The omicron variant has seen a temporary pause in Australia’s planned reopening of its international border for most temporary visas by two weeks from 1 December 2021 to 15 December 2021. The travel bubble with Japan and South Korea has also been delayed two weeks as well.

The media release from the Prime Minister states this is to ensure a greater understanding of the variant even though cases have already been reported in returned travellers.

The existing fully vaccinated green lane travels with Singapore and the one-way bubble with New Zealand will continue along with individual exemptions.

Those who have spent any time in the affected countries in the past 14 days and have entered Australia are likely to need to undertake hotel quarantine for 14 days.

Both Victoria and New South Wales have 72 isolation requirements for all travellers entering Australia and other states and territories have their own arrangements.

Further information about the variant is likely to come forward in the next few days including if the symptoms are milder than other variants. If so, some medical experts have posited that this is on the whole more beneficial than other variants and its spread would assist in crowding out more harmful variants.