Australia will replace the paper arrival card with a digital declaration at every airport and seaport

Australia announced on 13 July 2026 that it will phase out the paper incoming passenger card and replace it with a digital declaration at every international airport and seaport in the country. The government is putting A$56.1 million over four years behind the change, which builds on a Qantas pilot that more than 450,000 passengers have already used. Digital declarations are expected at all Australian international airports and seaports within 12 to 18 months, with more capital cities, including Perth and Adelaide, joining the pilot before the end of 2026. For anyone flying into Australia — tourists, returning residents, or new migrants arriving to activate a visa — the familiar mid-flight scramble for a pen is on the way out.

Background

Every traveller arriving in Australia is currently required to complete the paper incoming passenger card, which combines an identity declaration with customs and biosecurity questions. The card has long been one of the last mandatory paper steps in an otherwise heavily automated border: Australia already uses SmartGates for passport control, but the card itself has survived decades of digitisation. A digital alternative, the Australia Travel Declaration, has been trialled since October 2024 on selected Qantas flights into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, beginning with routes from New Zealand. The government says more than 450,000 passengers have used the digital version during the pilot and described the trial as a significant success.

What exactly was announced

The announcement, made jointly on 13 July by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell, Acting Transport Minister Kristy McBain and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, commits A$56.1 million over four years to take the declaration national. The Qantas pilot expands first to other capital cities, including Perth and Adelaide, before the end of 2026. The declaration then reaches all international airports and seaports over the following 12 to 18 months, initially as a web form open to travellers on any airline, with in-app versions to be co-designed with industry later. Travellers can complete the declaration up to 72 hours before departure and receive a QR code that border officers scan on arrival; the code also works offline, so a dead connection at the gate does not block entry. Trade Minister Farrell said the goal is that "visitors can spend less time filling out forms and more time enjoying everything Australia has to offer."

Who it affects

The change touches everyone who enters Australia. Someone relocating on a skilled or partner visa will make their first landing — the arrival that activates the visa — with a pre-submitted declaration instead of a rushed paper form. Families arriving with children can complete everything at home before the flight. Frequent travellers between New Zealand and Australia, where the pilot began, are already the largest user group. For now, though, the digital option is limited to Qantas passengers on flights into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, so most arrivals will keep using paper for some months yet.

What this means in practice

There is nothing you need to do today. If you fly Qantas into Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne, you can complete the declaration up to 72 hours before departure and skip the paper card; everyone else continues as before until the rollout reaches their airport and airline. If a move to Australia is on your horizon, the paperwork at the border is getting lighter but the visa process itself is unchanged; our Australia country guide at /country-guides/australia covers the visa routes, costs and settling-in steps that still apply. Australia joins New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Canada in moving arrival declarations onto travellers' phones, and the government says the investment also prepares border agencies for growing traveller volumes ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.