The New Zealand travel bubble is set to resume with selected states from July 5, after being temporarily put on pause this weekend. 

The NZ government has announced that the trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia will resume from 11.59pm New Zealand time on Sunday July 4, but only with Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania. 

Quarantine-free travel across the Tasman was temporarily halted over the weekend, following the rising number of coronavirus cases in Australia. The travel bubble remains closed to New South Wales. 

In order to be eligible to travel to New Zealand, potential travellers from Victoria, SA, ACT and Tasmania must not have travelled to NSW since June 22, or to WA, Queensland or the NT from June 26. In order to enter New Zealand, negative pre-departure COVID-19 tests will be required for all travellers. 

“The health advice is that the spread of COVID-19 in these parts of Australia has been contained at this point,” said NZ COVID Response Minister Chris Hipkins. “The cabinet agreed that partially lifting the pause was the appropriate course of action.” 

Trans-Tasman travel to NZ from NSW, WA, Queensland and the NT will remain on pause. The situation is to be reviewed next week, and it’s anticipated that an announcement will be made on Tuesday July 6.

For full details on the current travel arrangements between Australia and New Zealand, head to the NZ government’s quarantine-free travel with Australia page. 

When can I fly from Australia to New Zealand?

Quarantine-free travel to New Zealand officially became a reality at 11.59pm Sunday April 18th, allowing travellers from Australia to visit New Zealand from April 19th without the need for mandatory quarantine.

When can I travel to New Zealand?

The NZ travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia is currently only operating with Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

In order to enter New Zealand, travellers from Victoria, SA, ACT and Tasmania must not have travelled to NSW since June 22, or to WA, Queensland or the NT from June 26. They will also be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure.

The trans Tasman travel bubble originally began on Monday April 19, with New Zealand opting to manage the bubble on a state-by-state basis, effectively considering Australia as another region of New Zealand.

Passengers travelling to New Zealand will fly onboard a green zone flight. Green zone flights will exclusively fly passengers from Australia, with no passengers who have come from elsewhere in the world.

Green zone flights will also be flown by crew who haven’t flown on high risk flights for a set period of time.

Related story: The trans-Tasman travel bubble could be operating as early as mid-April

What safety measures are in place for the trans Tasman travel bubble?

There are a few extra safety measures in place, to reduce the risk of someone carrying COVID-19 entering the country.

Passengers will be asked to provide contact information; no one will be permitted to travel with cold and flu symptoms; and during the flight and while in the airport, masks will be mandatory.

Visitors will also need to download the New Zealand COVIDtrace app to ensure reliable contact tracing during their visit.

While in airports, Australian visitors will be taken through “green zones”, meaning they’ll have zero contact with travellers from other parts of the world. New Zealand border security will also be conducting random temperature checks at the airport.

Related story: 4 New Zealand wine regions to bookmark for your first trans-Tasman bubbly

Australia New Zealand travel bubble updates and final steps to come

Final protection control audits at all New Zealand airports are occurring over the next two weeks. Ms Ardern said that any airport which isn’t ready won’t be part of the April 19 opening date.

What about travel to NZ from QLD?

Travel to New Zealand from Queensland is currently on pause. The situation will be reviewed next week, with an announcement expected on Tuesday July 6.

Prior to the original opening date in April, Prime Minister Ardern had said: “The trans Tasman travel bubble represents the start of a new chapter in our COVID response and recovery.”

“I think we’re opening at exactly the right time. We believe it is safe…”

Prime Minister Ardern also noted that some of the spaces currently in-use as managed isolation facilities could potentially be considered for other low-risk countries like the South Pacific Islands.

Further announcements to come.

Related story: The surprising destinations Aussies could be travelling to in 2021