Australia's major airports have issued a stark warning: the nation risks becoming a global outlier in border technology if digital passenger processing is not rolled out urgently across all terminals and airlines.
The Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) pilot program, which began in October 2024, has expanded to include all international Qantas flights arriving at Brisbane Airport, with almost 12,000 passengers taking up the digital declaration since launch. Yet this remains a narrow trial. The system is currently available only for passengers arriving in Brisbane on international Qantas flights from New Zealand and Los Angeles, or Sydney on Qantas flights from Auckland and Queenstown.
This fragmented approach sits uneasily with airport expansion budgets. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane airports are spending $15 billion combined on terminal upgrades, yet industry leaders argue this capital investment will be wasted if the immigration processing systems behind the scenes remain outdated. Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton revealed that 32 of the facility's 40 brand-new biometric kiosks are gathering dust in a storeroom because Australian Border Force has yet to approve their activation.
The timing pressure is real. Passenger growth has surged past pre-pandemic levels, up 50 per cent since 2019 at Melbourne alone, yet the number of e-gates and kiosks has barely moved. The Australian Border Force expects international arrivals to rise 40 per cent over the next three years, yet Melbourne Airport still operates just 17 machines, the same as a decade ago.
Passenger sentiment reinforces the case for change. The Australian Airports Association released survey data showing 83 per cent of travellers favour digital, contactless arrivals. Yet Australia lags comparable destinations. Charlton contrasted Australia's manual arrivals process with walk-through, passport-free systems already operating in Dubai, Singapore and Bali.
The Australian Border Force acknowledges the pressure. ABF Assistant Commissioner James Copeman said the agency supports automation that frees officers for higher-value tasks, but cited "integration and security testing" as reasons for the delay. This explanation carries weight; border security cannot be rushed. Yet the expansion timeline remains vague.
The trial itself reveals both promise and friction. Participants' responses have included, "It's about time," "It made my life easier; I wasn't reaching for that pen," and "It was awesome; I'm already out". However, broader rollout faces coordination challenges involving multiple airlines, state agencies, and technology platforms.
For now, airports are caught between competing needs. They must expand physical capacity to handle forecasted passenger growth, yet that expansion is only efficient if coupled with modern border systems. Delaying digital upgrades forces a choice between building more physical space to absorb manual processing queues, or accepting longer wait times. Both options impose costs on taxpayers, airlines, and travellers.
The federal government's 'Seamless Borders' roadmap, mentioned publicly but not yet finalised, will be critical. The episode adds pressure on the federal government to finalise its 'Seamless Borders' roadmap before the 2026 Commonwealth Games influx. Without a firm rollout schedule across all airports and airlines, even this trial's success story risks remaining a limited proof of concept rather than a transformation of how Australia welcomes the world.