Over the last few weeks, I traveled through the Philippines, Thailand and Kazakhstan and not once did I fill in any paper-based immigration or customs forms, despite multiple entry and exit border crossings. It was a totally seamless effort to fly between those countries, with the most taxing being navigating, for the first time, the Philippines eGOV eTravel app.

Australia is finally catching up

That blissful approach to border control relied on digital applications, but not in my home country of Australia, where it was back to a pen-and-paper system and long queues at the airport. Trying to find a pen in a dark cabin in the middle of the night at the tail end of a long-haul flight is a frustration endured by many travelers arriving in Australia, and ticking the wrong box will only add to the misery further during the airport checks.

However, today, I learned that Qantas customers traveling from New Zealand have become the first to experience a fast-tracked arrival process. This gives me hope that I may one day enjoy experiences in Melbourne similar to those I had in Kazakhstan, Thailand, the Philippines, and many other overseas destinations.

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In a joint initiative with the Australian Government, Qantas is the first to pilot the digital Australia Travel Declaration, which is a digital replacement for the current paper Incoming Passenger Card. The pilot program has commenced and is now available between New Zealand and Australia on Qantas flight QF126 from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Brisbane Airport (BNE).

Photo: Brisbane Airport Corporation

Qantas said that the use of the digital Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) will be expanded to include passengers traveling from other New Zealand cities to Brisbane in the coming days. Additional Australian destinations will be added to the ATD program early next year, while more international destinations will be added in the coming months.

Qantas agrees that finding a pen is an issue

Qantas Chief Customer and Digital Officer Catriona Larritt said that Qantas is delighted to partner with the Federal Government to make flying into Australia that little bit easier for millions of tourists and Australians each year. She added:

Photo: Airbus 

What the authorities have to say about the ATD

According to the Australian Border Force (ABF), the custodians of the nation’s borders, certain criteria need to be met for passengers to use the ATD. The ABF said that some adult passengers on certain Qantas flights from New Zealand into Brisbane will be invited to complete a digital Australia Travel Declaration, which can be submitted through the Qantas app up to 72 hours before their departure to Australia.

Passengers not invited to use the digital declaration will have to complete the paper-based form, while those invited to use the ATD need to meet the following criteria:

• traveling alone
• are 18 years or older
• can complete the declaration in English
• must use the kiosks and SmartGates at the airport

Photo: Joao Fachetti | Shutterstock

ABF says that one of its officers will scan the declaration pass when a passenger is about to exit the airport, or passengers may be asked to scan their declaration pass around the baggage carousel. While they won’t have to find a pen or their glasses, passengers will need to ensure their phone is charged and that they can easily access the declaration pass on the device. Customers who prefer to use the paper-based system can continue to do so.

Qantas customers can access the ATD pilot via the Qantas app and complete the required travel declaration online up to 72 hours before departure. Once that is done, they will receive a QR code via email and in the Qantas app that can be shown to ABF officers instead of using the paper incoming passenger card. This is the latest feature on the app and adds to the inbound flight tracker, baggage tracking, passport scanning and ‘click to call’ features recently added.