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The automated online border pass system behind the reopening of Queensland’s borders next week will only be made live one hour beforehand, with all travellers, including those who have remained stuck interstate for months, required to apply.
Police are expecting lengthy delays at the southern road border for the first two days from 1am on Monday as it opens to vaccinated travellers from NSW — along with Victoria and the ACT — for the first time since July, and have warned those taking to the roads to be patient.
Delays are expected along the Queensland/NSW border as road travel reopens from Monday.Credit:Dan Peled
A new pass will also be created for NSW border zone residents and travellers, to allow police to shift from the current 100 per cent vehicle checks to a more risk-based approach as the region stares down a fresh outbreak risk. The Queensland entry pass will be required by all other travellers.
The quarantine-free domestic travel for those from hotspot states locked out of Queensland for months was set to return by December 17 at the latest, but has been brought forward due the state reaching its 80 per cent vaccination target more than a week early.
Speaking to reporters on the Gold Coast, police Superintendent Rhys Wildman said the short period between the system coming online and borders opening was “not unusual”.
“[The] timing of the system is to make sure that the passes are available and not available too early prior to the change of the direction — because that does confuse people as well, this is around trying to provide the best outcome for the whole community,” he said.
“As far as that goes I’m not concerned and … our officers will work through that on the Monday/Tuesday. It’s always a bit of a challenging time those first couple of days, but it will settle down as of Wednesday we believe.”
The application will require those from hotspot areas, whether entering the state via road or air, to also upload proof of their vaccination and a negative test result received within the previous 72 hours.
Those within the border zone and will not be required to provide a test result, but Superintendent Wildman said the inclusion of vaccine status would help compliance efforts on the roads and urged residents to apply as soon as possible, print out their pass and have it visible on entry.
“Currently our officers have to intercept every vehicle and check the X pass and check the vaccination status as a manual approach,” he said.
“What this pass is … able to do for us is do that back in work for us, so we can actually give the officers confidence and the community confidence that if you have this pass then … the appropriate requirements are made to enter into Queensland.”
Requests made for a dedicated border zone travel lane would not work as most traffic through the five busy Gold Coast checkpoints, with up to 100 per cent compliance checks in quiet times and “managing traffic flows” during peak periods.
Before the existing automated system came into effect with the 70 per cent vaccination milestone border reopening last month, allowing air travel only from hotspot areas NSW, Victoria and the ACT, more than 13,000 border passes were awaiting processing.
While thousands of the cohort have since entered the state under the home quarantine program also opened at the time, many needing to travel by road and unable to get special exemptions have remained stuck since the August pause on hotspot state arrivals and subsequent manual border pass process.
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