Queensland finally reopened its state border yesterday, reuniting families after 141 days of separation due to lockdown restrictions.


Live footage of families embracing each other after flying and driving into the Sunshine State on Monday left Today Show host Sylvia Jeffreys, who experienced the hassle of being stranded outside of her home state firsthand, teary-eyed.

'I know, it's just gorgeous,' Jeffreys said.

'It's so nice seeing everyone coming back together again. Let's move on before I really ugly cry.'

'Everyone's just got so used to being separated over this period of time.'

'To see everyone back together, it must be so surreal for them.'

Hundreds of cars lined up at the NSW/QLD border overnight, hoping to be the first to pass into Queensland at 1 am on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said that they are expecting 60,000 cars to enter the state per day — a sharp increase from 20,000 vehicles that passed into the state when borders were closed in July.

'What we will see will be more than double that,' deputy commissioner Gollschewski said.

'We could see up to 60,000 vehicles (crossing into Queensland) per day.'


Additionally, domestic arrivals could jump from 18,000 to 30,000 a day.

The first batch of passengers flying via Jetstar's JQ400 flight arrived from Sydney to Gold Coast airport at 7 am yesterday, leaving an emotional scene of passengers embracing their loved ones who were eagerly waiting for them on the other side.

The state could also see an estimate of 90,000 people entering its borders by plane or car every single day.


The Queensland government has also deployed 500 police officers at the border checkpoints to check cars and vaccine passes — the state's biggest police operation since the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Chief Superintendent Wildman reminded drivers to check if they have the correct pass before trying to cross the border.

'It is important because we've had a number of drivers try to come across with what's called a general pass, a G Pass, and the particular pass required is a general vaccine pass, which is a GV Pass,' he said.

'If people coming into Queensland don't have the correct pass, they get turned around.'


Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk closed the Sunshine State's southern border 142 days ago, the third time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Queenslanders were not able to return home for five months, forcing some of them to live as ‘refugees’ in NSW.

Despite public outcry and increasing evidence that the border closures were unnecessary, Premier Palaszczuk, her ministers, and former chief health officer Jeannette Young refused to open the borders.

In fact, the border restrictions were so strict that family members with dying relatives were denied exemptions.

Additionally, gravely ill patients in northern NSW had to be flown to Sydney.

All that is finally over as the state reaches its reopening target of 80 per cent of the population being double vaccinated.

New rules are in place for those who would like to enter the Sunshine State.

Queensland entry requirements:

- Visitors from declared Covid hotspots need to produce a negative Covid-19 test result on entry.
- A second test is required within five days of arriving in the state for those coming from a declared hotspot
- A person will no longer have to wait two weeks after a second Covid dose to be considered vaccinated before travelling to Queensland.
- Unvaccinated travellers are only allowed to fly into Queensland and need to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days.
- Residents in the border zone who are vaccinated are able to move freely across the border for any reason. A border pass is required and is valid for 14 days but a Covid test is not required.
- Motorists should expect lengthy delays at the border. Queensland Police Commissioner Katerina Carroll urged people to travel outside of peak hours and clearly display border passes on their dashboards.
- International arrivals must be vaccinated, return a negative test within 72 hours of departure, and must do 14 days of home or hotel quarantine.


For more information on the travel requirements, please click this link.