Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport will become the first Australian airport to use the new web-based Australia Travel Declaration (ATD), live for international arrivals from Monday 26 October.
The digital form replaces the paper incoming passenger card, letting international travellers lodge their immigration, customs and biosecurity declarations online before they fly and arrive with a single QR code.
It goes live on the airport’s first international flight on 26 October, available to passengers arriving on any airline into Western Sydney International (WSI), which recently also revealed its first international lounge.
More than 477,000 travellers submitted an Australia Travel Declaration across over 8,400 eligible flights between 1 January and 30 September 2026, including more than 118,000 who made a biosecurity declaration, according to the Federal Government.
Catherine King MP says the digital Australia Travel Declaration will make travel a “more efficient and simplified process”.
How does the digital declaration work?
Travellers, including families, can complete the web-form at a time of their convenience up to 72 hours before travel. They are then issued a single QR code to move through the airport on arrival.
The web-form offers an alternative to the paper incoming passenger card and builds on a pilot run between the Australian Border Force (ABF), the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Qantas.
Lodging declaration information earlier is designed to speed up passenger facilitation and help ABF and biosecurity officers target screening and adapt to global risks.
Do travellers still have to use paper?
Australia’s incoming-passenger card is being replaced by the digital Australia Travel Declaration. (Image Jenari / Shutterstock)
No. The paper card remains an option for travellers who do not have access to the web-form or a digital device, or who simply prefer the manual process.
When does it reach other Australian airports?
The Australia Travel Declaration will be rolled out to all international airports and seaports in a phased approach over the next 12 to 18 months, with industry collaboration to co-design in-app capabilities.
The Government has committed more than $56 million over four years from 2026/27 to extend the web-form format to every international airport and seaport, as part of a broader traveller modernisation project that mirrors moves overseas.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King MP says the move will make travel through Australia’s newest airport a “more efficient and simplified process”.
“This decision is another step towards providing travellers with the seamless, modern experience they can expect at WSI, Australia’s most technologically advanced airport,” she states.
Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke says the initiative is the next step in modernising the arrivals experience.
“When people arrive in Australia, I want them out of the airport and enjoying the best place in the world as fast as possible,” he says.
“This is the next step in modernising the travel experience for visitors to Australia and returning travellers – making the arrivals process smoother and digital.
“It’s fitting that Australia’s newest international airport is also the first to offer this webform capability, helping deliver a smoother travel experience from the moment passengers arrive.”
Western Sydney Airport will be first hub to officially implement the digital Australia Travel Declaration.
The Australian Airports Association welcomed the move, saying it the launch removed a frustrating process for travellers arriving in Australia.
“We’re very happy to see such great progress in the rollout of the Australia Travel Declaration, with a web-based platform allowing more passengers to get through the border process seamlessly,” AAA acting CEO Natalie Heazlewood said.
“Many people have experienced the hassle of the paper incoming passenger card, and the digital alternative is much smoother.
“Travellers on any airline will be able to use the new web-based platform, before its eventual rollout to all international airports in the next 12 to 18 months.”
KARRYON UNPACKS: For travel advisors briefing clients flying home through Western Sydney International, the digital declaration is a simple pre-arrival step that can be done up to 72 hours out, and the paper card still works for anyone without a device. With a 12 to 18 month rollout ahead, it’s worth flagging that the form clients fill in at one Australian airport may soon be the norm everywhere.