Once you touch down in Australia, the Government does allow exemptions from hotel quarantine in some instances
The case of a 53-year-old Australian dual citizen and her son who were incorrectly allowed to travel to Victoria and avoid hotel quarantine after flying into Sydney has put the spotlight back on quarantine exemptio
While police wrongly believed these two travellers had a valid exemption to avoid quarantine, the Australian Government does allow travellers exemption from hotel quarantine in some instances.
Here is a rundown on who can enter Australia by air or sea and be exempt from hotel quarantine for 14 days on arrival.
International transit
People arriving in Australia can leave on another international flight out of the country and can avoid hotel quarantine as long as they stay at the airport where they entered Australia and the next flight leaves within eight hours.
If the wait time for your next flight is from eight to 72 hours, travellers are required to go into mandatory quarantine.
You must stay in the quarantine facility until the time of your departing flight.
If you intend to spend more than 72 hours in Australia waiting for a connecting flight, the Department of Home Affairs says you are not considered to be transiting Australia and will need to request an exemption from travel restrictions.
Government officials and their dependents
Government officials and their dependents may quarantine at their home or private accommodation as long as they are returning to Australia from official government travel.
Once in Australia, these officials cannot travel on a domestic connecting flight within 14 days of arrival.
These officials must be travelling on an official or diplomat passport to qualify for this exemption.
However, Queensland does require consular employees to quarantine for 14 days in hotel quarantine or other government-organised quarantine.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk banned diplomatic and consular staff returning to the state from overseas in August after a Government contractor entered Queensland on an consular exemption tested positive for coronavirus.
Foreign diplomats
Similarly, foreign diplomats can quarantine for 14 days at their mission or usual place of residence.
This is in line with Australia's legal obligations under the Vienna Convention to ensure foreign diplomats freedom of movement and travel and protection from detention.
Compassionate or medical exemption
Applications for exemptions on compassionate or medical grounds are taken on a case-by-case basis by states and territories.
The Department of Health says travellers seeking a hotel quarantine exemption need to apply with the relevant state or territory "well before" they travel to Australia.
If you need to travel through multiple states or territories within the quarantine period an exemption must be granted from each of these states or territories.
Aviation crew
Australian air crew arriving in Australia after working on an international flight are exempt from hotel quarantine.
They are required to self-isolate at their home or hotel until their next international flight departs, or for 14 days — whichever is shorter.
These exemptions also apply to medevac and air ambulance crew.
But these exemptions do not apply to Australian air crew arriving internationally as passengers.
Similarly, foreign air crew are not required to enter hotel quarantine but must self-isolate at their hotel until their next flight and use privately organised transport to travel to and from their hotel.
Foreign air crew may fly domestically to their next point of departure from Australia if necessary.
Flight crew of domestic flights are subject to the same quarantine restrictions as the general public.
Maritime crew
Maritime crew are exempt from hotel quarantine, but the conditions of their exemption is a little trickier.
Maritime crew are required to self-isolate for 14-days after leaving their last international port of call. This means that maritime crew can spend their entire self isolation period at sea prior to arriving in Australia as long as no illnesses have been reported on board during that time.
Therefore, maritime crew who have spent longer than 14 days at sea on a commercial vessel, with no illness reported on board, do not need to self-isolate on arrival in Australia.
If maritime crew arrive in Australia within 14 days, they are required to self-isolate at their home for the remainder of the period.
Support staff on maritime vessels, such as livestock handlers and veterinarians, are also considered maritime crew and are subject to the same exemptions.
But these exemptions do not apply to cruise ships.
Also, international maritime crew flying into Australia to join a vessel are not required to undertake hotel quarantine but they must proceed directly to the vessel or self-isolate in their accommodation.
They may travel domestically to reach their vessel, but must self-isolate in their own accommodation during any layover time.
Workers on offshore gas and oil operations are also exempt from hotel quarantine, under the same exemptions as apply to maritime crew.
Travellers from a Safe Travel Zone
The Department of Health website says that travellers arriving in Australia from a Safe Travel Zone country do not need to quarantine as long as they have not been in any other country in the previous 14 days.
Currently this exemption applies to travellers from New Zealand, as New Zealand is the sole country to be designated by Australia as a Safe Travel Zone country so far.
Once you touch down in Australia from New Zealand, you may still be required to undergo health screening.
But in the Safe Travel Zone you will not come into contact with passengers from other countries.
However, according to the Department of Home Affairs, quarantine-free travel from New Zealand is currently only available to NSW, the ACT, NT and Victoria.
If you arrive into any other state you will still be subject to mandatory quarantine.
Once in Australia, travellers are subject to the same social distancing and health guidelines that Australian residents are.