16 Jul 2026 General

Flying home just got easier: Australia's Arrival Cards are going digital

No more searching for a pen at 35,000 feet!

Australia is set to modernise your arrival experience, with the current paper Incoming Passenger Card gradually being replaced by a new digital system over the next two years.

Following a successful trial, the Australian Government will expand the Australia Travel Declaration (ATD), making it quicker and easier for international travellers to arrive home.

Find out how the new system works and why your next trip back to Australia could be smoother than ever…

A smarter way to arrive

For decades, anyone entering Australia by air or sea has been required to complete the orange Incoming Passenger Card before clearing immigration and customs.

But soon, many travellers will be able to complete this process digitally before they even board their flight!

The new Australia Travel Declaration allows passengers to submit their arrival information online up to three days before travelling. Once completed, travellers receive a unique QR code that can be scanned by Australian Border Force officers upon arrival, reducing paperwork and streamlining the border process.

The initiative is designed to make arrivals more efficient while helping reduce congestion in airport immigration halls.

Currently available on selected Qantas flights

The digital declaration has been trialled since October 2024 on selected Qantas international services arriving into Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Having proven successful, the government is moving ahead with a nationwide rollout, and in late 2026, the trial will expand to include Perth and Adelaide.

Available to all travellers from 2027

The biggest change comes next year, when the Australia Travel Declaration will become available to all international travellers, regardless of which airline they fly.

Instead of being limited to the Qantas app, passengers will be able to complete the declaration through a dedicated government web portal before travelling.

The Government also plans to continue working with airlines to integrate the declaration directly into airline apps, creating a seamless pre-arrival experience similar to the current Qantas trial.

Importantly, traditional paper cards won’t disappear immediately. Travellers who cannot access the online system will still be able to complete the existing paper declaration.

Why this matters

With handwritten arrival cards slowing down passenger processing and contributing to congestion in busy arrivals halls, moving to a digital system offers several benefits including:

Complete your arrival declaration before you travel.
Faster processing through the Australian Border Force.
A more modern and efficient border experience.

The rollout also comes at an important time as Australian tourism is forecast to increase from approximately 8.8 million visitors a year to 11 million by 2030.

With major global events such as the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games on the horizon, modernising Australia’s border systems has become a key priority to help accommodate increasing passenger volumes.

The future of international travel

Many countries have already embraced digital arrival declarations, and Australia is now following suit with a system designed to improve efficiency while maintaining border security.

For travellers, the change means less paperwork, shorter queues and a smoother arrival experience.

As the rollout continues across all Australian international airports and seaports, the days of searching for a pen to complete an orange arrival card during your flight may soon become a thing of the past.