Permission to Leave Australia

[kbmanufacturing]

Hi All
We were planning on buying a Catamaran about now and sailing the Bahamas/Caribbean from October 2020.

However, the Australian Government does not allow 'most' people to leave the country at the moment. So our plans are on hold.

I have already arranged leave from work for 2021 and the kids are a good age to go now, rather than wait another year.

I was thinking about writing a letter to try and seek approval. (If its worth cruising atm is a question for another time and Im sure changes from week to week)

Has anybody been granted approval and is able to give me some pointers about how to form a compelling argument to allow the travel.

(I did see the news article about a wealthy business man being granted permission to go over seas for "business" and to also to buy a boat.)

Regards
Dave

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by kbmanufacturing

Has anybody been granted approval and is able to give me some pointers about how to form a compelling argument to allow the travel.

Last time the statistics were made public, more than 9,000 Aussies had applied to exit. Govt employees only gave something more than 2,000 approval.

The process, and the grounds for successful application, are public. Work through: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia

The process takes about 4 weeks. So you apply at least 4 weeks before your nominated departure date.

You're not the only one who is seeking approval to exit but has not donated to a political party associated closely with the Morrison govt or do not have a personal connection with a senior-ranking person in one of those parties. Clearly those two criteria are a big help in gaining approval. For the rest of us, it's a 2 out of 9 game.

[BigBeakie]

I'm in the same boat, or rather, not in the boat.

As I understand the process, as Alan has said above, you make an application putting hatever compelling reasons you think you can credibly muster. Then when you are rejected you file an appeal & at that point a human may read your application.

I would suggest as Herr Stollman did, that you say you will agree to, upon your return to Oz, to pay in full for any quarantine costs incurred, and otherwise to abide by any circumstances that may arise in the future due to COVID-19.

You gotta be in it to win it! Good luck.

[2020]

in spite of the best efforts of our otherwise unthinking bureaucrats you do not actually need permission to leave Australia. we are not a closed draconian state of control. HOWEVER, without permission or a valid passport / visa you will not be accepted by any international airline and, unless requesting asylum, will not be granted entry to almost every other country. You will also be treated abysmally by the authorities when you attempt to return.
Australia is a party to seven core international human rights treaties. The right to freedom of movement is contained in articles 12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Article 13: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
The determination by parliament on 25 March 2020 was an official travel ban that imposed with the passage of the Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Overseas Travel Ban Emergency Requirements) Determination 2020. Section 5 of the Determination states that Australian citizens and permanent residents must not leave Australia unless a general exemption applies or an exemption is granted. It also states that operators of aircraft and vessels must not leave Australian territory with a passenger who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident unless the person has an exemption.

It is unconstitutional and against our agreement with the U.N.
Nobody except the semi rich semi idiot Clive Palmer has the money and time and resources to challenge the government on this.

So YES you can leave on your own boat or plane but not in anybody else's

[Karanga]

Originally Posted by 2020

in spite of the best efforts of our otherwise unthinking bureaucrats you do not actually need permission to leave Australia. we are not a closed draconian state of control. HOWEVER, without permission or a valid passport / visa you will not be accepted by any international airline and, unless requesting asylum, will not be granted entry to almost every other country. You will also be treated abysmally by the authorities when you attempt to return.
Australia is a party to seven core international human rights treaties. The right to freedom of movement is contained in articles 12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Article 13: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
The determination by parliament on 25 March 2020 was an official travel ban that imposed with the passage of the Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Overseas Travel Ban Emergency Requirements) Determination 2020. Section 5 of the Determination states that Australian citizens and permanent residents must not leave Australia unless a general exemption applies or an exemption is granted. It also states that operators of aircraft and vessels must not leave Australian territory with a passenger who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident unless the person has an exemption.

It is unconstitutional and against our agreement with the U.N.
Nobody except the semi rich semi idiot Clive Palmer has the money and time and resources to challenge the government on this.

So YES you can leave on your own boat or plane but not in anybody else's

You can leave in your own boat??
Has anyone succeeded in this approach?
I am genuinely interested in this issue...

Tim

[2020]

OK Firstly I am not a conspiracy theorist of any kind, nor anti gov. Beaurocracy just gets bigger until it's entirely disconnected, in any institution be it church, corporate or government. As someone who has had a lot to do with both sides of the fence I guess you could say my beliefs start and finish with the statement "We the people ..."
The key in reading government based statements is not what they say but also what they DO NOT SAY. The entire (Australian) government response is predicated upon their total control of your ingress and egress points and those whom they allow to operate commercially at those points. They simply can't conceive of anybody who operates outside of those parameters. The mindset does not allow them to consider anything else.
eg: all statements at the Australian government info page (https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia) and reproduced selectively below, refer to airports ONLY. An aside for maritime is mentioned, but only in (their minds) a big shippy sort of reference.
"If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption
If granted an exemption, you must take evidence of that exemption decision to the airport.
If you do not think you need a travel exemption, you can present this evidence when you check-in at the airport
You are exempt if you are: maritime crew"

More broadly, YES you do have the absolute right to leave this fine nation in your own boat UNLESS you are planning to commit a crime of destruction or wilfully, against a person eg you're a pedo, a gun / bomb runner or a slave trader. If you are planning to take children with you, the dept of community services might choose to get involved as a delaying / obstructionist tactic. The bigger problem is where you intend to seek safe harbour once you've left.

