• The Morrison government says it is forging ahead with plans for a national vaccine passport program, despite sustained criticism from state leaders.
• State premiers, including WA’s Mark McGowan, have pushed back on the plan and suggested fully vaccinating the population would be more effective.
• The push for an internal verification system comes as a new proposal for digital vaccine passports for international arrivals is introduced.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to back down on his plan for vaccine passports, despite pushback from state premiers.

The Morrison government this morning said it will take a draft proposal for travel exemptions, which will allow vaccinated people to move between states regardless of any snap lockdowns, to next week’s national cabinet as part of the next phase of Australia’s opening up strategy.

The statement follows work by federal and state departments around a vaccine record plan. This would track the movement of vaccinated Australians if and when border restrictions are suddenly imposed; part of a plan to ensure people are not left stranded when this occurs.

Despite the name, it has insisted the proposed exemption is not a “passport” but rather a practical measure where a person would not have to apply for a state entry pass to travel between states impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and outbreaks.

The announcement comes amid pushback from state leaders, who last week questioned the timing and effectiveness of an internal vaccination passport.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who has largely resisted state border closures, argued last week that Australians should be able to move freely around the country irrespective of whether or not they have been vaccinated.

And Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, speaking to Nine Network last Thursday, said she agreed with her NSW counterpart that the plan wasn’t necessary.

“I don’t know how a passport would work around Australia,” Palaszczuk said.

On Sunday, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein joined the chorus in describing a vaccine passport as a premature step.

McGowan, who has adopted the hardest line of all state leaders in imposing COVID-19 restrictions, said he had not discussed the idea with the federal government and questioned how the logistics would work.

“Setting up the logistics for an interstate passport confirming you’ve been vaccinated, with what vaccines and when will take months, if not years,” McGowan said.

Gutwein echoed these statements and suggested the plan only served to highlight the failures of the national vaccination program, saying “it would take a long time to implement in a fashion that’s ­reliable”.

“A far simpler solution is for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.

However McGowan did concede that in an international context, some form of vaccine passport made sense, particularly following statements from Qantas that anyone getting on an international flight would need to be vaccinated.

“In the longer term for international travel, it makes sense,” McGowan said. “Within Australia, it makes far more sense to all get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Home Affairs outlines how Border Force might use digital vaccine passports

Morrison’s statements come as proposals for ways to safely re-open Australia’s international borders are also being aired.

In Monday’s Senate estimate hearings, Home Affairs department secretary Michael Pezzullo said the government is proposing a new digital permit system that will be used to verify people’s COVID-19 vaccination status.

Pezzullo said that “digital passenger declarations” will be the first use of that technology, digitising the incoming passenger card people fill out before they enter Australia.

To enforce the system, Border Force will be tasked with verifying people’s vaccination status, including if they have been vaccinated overseas.

Pezzullo said this action “could support the ability to travel without 14-day quarantine on return” or alternatives to hotel quarantine.

He noted that before the pandemic Border Force dealt with 50 million passenger movements per year, and now they are handling just 2% of that.

Pezzullohe also said the successful tenderer would need to have a prototype ready by the end of next year, with a trial by the first half of next year, before an assumption that Australia will reopen “at scale” by mid-2022.

The new declaration will require passengers to declare vaccination status as they check in, before they arrive in Australia.

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