Kiwis will be able to enter some Australian states without quarantining in two weeks' time, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister has announced.
From midnight on October 16, New Zealanders will be able to travel freely over the ditch - but they will need to quarantine on their return to Aotearoa.
The system will be one-way initially, so Australians will not be allowed to enter New Zealand. Only a few states and territories will be involved in the scheme, reports 7 News.
"Northern territory and New South Wales are very much open, and we welcome those New Zealanders coming here," Michael McCormack said on Friday afternoon.
McCormack said the bubble would present an opportunity to fill agriculture jobs, saying there is "a lot of wool to be shorn".
"We've got work to be done here in Australia, and we can't do it all ourselves," he told reporters.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media earlier on Friday that international tourists will not be allowed into New Zealand until it is safe.
"We will not open the borders for quarantine-free travel with Australia until it is safe to do so, because doing it too early risks losing all of the freedoms that we already have in our economy," she is quoted as saying by 7 News.
Newshub has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Comment.
This is breaking news - more to come.