[SV DINGO]

I think we had similar discussions here before .

In my opinion i mdoubt whether OZ will send the Navy out if i pass the 50 or 200 Mile marker , the authorities are pretty busy with arresting demonstrators and keeping quarantine hotels now lookeed up so i doubt they would constantly look out for small boats but i could be wrong.
All i want to ask is , if i make it through the net , where would or could i sail to? Fiji maybe yes but thats about all right now.

So for me is not so much the question could i leave but where could i go to.

[2020]

ps Tim: nice boat

[Karanga]

Thanx 20!

I very much agree with your common sense view on the situation and the application of the rules.
I would however be somewhat anxious turning up at say Thursday Island or Darwin, to 'check out' to Indonesia (for example, since some of there is open) and be faced with "boots on the ground" border force personnel who probably have a better relationship with the rules and Peter Dutton than I do...

Tim

Originally Posted by 2020

ps Tim: nice boat

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by kbmanufacturing

Hi All
We were planning on buying a Catamaran about now and sailing the Bahamas/Caribbean from October 2020.

However, the Australian Government does not allow 'most' people to leave the country at the moment. So our plans are on hold.

I have already arranged leave from work for 2021 and the kids are a good age to go now, rather than wait another year.

I was thinking about writing a letter to try and seek approval. (If its worth cruising atm is a question for another time and Im sure changes from week to week)

Has anybody been granted approval and is able to give me some pointers about how to form a compelling argument to allow the travel.

(I did see the news article about a wealthy business man being granted permission to go over seas for "business" and to also to buy a boat.)

Regards
Dave

Having signed a contract to buy a boat would probably carry more weight than going overseas to shop for a boat.... the wealthy business man was going o/s to take delivery of a new yacht that he had bought....

My current plans are to wait for a vaccine ( I'm of an 'interesting' age) , then apply to go back to Ecuador.... hoping next austral autumn.... living in hope...

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by SV DINGO

In my opinion i mdoubt whether OZ will send the Navy out if i pass the 50 or 200 Mile marker

As you say, the Aus govt is totally unlikely to send the RAN after you. It's not a RAN issue, it's an Aus Border Force issue.

The ABF does have its own boats. Which are on patrol, not on call to chase a yacht.

Besides, the ABF does not need to chase you. Sailing out of Aus waters without an ABF clearance is an offence (see: https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-...pleasure-craft).

The ABF will wait until you enter an Aus port to enforce the issue.

And at least some, but not all, economies will insist on you showing your port clearance from Aus when you enter their port.

[clownfishsydney]

Very unlikely you will be allowed to leave Australia for this reason. Even if you had your own boat here and wanted to leave, they are unlikely to let you leave. Why? Because no country within any reasonable distance from Oz will let you in, so you would have to come back. We cannot go to any close country at the moment even if Australia let us leave.

Put your plans back a year is the best and only option.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Karanga

You can leave in your own boat??
Has anyone succeeded in this approach?
I am genuinely interested in this issue...

Tim

tim

despite some incredibly stupid advice given here by a.n.other, NO you cannot leave on your own boat, unless you apply for and are granted permission

no harm to ask, and it may help to give undertakings about quarantine, not returning etc etc...but don't hold your breath.

btw, even if you decide to break the law and successfully sneak out, you will be arrested at your first port of call when you do not have a port clearance

cheers,

[lovinlifebda]

Even if you were allowed to leave Australia the Bahamas and the Caribbean are not open for business. No telling at this point what the future holds, some islands that did start to open up are closing down again as Covid spikes. We are presently in the Caribbean and have no idea what sort of travel will be allowed or even recommended this coming cruising season.

[Karanga]

Once I looked properly at the wording of the border restrictions and possible (or not) exemptions, it becomes rather clear that departure is currently almost impossible - by any method of transport.
It may very well be that this contravenes some sort of bill of rights etc, but most of us don't have the resources to challenge their imposition.
So, it's sit tight for a (long) while. How this all ends can't even be imagined, but the world surely can't carry on like this...

Tim

Originally Posted by chrisr

tim

despite some incredibly stupid advice given here by a.n.other, NO you cannot leave on your own boat, unless you apply for and are granted permission

no harm to ask, and it may help to give undertakings about quarantine, not returning etc etc...but don't hold your breath.

btw, even if you decide to break the law and successfully sneak out, you will be arrested at your first port of call when you do not have a port clearance

cheers,