Australia’s COVID-19 Ban on Outbound Travel Branded an ‘Extreme Measure’: Report

While some Australians were satisfied with the response to the pandemic, the Human Rights Commission found several human rights breaches.

A nurse prepares a dose of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19, donated by the United States, at a vaccination center in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala, on July 15, 2021. Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images

Australia was one of the few countries in the world that actually stopped people from leaving the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the Australian Human Rights Commission.

This was one of many findings in the Commission’s March 11 report “Collateral Damage,” which found human rights were commonly breached during the pandemic response.

The report also reflected on the economic hardship endured, women trapped in violent households, and families unable to visit dying relatives.

Also, 3,000 Australians were surveyed by the Commission between May and June 2024, with two in five people calling their experience neutral, while the other two in five said they were disadvantaged, and the remaining one felt they benefited.

‘An Extreme Measure’

The Commission said the outward travel ban from March 2020 until November 2021 that restricted citizens and residents from leaving the country without exemption raised “significant human rights concerns.”

“While the bans were intended to protect public health during a global pandemic, preventing citizens from leaving their own country was an extreme measure that was unique among democracies during the pandemic,” the report noted (pdf).

“The possible availability of less restrictive alternatives (such as strict re-entry criteria) that would have achieved similar outcomes, raises questions regarding the necessity and proportionality of the restrictions.”

The Commission also highlighted the limited scope for exemptions to the rule, along with “criticisms of inconsistency” and a lack of transparency in how exemptions were managed.

Hotel Quarantine a ‘Form of Detention’

The Commission also described the use of hotel quarantine during the pandemic as a “form of detention.”

The body noted that under Article 9 of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, if a person is detained it must not be arbitrary and must be done under law.

“Mandatory quarantine during a pandemic is not inherently a violation of Article 9, noting that these measures in Australia were designed to protect public health and were established by law,” the Commission noted.

“However, the application of mandatory quarantine with only extremely limited exemptions, the limited access to appeals or reviews of quarantine-related decisions, and the reports that emerged of poor conditions and treatment in some quarantine facilities raises questions about arbitrariness and proportionality.”

The reported noted that 879,000 Australians were estimated to be overseas at the time the country closed its international borders, and over 300,000 had returned by May 2020.

“The reality for Australians trying to come home during the chaos of the early months of the pandemic was attempting to navigate cancelled flights, inflated ticket prices, and travel caps that differed depending on what day and what airport to which you were returning,” the report noted.

It also highlighted the 2021 Melbourne public housing lockdowns under the then-Andrews Labor government was a violation of state human rights laws.

Vaccine Mandates Backed People ‘Into a Corner’

The Commission also reflected on the use of vaccine mandates, noting that vaccine passports had significant implications for freedom of movement, privacy, and access to goods and services.

“One of the overarching criticisms of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout was that some people felt the vaccine mandates backed them into a corner where they had to choose between getting the vaccine or potentially losing their job and not being able to participate in society. Some people felt that they were not actually given a meaningful choice.”

The Human Rights Commission said every person had the right not to take part in “medical or scientific experimentation” without consent.

Commissioner’s Thoughts

Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay said Australia’s response carried a human cost.

“Measures such as international and interstate border closures, hotel quarantine, lockdowns, school closures, restrictions in aged care homes, vaccine mandates and mask mandates had a substantial—and often hidden—human cost,” she said.

“For the people who were separated from loved ones by state border closures, found themselves stranded overseas, were unable to comfort elderly parents confined to aged care homes, or whose children have struggled to re-engage at school since lengthy lockdowns, framing Australia’s pandemic response as an overall ’success’ diminishes their personal experiences.”

Finlay acknowledged there were many things Australia “got right” in the pandemic response, including a relatively low mortality rate and strong economic performance in comparison to other nations.

However, she said this was not the full picture.

While the Commission found three in five residents surveyed agreed that the Australian government “did a good job” handling the pandemic.

“Those in Victoria were least likely to agree with either of these statements,” the Commission said, in reference to the longest lockdowns in the world endured by the capital Melbourne.

COVID-19 Inquiry Says Australia Fared Well

The Australian federal government’s own COVID-19 response inquiry into the pandemic was overall more positive about the country’s response to the virus.

The inquiry noted that despite a lack of planning, Australia “fared well” relative to other nations that experienced larger “losses in human life, health system collapse, and more severe economic downturns.”

However, the report did identify a number of lessons (pdf) for the “next crisis,” including fully accounting for the broader health, economic, and social impacts of decisions.

The inquiry received 2,201 public submissions from 305 organisations, 1,829 individuals, and 67 anonymous contributors.

“Above all, Australia’s success in responding to the pandemic was a testament to the willingness to put community interests ahead of self‑interests and to all do our bit as part of team Australia,” the inquiry noted.