Australia pilot for digital travel declarations starts

Australia has made another step towards digital travel credentials. The country is replacing its Incoming Passenger Card (IPC) with the Australia Travel Declaration (ATD), allowing travelers to share their information with airport security through a QR code on their smartphone.

The replacement of the IPC, a document that provides passenger identification and records a person’s entry to Australia, is part of a collaboration that aims to speed up and digitize travel. The project was launched last year and is led by the Trans-Tasman Seamless Travel Group. Future plans include more contactless travel initiatives, including digital credentials and facial recognition.

The Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) started piloting on Monday at select Qantas Airways flights from Auckland New Zealand to Brisbane, Australia. Eligible travelers were invited to complete the declaration in the Qantas app, receiving their QR codes for use on SmartGates. The project includes the Australian Border Force (ABF), the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and Qantas.

“As we prepare to welcome the world to Brisbane for the 2032 Olympics, we are striving to be the most innovative leaders at the border, and this is the first of many big steps in the right direction,” says Michael Outram, commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF).

During the following weeks, the pilot is expected to expand to flights departing from other New Zealand cities, including Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. The testing will also be conducted in more Australian airports, while passengers from international locations can expect to use the digital credential once the program is fully active.

The ATD was initially built into the Qantas app to speed up its launch but more airlines are expected to join the program. The government is also planning to launch a dedicated website and possibly an app.

Australia has attempted to digitize the Incoming Passenger Card before, starting with the government’s “seamless travel” initiative in 2016. The project included rolling out facial recognition-based SmartGates for scanning faces and passports. 

In 2022, the country finally launched its Digital Passenger Declaration platform, delivered by IT company Accenture after three years of development and AU$60 million (US$39.6 million) of government funding spent. The app, however, was axed after just five months because of its poor usability, according to the Executive Traveller magazine.

Article Topics

airports  |  Australia  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital travel credentials  |  facial recognition  |  travel and tourism