A digital traveller declaration system years in the making is now being used for all outbound flights at one of Australia’s busiest international airports, marking the latest expansion of the pilot that began last year.
The Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) is the Australian Border Force’s latest attempt replace the paper-based incoming passenger card that weary travellers fill out en route to their chosen airport.
It follows two failed attempts to replace the yellow arrivals card, with the last 2021 project part of the failed permissions capability platform that cost the federal government $16 million.
Qantas has been trialling the ATD on trans-Tasman flights to Brisbane for the past six months, allowing passengers to complete declarations through the airline’s app up to 72 hours prior to travel.
On Wednesday, the ABF said the pilot program would expand to “eligible passengers on all Qantas flights arriving at Brisbane Airport”. Brisbane is Australia’s third busiest airport after Sydney and Melbourne.
ABF commissioner Gavan Reynolds said the expansion of the pilot “marks a significant advancement in our mission to modernise border processes and enhance the traveller experience”.
The ABF has been working towards a fully digital border for almost a decade as part of the ‘Seamless Traveller’ initiative, which has also seen the rollout of new departure gates with facial recognition capabilities.
But border technology in arrivals halls has only been partially upgraded thanks to a failed venture with Vision-Box that has since made way for a 10-year deal with French biometric firm IDEMIA.
Home Affairs says the new kiosks offer a “improved experience for travellers”, but there have been complaints from some that they are more cumbersome, resulting in long, bleary-eyed queues.
It is worlds apart from the ATD pilot, which Qantas group chief customer and digital officer Catriona Larritt said had received “positive feedback” from the 12,000 passenger to have used it to date.
The app, which has been largely built-in house, allows passengers that complete the digital form to receive a digital pass that includes a QR code that needs to be shown to ABF officials on arrival.
It aims to streamline declarations and digitise data for immigration, customs and biosecurity checks, which could lay the groundwork for the ABF’s long held ambition of a tech heavy border system.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, which is working with the ABF and Qantas on the trial, has already seen “new efficiencies” since the ATD pilot got underway last year.
“Trial findings so far have demonstrated a more seamless traveller experience while allowing biosecurity officers to increase their focus on detecting non-compliance and managing risky goods,” DAFF deputy secretary of biosecurity Justine Saunders said.
The ABF is now looking to expand the ATD to other airports and other airlines, but has not provided a timeframe for this future rollout.
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