Overview
It has been three months since Queensland closed its borders to Greater Sydney, making the Sunshine State off limits to residents of specific local government areas in the New South Wales capital. Over that period, the status of Queensland's borders has changed multiple times — as it has throughout much of 2020 — including shutting out all of NSW, then reopening to all of NSW except Greater Sydney. But, finally, Sydneysiders will be able to make the journey north from Tuesday, December 1.
Today, Tuesday, November 24, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that Queensland will reopen its border to all of NSW, including Sydney, from the first of next month — which is just seven days away. The Premier said Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young was now "satisfied" that NSW was safe as it had reached more than 28 days of no unlinked community transmission.
The state is also set to open its border to Victoria from December 1, as long as the southern state does not record a new case tomorrow. Victoria has had 25 consecutive days with zero new cases and has today hit the milestone of zero active COVID-19 cases for the first time since February.
"I hope this is welcome news," the Queensland Premier said at the announcement. "I think it's great news in the lead-up to Christmas, but, once again, that timely reminder for everybody — we need to make sure that we continue to keep up our social distancing."
This is also good news if you're a Queenslander now keen on a southern getaway, as you'll be able to head to Sydney or Melbourne (if all goes well in the next 24 hours) and not have to worry about quarantining on return.
The Sunshine State will continue to keep its borders closed to 20 South Australian LGAs for the foreseeable future.
Whichever way you're heading, though, you will still need a border pass. It isn't required to leave the state, but you'll need one to enter, regardless of whether you're a tourist or returning resident. To obtain a pass, you'll need to apply online, with each one valid for seven days.
For more information about Queensland's border policies, head to the Queensland Government website.