After months of lobbying national agencies, state agencies and politicians, the OCC has received a letter from the Australian Border Force advising of a new exemption category to COVID-19 restrictions for yachts.

Published 4 years ago

UPDATE: DECEMBER 18, 2020

There have been recent changes in policy by Queensland Health. The information in this update has been sourced from Queensland Health and provided by the Down Under Rally.

1. Sea time is not currently being taken into account in regard to the mandatory 14 day quarantine period.

2. All persons arriving in Australia by sea are required to spend 14 days in Hotel Quarantine in a government approved facility at their own expense, however, applications for Queensland Quarantine Exemptions should still be submitted and will be considered on a case by case basis.

3. The Port of Bundaberg currently does not have a government approved Hotel Quarantine Facility. As such, vessels wishing to arrive in South East Queensland are being directed to arrive in one of the following ports of entry.

• Brisbane: Latitude: 27 deg 26’S – Longitude: 153 deg 06’E
• Gladstone: Latitude: 23°50’S – Longitude: 151°15’E
• Southport: Latitude: 29 deg 58” 32′ S – Longitude: 153 deg 25” 32′ East

Other relevant information:

Gladstone Marina is the dedicated small craft port of entry facility for Gladstone. Gladstone is generally considered by most insurance companies to be within the area that is effected by cyclones. Before departing for Australia, those intending on arriving at Gladstone, must make contact with the marina to confirm that they have suitable berths available for your vessel for the period the crew will be required to serve in hotel quarantine. If they cannot accommodate your vessel for the entire 14 day period of hotel quarantine or your insurer will not provide named storm cover in this location, you may wish to choose an alternate port of entry.

Rivergate Marina is the dedicated port of entry facility for the Port of Brisbane. Before departing for Australia, those intending on arriving at Brisbane must make contact with the marina to confirm that they have suitable berths available for your vessel for the period the crew will be required to serve in hotel quarantine. If they cannot accomodate your vessel for the entire 14 day period of hotel quarantine, you may wish to choose an alternate port of entry.

Southport Yacht Club is the dedicated port of entry facility for the Port of Southport. Before departing for Australia those intending on arriving at Southport must make contact with the marina to confirm that they have suitable berths available for your vessel for the period the crew will be required to serve in hotel quarantine. If they advise they cannot accomodate your vessel for the entire 14 day period of hotel quarantine, it is likely you will be required to immediately relocate your vessel to an alternative marina before being required to enter hotel quarantine. You need to have planned for such an eventuality in advance. We recommended that you contact The Boat Works Gold Coast and make a berth reservation.

The Australian Border Force has advised the vessels wishing to arrive in New South Wales with crew aboard that have been applied for and been granted Safe Haven Travel Exemptions will be required to serve 14 days in Hotel Quarantine and the only port that currently has a government approved hotel Quarantine facility is the port of Sydney. Vessel wishing to arrive in New South Wales should should contact the Australian Border Force for more information.

UPDATE: NOVEMBER 26, 2020

ORIGINAL REPORT: POSTED NOVEMBER 21, 2020

After the many months of lobbying national agencies, state agencies and politicians by the OCC, Down Under Rally and a supportive senior politician, the OCC has received a letter from the Australian Border Force advising an additional exemption category to the COVID-19 inbound travel restrictions for:

“persons who reside on a vessel that seeks safe port at the closest appointed port for reprovisioning or safety reasons for a limited duration, supported by the relevant State/Territory where safe haven is sought.”

Application Process:

The application process will involve 4 steps:

1. QLD Border Exemption Application.
2. Queensland Quarantine Exemption Application.
3. Australian VISA Application for all persons aboard the vessel.
4. Travel Exemption Application.

The 4 consecutive application processes are expected to take at least 4 -6 weeks to complete.

The letter the OCC received and a checklist for step 4 can be downloaded here.

Queensland:

At this stage, Queensland is the only state that has indicated it will accept foreign yachts/nationals under this criteria.

It is likely that Bundaberg will be the best port of entry given recent arrival procedures for Australian Yachts facilitated by Bundaberg Port Marina and The Down Under Rally.

Quarantine:

Australia has strict Quarantine for arrivals, the default is mandatory 14 days in a government nominated hotel at your expense. There is a process for obtaining an exemption (step 4 above) to have sea time taken into account and/or quarantine aboard. This is not guaranteed, many Australian yachts have obtained the exemptions in recent months and some have not.

Free Guide:

After contacting key Queensland and Commonwealth agencies to confirm requirements, John Hembrow of the Down Under Rally has produced a free guide  explaining the process and relevant links for the applications.

Go to https://www.downunderrally.com/safe-haven-travel-exemption-information

In these early stages of the cyclone season, cruisers now need to make a decision regarding staying put versus making a passage to better shelter.

Our thanks to Guy Chester, John Hembrow and Fiona Jones for their tenacious work and such a positive outcome.