Court rejects challenge to Australian government ban on foreign travel

Most Australians have been stranded in their island nation since March 2020 under a government emergency order made under the powerful Biosecurity Act

Most Australians have been stranded in their island nation since March 2020. File Picture: Steve Parsons/PA

An Australian court has rejected a challenge to the federal government’s draconian power to prevent most citizens from leaving the country so that they do not bring Covid-19 home.

Australia is alone among developed democracies in preventing its citizens and permanent residents from leaving the country except in “exceptional circumstances” where they can demonstrate a “compelling reason”.