Right now! All fully vaccinated international student visa holders, and some other temporary visa holders can travel to Adelaide without requiring a travel exemption. Students who have already received a travel exemption can still travel to Adelaide.

Vaccinated travellers

You can travel to South Australia from overseas if you have completed a course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved or recognised by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

You must have evidence of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the 72 hours prior to departure. 

A negative COVID-19 test result is required for travelling to or transiting through Australia. Evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR or other Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) test taken within 3 days before your flight’s scheduled departure, or a medical certificate as proof of a negative Rapid Antigen Test taken under medical supervision within 24 hours before your flight’s scheduled departure, must be provided to your airline when you check in.

If your flight is delayed, you will still be considered to have met the pre-departure testing requirements. You will not need a new test.

However, if your flight is re-scheduled or cancelled, you will need to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 3 days before the re-scheduled flight or a Rapid Antigen Test taken within 24 hours before the rescheduled flight.Note: If you have not completed a course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved or recognised by the TGA (i.e. had one dose of 2 dose course), you will be classified as an unvaccinated traveller. Students can refer to the Department of Home of Home Affairs for updates – link here.

Click here for a full list of eligible visa types.

Your Medibank OSHC will start when you arrive in Australia. It is important that you activate your Medibank OSHC once you arrive which includes providing your Australian address and bank details. To activate, download

the Medibank OSHC App or go online at www.medibankoshc.com.au.

If your OSHC is with another provider, please get in touch with your provider directly.

Visa Application Charge refunds for students arriving before 19 March 2022

• The Australian Government has announced students who arrive in Australia between 19 January 2022 and 19 March 2022 will be eligible for a refund of their visa application charge. This also applies to dependent visa applicants who travel during this period.

• This measure applies to students who already have a visa, and may have already travelled to Australia on that visa before returning to their home country during the pandemic. It will also apply to students who apply after today, provided they are granted a visa and travel to Australia before 19 March 2022. It does not apply to students who are already in Australia.
• Travellers to Australia are required to make a declaration regarding their vaccination status, and be able to provide acceptable proof. Student visa holders must meet Australia’s vaccination requirements, or have an approved travel exemption. Information on entry requirements is updated regularly so it is important that travellers check the Department’s website for the latest requirements before they travel.

Implementation and timing

• Eligible travellers will be able to apply for this refund up until 31 December 2022. More information on how to apply for the refund will be made available on the Department of Home Affairs website shortly. This is a temporary measure.

Visa extensions for COVID-19 affected Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holders

• On 18 January 2022, the Australian Government announced that Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holders who are eligible for a replacement Temporary Graduate visa because they lost time in Australia as a result of COVID-19 international travel restrictions, will have their visas extended to 30 September 2022.
• This interim measure allows eligible Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holders who were affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions, to enter, or remain in,​ Australia to live and work until they can apply for and be granted a replacement Temporary Graduate visa.
• Visas will be extended for people who were outside of Australia at any time between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021, while they held a valid Temporary Graduate visa. 
• The extension will take effect on 18 February 2021 and visa holders will be notified directly by the Department of Home Affairs of the extension of their visa. 
• The replacement Temporary Graduate visa will be open to applications from 1 July 2022, and will provide current and former visa holders impacted by international border restrictions with the same length of stay as their original visa, regardless of how long was spent in Australia on their original visa.

For more information please go to the Department of Home Affairs website here.

Temporary removal of work restrictions for student visa holders

• The Australian Government recently announced a further temporary relaxation of work restrictions for international students across all sectors of the Australian economy to immediately alleviate workforce pressures affecting the supply of essential goods and services to the Australian community.

Implementation and timing

• The removal of work restrictions is being implemented with immediate effect.
• The general relaxation of work restrictions is a temporary measure and will be reviewed in April 2022. 

What the removal or work restrictions means

• The temporary removal of restrictions on student visa holders removes the 40 hour per fortnight restriction on work hours while courses of study or training are in session, and also means that those international students who are newly arrived in Australia and are about to commence a course of study or training, are able to seek employment and start work before their course commences.

Need to continue to meet satisfactory course progress

• The additional flexibility in work hours for student visa holders does not change the requirement that student visa holders must continue to maintain their course enrolment, ensure satisfactory course attendance, and ensure satisfactory course progress.  Student visa holders who cancel their enrolment and stop attending classes, or fail to meet satisfactory course progress, may be in breach of their visa conditions.

On 1 January 2022, South Australia removed the requirement for fully vaccinated international arrivals to undertake 7 days of quarantine.

