australia OPENS THE DOOR to international music tours

NEWS FLASH 14 Dec 2021 - Australia is reopening its border to vaccinated travellers. This is part of the governments step-by-step  reopening to the world.

From 15 December 2021,​Finally,  ‘408 Entertainment Visa’ holders will now be able to travel to Australia without an needing an exemption (provided they are also fully vax'd).
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​Finally,  ‘408 Entertainment Visa’ holders will now be able to travel to Australia without an needing an exemption (provided they are also fully vax'd)

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Up until now music tours were not seen as being a valid purpose to obtain a border exemption due to music not considered "critical to the economic recovery" of the country.

So even if a band obtained their 408 entertainment visas the border control exemption applications would be........ red stamped... DENIED – NOT EXCEMPT

Prior to this month, and  federal travel restriction last year , the only musicians we have been able to obtain an exemption for were essentially those very few where the visit related primarily to  film/TV production (eg documentaries, reality TV, movies).  Film & TV  production was a designated "a critical industry for economic recovery”.  

So that is the reason folks that when tours were announced, they were swiftly postponed and the only international musicians whom performed live where those already in the country and / or held an existing residency permit, or entered for another main purpose, and the performance was secondary. 

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