Australia is set to lift all Covid restrictions for international arrivals from midnight on Wednesday.
Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neill confirmed on Sunday that the Digital Passenger Declaration would be scrapped.
She said: “This is great news for families coming home from school holidays who now don’t need to use the DPD.
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“As more and more of us travel internationally and we get more confident in managing our risk of COVID, our airports are getting busier.
“Removing these requirements will not only reduce delays in our airports but will encourage more visitors and skilled workers to choose Australia as a destination.
“And for Australian citizens, with the removal of these requirements, returning home will be much easier.
“I know anyone who has travelled internationally since the borders have opened will find this as one less thing to worry about, especially as more Australians get back to travelling overseas.”
People arriving by sea will also no longer need to complete a Maritime Travel Declaration.
However, airlines and cruise ship operators may still have specific requirements that travellers need to comply with.
Changes to the Biosecurity act, made following health advice from the chief medical officer, also mean all visa holders can travel to Australia without needing a travel exemption.
The news comes after the country surpassed a grim milestone of 10,000 Covid deaths on Sunday.
Authorities have urged people to remain vigilant about the virus.
New South Wales reported an additional two Covid deaths on Sunday, South Australia recorded six, while Victoria reported another 22.
Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, said authorities are expecting a further wave of the virus in the coming months as the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants take hold across the country.
He said: “We’ve seen overseas that there is a greater risk of reinfection, so if you have had Covid earlier this year in the first wave over summer, there is a risk that you are open to reinfection.
“I do encourage you to go out and get that booster – it will provide further protection against the possibility of reinfection with these new subvariants over the coming months.”
Queensland reported no new Covid deaths on Sunday. However, the state’s chief health officer, John Gerrard, said on Saturday there was increasing pressure to bring back mask mandates.
The state’s minister for health and ambulance services, Yvette D’Ath, said on Sunday there was no change in mask rules but urged people to get vaccinated.
He said people needed to remind themselves of the virus’s continuing global impact.
Mr D’Ath said: “Our health workers would prefer to not have to be caring for people who are seriously unwell with Covid, who are in ICU, and sadly, who are passing away with [the disease],” she said.
“There’s something we can do to at least ease the burden on our health workers who are dealing with these Covid deaths, and that is getting vaccinated and encouraging [others] … to get vaccinated.”
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