Australian airports will introduce fast track immigration and customs processing for international travellers – for a fee.
The proposal was outlined in last week’s federal Budget, and will be initially available at airports in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
The government did not disclose how much it expects to raise through this ‘premium’ service ‘due to commercial confidentiality’.
It has been warmly welcomed by the tourism industry and the respective airports.
Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said passengers would still go through the standard customs, immigration, and security screenings.
The ministry also said there would be no impact on wait times for passengers using standard lines.
"What we have to do is look around at our competitors in the region and elsewhere and understand that some of our most important growth markets, for example China, there is a portion that would like to be able to access premium processing," said Margy Osmond, head of the Tourism and Transport Forum.
"It’s no different to an airplane having economy, business and first class," she added.
Australian airports have implemented or proposed several measures to cut down on border control processing such as self-service check-in and automated passport control.
