Australia will become one again as WA lifts border with Victoria on Monday – pending no further community cases.

Australia will have totally open interstate borders for the first time in nearly a year when WA lifts its restrictions on travellers from Victoria next week. 

The nation has had some form of interstate border since April 2020.

WA’s interstate border with Victoria is the last remaining border restriction nationally and will  lift on Monday after the State successfully records 28 days of no community transmission.

Scott Morrison late last year indicated he wanted the country open by Christmas 2020, but the goal has not been achieved – until now.

WA’s border rules are the harshest in the nation, only being lifted when a state or territory records four weeks of no community transmission rather than two weeks like the rest of the country.

The Prime Minister has said he doesn’t want borders to suddenly snap shut again now that a vaccine was rolling out.

He said the success of the aviation package announced on Thursday – which funds 800,000 half price tickets – relies on states like WA keeping its border open to provide confidence for passengers to book flights.

But Premier Mark McGowan said border closures would remain part of his states arsenal in battling COVID-19.

“If we need to put measures in place, we will,” he said.

“But the other states are obviously improving enormously and the number of people returning from overseas with COVID has come dramatically down because we test overseas now prior to them boarding an aircraft.”

Further Perth news on SoPerth.com.au.