Australian Chamber – Tourism welcomes today’s announcement of an Australia Travel Declaration pilot program, a digital version of the superfluous Incoming Passenger Card (IPC).

The Australia Travel Declaration will be available for eligible Qantas passengers travelling from New Zealand to Australia, with a view to broadening this to other airlines as the pilot progresses.

John Hart, Executive Chair of Australian Chamber – Tourism, says this is a welcome and long-overdue step to improved passenger facilitation for travellers to and from Australia.

“Australian Chamber – Tourism has been saying for some time now that the outdated Incoming Passenger Card needs to be removed and replaced with something more user friendly, so today’s announcement is tremendous,” Mr Hart said.

“As Australia looks to open another international airport in 2026 and host the Olympics in 2032, it is absolutely critical that we make the necessary investments in improving the traveller journey now.

“Today’s pilot announcement marks an important step in this process and we are committed to working with industry and Government on its success and further implementation for additional countries.”

Abolishing the physical IPC was a key recommendation made by Australian Chamber – Tourism in its recent Future Traveller Strategy, released last month.

The Future Traveller Strategy provides a comprehensive overview of the passenger journey for inbound and outbound travellers, making sensible recommendations on where improvements must be made to ensure Australia remains a desirable destination.