The Australia Travel Declaration: What Is Known About the Digital Replacement for the Incoming Passenger Card

What has been reported

News and trade outlets reported on 13 July 2026 that the government will phase out the paper Incoming Passenger Card in favour of a digital declaration. As reported (we could not read the primary release):

• The declaration is completed online before travel, on a webform or app, and produces a QR code that a border officer scans on arrival.
• It is reported to be funded at A$56.1 million over four years.
• Reports describe a phased introduction at international airports and seaports. One account says over 12 to 18 months and another says through to mid-2028. The two do not agree, and one source notes that no airport-by-airport schedule has been announced.
• For now, the paper card has not been withdrawn. The digital form is available only to travellers invited to take part in a pilot with Qantas.
• Reports also say the pilot is to be expanded to Perth and Adelaide by the end of 2026.

One travel site also says more than 450,000 passengers have used the pilot. That conflicts with the Australian Border Force's own earlier figure of about 12,000 participants by March 2025, so we do not repeat it.

Where the pilot came from

The digital declaration is not new. The Australian Border Force announced a pilot in August 2024, as reported by The New Daily, allowing eligible passengers on certain Qantas flights from New Zealand to complete the declaration up to 72 hours before arrival. The ABF said, as reported by Bernama, that the early window lets travellers leave prohibited goods behind before they fly.

The pilot was extended in 2025 to Qantas flights into Brisbane from Los Angeles and then to all direct international Qantas arrivals into Brisbane, with about 12,000 passengers having taken part by March 2025 according to the ABF as reported. The July 2026 announcement is about moving from that pilot to a national, phased replacement. Anything about the pilot's rules is a pilot rule, not necessarily the rule for the final system.

What the paper card asks today

The ABF publishes a sample of the Incoming Passenger Card. As at 12 October 2026 the sample asks whether you are bringing into Australia:

• Goods that may be prohibited or subject to restrictions, such as medicines, steroids, illegal pornography, firearms, weapons or illicit drugs.
• More than 2,250 mL of alcoholic beverages, or 25 cigarettes or 25 g of tobacco products.
• Goods obtained overseas or purchased duty and/or tax free in Australia with a combined total price of more than AUD 900, including gifts.
• Goods or samples for business or commercial use.
• AUD 10,000 or more in Australian or foreign currency equivalent. The card adds that if a customs or police officer asks, you must report travellers cheques, cheques, money orders or other bearer negotiable instruments of any amount.
• Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, fruit and vegetables.
• Grains, seeds, bulbs, straw, nuts, plants, parts of plants, traditional medicines or herbs and wooden articles.
• Animals, parts of animals and animal products, including pet food, biologicals, specimens, birds, fish, insects, shells and bee products.
• Soil, or items with soil attached or used in freshwater areas, such as sports equipment or shoes.
• Contact with farms, farm animals, wilderness areas or freshwater streams or lakes in the past 30 days.
• Time in Africa, South or Central America or the Caribbean in the last 6 days.

People who are not Australian citizens are also asked whether they have tuberculosis or any criminal convictions and whether they intend to live in Australia for the next 12 months. The card tells travellers to answer every question and, if unsure, to answer yes. It also asks for passport, flight and address details, occupation, country of residence and intended length of stay, and whether the traveller is migrating permanently or is a visitor or temporary entrant.

This is the card in use today, not the contents of the digital declaration. The Home Affairs entering-Australia page says you must complete and show the Incoming Passenger Card, that you may carry an unlimited amount of cash but "if you are carrying AUD10,000 or more you must declare it", and that bags are checked for prohibited or restricted items.

What a visitor or migrant should expect right now

For almost everyone arriving in Australia today nothing changes yet:

• You fill in the paper card, usually on the flight, unless you are one of the people invited into the Qantas pilot.
• The same questions and the same rule on declaring AUD 10,000 or more apply.
• The card is a declaration. It says that the information given is "true, correct and complete" and that failure to answer questions may have serious consequences. Giving false or misleading answers about goods can lead to penalties, and the ABF sets those out on its own pages.
• Arrivals who are not citizens answer additional questions on the card. A new digital form could change how those are collected, but that is not confirmed.

A person migrating to Australia is asked, on the same card, to say that they are migrating permanently. That entry is a statement about the person's intention. It does not affect the visa that person holds.

What has not been confirmed

As at 12 October 2026, none of the following has been confirmed by an official source we could read:

• The date from which the digital declaration becomes available to all travellers, and whether the paper card will be withdrawn on a set date.
• The airports and seaports that will go first.
• Whether the digital form will ask the same questions as the paper card, including the health, character and intention-to-stay questions that apply to non-citizens.
• Whether completing it will be compulsory before travel, and what happens to travellers who cannot or do not complete it in advance.
• Which languages it will be offered in and how it will work for travellers without a smartphone.
• Whether the 72-hour window used in the pilot will apply nationally.
• Whether penalties for incorrect declarations will change.

The Australian Border Force and Home Affairs websites are where final instructions will be published. Until then, the pilot is the only live version of the digital declaration.

Does this affect a visa application?

No. The Incoming Passenger Card is a border declaration made at or before arrival. It is separate from any visa application or Home Affairs visa conditions. A visa application is made through ImmiAccount, where your answers about health and character are part of the visa decision. The border declaration deals with goods, currency, biosecurity and some personal details.

The two are connected in one way: answers should be consistent. If, for example, a person tells the department in a visa application that they intend to live permanently in Australia, and then tells the border officer they are visiting, the mismatch can lead to questions. This page does not say what happens in any individual case, and a registered migration agent can advise someone with a specific concern.

Has the paper Incoming Passenger Card been abolished?

Not as at 12 October 2026. The government announced on 13 July 2026 that a digital Australia Travel Declaration will replace it in phases. For now the digital form is available only to travellers invited into the Qantas pilot, and the paper card is still used.

When will the digital declaration be compulsory?

No date has been confirmed in the sources we could read. Reports differ: one says the rollout covers 12 to 18 months and another says through to mid-2028.

What do I have to declare on the card today?

The ABF's sample card asks about prohibited or restricted goods, alcohol and tobacco above set limits, goods worth more than AUD 900, commercial goods, AUD 10,000 or more in cash, food and plant and animal products, soil, farm contact in the past 30 days and recent time in Africa, South or Central America or the Caribbean. Non-citizens answer additional questions.

Do I need to declare cash?

Yes, if you carry AUD 10,000 or more in Australian or foreign currency equivalent. You can carry an unlimited amount, but it must be declared above that amount. Officers can also ask you to report cheques and other bearer negotiable instruments of any amount.

Is the Australia Travel Declaration the same as a visa?

No. It is a declaration about goods, biosecurity and personal details made at the border. A visa, or an ETA, is a separate permission to travel to and enter Australia.

Where will official instructions be published?

On the Australian Border Force and Home Affairs websites. We could not locate the primary release of the 13 July 2026 announcement, so details here are as reported.