Hi everyone. Sorry if this has been asked before (can’t see it).

Has anyone obtained a government exemption to fly home?

We have a sick relative, and I wondered how difficult it was to go through the process.

Thanks heaps.

Big Barry 👍

Several people have got exemptions - not just for a "sick" relative though, more along the lines of "end of life pathway". I suppose it all depends on who and how sick - not sure that great aunt Mabel would be close enough but mother or father, certainly. Its certainly one of those times when we feel the tyranny of distance - good luck!

Depends how long you are proposing to go for. If you are intending going for more than three months (and are prepared to sign a statutory declaration to that effect), you should be OK.

My biggest fear is not getting back in. Has anyone been back to the UK recently and had any dramas re-entering Australia?

I'm sure plenty of people will have had dramas. All flights are 'full'...all it takes is for some states to have a few cases and they reduce their intake of arrivals meaning someone has to get bumped...nothing the airlines can do in this situation.

Having a return ticket definitely helps, but as stated it will need to be on her than three months. You will need to provide evidence that you can be away for that time, financial, work leave etc. as well as your reasons for wanting to depart.

Thought I’d bump this in case anyone has made it back.....

Only in my dreams, sadly

Did you apply for one? If so what reason given? Obviously the outcome was not good if you did apply.

I can't travel because I can't afford 3 months off unpaid.
Had to use all my leave for a major health issue recently, so I now have only about 7 hours available! There are many reasons why I desperately want to visit the UK (quit apart from simply staying sane!) but 3 months unpaid means not a chance, and my reasons do not fall under any heading for getting an exemption with a shorter time frame.
When I can access my super things may be different but thats a way off yet.
And before anyone says I should move permanently - I have no funds to finance such a move and have less than no chance of getting work back home. So again, stuck till that magic super starts flowing.

hi Pollyana

Why don’t you look to go back for a few weeks? Surely that would be easier to take than 3 months unpaid.....😕

Like I said I only have about a day's worth of leave at present, anything beyond that would be unpaid - and with 2 weeks quarantine to pay for at $$$$ (while on unpaid leave still) its not feasible. Besides for less than a three month trip you need very strong reasons in order to get the exemption, they don't like you going for less than three months. None of my reasons would be considered good enough to give me a shorter time.
There's also the issue of the caps on flights back to Australia. Seats are expensive and hard to come by, I couldn't risk going and then not being able to get a flight back.
I'm pretty resigned to it now, have to cope with it till I can use my super, and by then I should have some more leave stacked up too.

In May I applied for, and was granted, a visa to travel to the UK to see my Father who is quite ill with cancer. I had a letter from his doctor saying I would have to travel quickly if I was to come at all.

I booked the flight from Perth to Heathrow with Singapore airlines making sure the connections were only in UK designated green countries so I didn't have to self quarantine on arrival.

2 days before my return flight I had an email from Singapore airlines canceling my return flight from Singapore to Perth as there were no quarantine rooms available. There had been a government repatriation flight from India into Perth and they were given priority for the hotel rooms.

This was bad news indeed. I spent the next day googling flights to Australia and which city had the most spare quarantine rooms. Some of the flights were over several days and very expensive. The next day an advert came up on facebook from the governments Smart traveler site and It asked if I was trying to return to Australia, thankyou Google.. I clicked the link and it recommended I register with DFAT as it is DFAT who allocate quarantine spaces. I'd previously registered with the Western Australian Government giving them my return flight details as well as Border force who gave the exit visa's. I never thought that it would be anything to do with the dept of trade.

I registered with DFAT and 2 hours later I got a very long Email recommending commercial flights as the best option for returning to Australia. The 3 airlines they favoured were Emirates and 2 Japanese airlines as these did not double book seats in the hope of cancelations as some of the other airlines were doing. Right at the end of the email, I nearly missed it, "Or alternatively you can book on the government sponsored Quantas flight leaving Heathrow this Sunday, please click on the link below".

An hour later I was booked on the repatriation flight to Darwin. 2 weeks in the Howard Springs camp and now I'm back in Perth.

Howard Springs was an excellent place to stay for 2 weeks. Each room had a verandah and you could sit in the fresh air and talk to the others in the rooms nearby. Much better than a stuffy hotel room.

So if your going to travel out of the country my advice is to register with DFAT who are in control of who actually returns.