation, case law, policies and more. This article is not intended for the general public.


Sergio Zanotti Stagliorio is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1461003). He is the owner of Target Migration in Sydney. He can be reached at sergio@targetmigration.com.au

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