Australia takes ‘next step’ towards reopening international travel

The government said it had appointed Accenture to deliver the digital passenger declaration (DPD), which was the “next step in preparation for reopening Australia to international travel at scale”.

Earlier this month, Australia extended its ban on overseas travel by another three months to 17 December based on the latest medical advice and information on Covid-19 infection rates.

The new DPD will replace Australia’s current physical passenger card for arrivals, as well as the Covid travel declaration online form. The DPD will include passengers’ vaccination status up to 72 hours before boarding their flight and can be completed on mobile devices or computers.

Australia’s minister for home affairs Karen Andrews said the new digital form showed the government was “taking proactive steps to ensure the safe reopening of the border at scale when supported by health advice”.

​​“The DPD will support the safe reopening of Australia’s international borders, by providing digitally verified Covid-19 vaccination details,” added Andrews.

​​“This will help us to welcome home increasing numbers of Australians, and welcome the tourists, travellers, international students, skilled workers, and overseas friends and family we’ve all been missing during the pandemic.”

​Accenture will work with Australian authorities to “deliver the initial operating capability” of the DPD later in the year. The initiative will now go into a testing phase before being deployed “at scale” at the country’s major airports.