Travellers entering South Australia are no longer required to complete an EntryCheck SA application.

Fully vaccinated international arrivals into South Australia are required to take a PCR COVID-19 test within 24 hours of arrival in SA and quarantine until they receive a negative result.

More information on South Australia’s quarantine requirements can be found here.

All people travelling in and out of Australia should be aware of Australian Government requirements for international travellers.

More information is available on the Department of Health's website.

International students arriving in Australia need to comply with the quarantine requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, as well as any other state or territories to which they plan to travel.

Before you book your flight, check the quarantine arrangements for the state or territory to which you are travelling. 

If you are planning on traveling onwards to, or through a different state or territory when you arrive in Australia, you need to check domestic travel restrictions.

States and territories in Australia can apply their own travel restrictions. If you want to travel from South Australia to another state, check the rules of the state you are travelling to before you leave. Not all state travel arrangements are reciprocal. 

QR code check-in

COVID Safe Check-In is South Australia's QR code check-in system.

All travellers should download the mySA GOV app from Google Play or the App Store before travelling to South Australia. You are required to use the COVID Safe Check-In whenever you enter a business or premises displaying an approved QR code.

If you do not have a smartphone, you must provide you can complete a manual check-in.

Yes, you will need to hold a valid Student Visa to return to Australia.

You can check your current visa status and the expiry date of your visa through VEVO or your ImmiAccount.

You can also use your ImmiAccount to apply for a new visa if yours has already expired or is close to expiring.

For further information on student visas, click here.

If you held a student visa on or after 1 February 2020 and couldn’t complete your course in your original visa validity because of the impacts of COVID-19, you may be eligible for a visa application fee waiver.

You can find out more about this on the Department of Home Affairs website, or get in touch via email with Flinders International Student Services if you are a current student here: iss@flinders.edu.au. 

Yes you can work part-time while you study. Previously, international students have only been permitted to work 40 hours per fortnight during their course.

However, the Australian Government is currently temporarily easing the restrictions of working hours for International student visa holders working in critical industries. The temporary relaxation means international students working in critical sectors can work for more than 40 hours per fortnight, please visit here for more information. 

It is important to note that all other conditions of the student visa will still apply. For example, you cannot legally work in Australia until your course has commenced. For more information on student visa conditions, click here. 

Yes, please ensure that you have a valid student visa and that you are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved or recognised in Australia so that you are ready to travel.

It is anticipated that flight capacity may be reduced in the short term as Australia begins to open up, so please start to consider booking flights as soon as you are able to.

Once you have booked a flight, please let your education provider know of your arrival date into Adelaide.

It is important to note that the emergence of the Omicron variant has resulted in closed borders for some countries, please keep yourself informed of these updates on the Department of Home Affairs website - link here.

The Department of Home Affairs has developed a helpful checklist outlining the steps you need to take to return to Australia.

Yes, only fully vaccinated international students will be able to enter Australia without a travel exemption. 

Currently the Australian Government also requires international travellers to return a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure.

The quarantine requirements vary between States and Territories and are likely to continue to change. Please click here for the latest health requirements.

To qualify as fully vaccinated, you need to have received the recommended schedule of doses of a vaccine that Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved or recognised. 

Vaccines currently recognised and approved in Australia can be found here.

You will be asked to show evidence of your vaccination status when arriving into Australia. More information on how you can evidence your status can be found here.

All fully vaccinated student visa holders from any other country are now able to enter Australia.

Fully vaccinated citizens of certain countries will also be able to enter Australia with any visa type.

For more information, please refer to the Department of Home Affairs website.

If you are a fully vaccinated international student with a visa, you do not require a travel exemption to enter Australia. 

Please consider interstate and international travel carefully and take all necessary precautions if you do intend to travel home. There is still a lot of uncertainty on border restrictions and departing Australia may affect your chance to return onshore to continue your studies in 2022. 

It is important that you speak with your course coordinator or your college enrolment course advisor if you intend to travel so they can give you guidance on your study plan in the event you are unable to return to Australia for semester one, 2022.

South Australia has a rich history of promoting and encouraging a culture of inclusion and respect, and this has never been more important than right now.

As always, Flinders University, StudyAdelaide and the South Australian government will do everything possible to support you during your time in South Australia.

Students will be able to study offshore in online mode for Semester One, 2022. Please refer to our Start your Study Offshore page for more details.

While the pandemic situation is still unpredictable, we do expect at this stage that travel will be more possible for Semester Two, 2022 and that study will be fully onshore. Please make plans to travel to Adelaide as soon as you can to complete your degree on campus