The ban on cruise ships coming to Australia is likely to end next month, with a formal announcement expected within days, Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan says.
Mr Tehan says the federal government is waiting for the tick of approval from the NSW and Queensland governments, which are finalising state health protocols.
"We have agreed in the next day we are going to get all the work necessary, so hopefully on Wednesday we can announce that 17 April is the day that cruising can begin again," the minister told Sky News.
"We now see absolutely no reason why we can't make that formal announcement now that we have NSW and I am pretty sure we are going to have Queensland onboard."
Mr Tehan said the resumption is "another piece of wonderful news" for the tourism industry and Australia continues to re-open to the world.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has previously said he would work the federal government to allow cruise ships to return to Australia, saying it makes sense to take a consistent approach to reopening the borders to international flights as well as cruise ships.
"It has made no sense to me that we can have a situation right now where people can fly overseas, jump on a cruise and come home, but we can't go cruising from our own country," Mr Perrottet told a cruise line industry forum in September 2021.
Cruises to Australia have been banned since March 2020, following the Ruby Princess debacle of that month.
After the ship docked in Sydney Harbour from San Francisco, thousands of passengers disembarked and spread through the Australian community, leading to Australia's first outbreak of the Alpha variant - with 28 deaths and around 900 people contracting the virus.
Ruby Princess passengers with COVID-19 were allowed to disembark in Sydney in March 2020. Source: AAP
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia has welcomed the pending resumption of cruises to Australia.
"The Minister’s comments are very encouraging and the industry now has greater confidence that we could see a green light soon," CLIA Australasia managing director Joel Katz said.
Cruise lines are in discussions with respective state governments to make sure public health protocols are in place so trips can be conducted safely.
"There's still work to be done, but all indications are that we’re on track for a revival in Australia over coming months," Mr Katz said.
According to CLIA, the ban on cruises took a devastating toll on some 18,000 Australians, whose work has been impacted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Tehan said the Commonwealth has been ready to go for a number of weeks.
"We just got to make sure NSW and Queensland tick off on what their health officials say and if they do that, we're there," he said.
"The Commonwealth wants to go. I have been pushing for us to go for a number of months."
Additional reporting by Rayane Tamer.
