Australia to reopen international borders after 18-month travel ban

Australia is set to reopen its international borders in November for the first time in 18 months.

The country, which has had strict travel rules in place throughout the pandemic, will allow fully vaccinated citizens to leave and travel the country next month.

Only Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to enter at first, and they will need to quarantine for seven days.

However, the Australian government said it was working towards welcoming international tourists back as soon as possible.

As part of the rules, Australian states will be required to have an 80% vaccination rate in order to be allowed to welcome back international travellers.

Any unvaccinated arrivals will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days.

The news will no doubt come as a huge relief to millions of Australians around the world who have been unable to see friends and family due to the restrictions.

It's not yet been confirmed when borders would reopen to other tourists and travellers.

However the government said it was working "towards welcoming tourists back to our shores".

Australia has had some of the strictest border rules in place during the pandemic, even banning its own citizens from travel (with a handful of essential reasons such as essential work or visiting a dying relative).