Sharna Burgess blasts ‘ridiculous’ new rule preventing her from flying in and out of Australia to visit family
Sharna Burgess has slammed a new rule preventing Aussies who live overseas from flying in and out of Australia without an exemption.
The 36-year-old Dancing with the Stars pro, who hails from Wagga Wagga, resides in Los Angeles but regularly travels back home to Australia to visit family.
‘Honestly this is f**king ridiculous,’ Sharna, who is dating Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Brian Austin Green, wrote on Instagram.
‘Ridiculous’: Sharna Burgess, an Australian citizen and U.S. permanent resident, has been left furious over a new rule preventing her from flying in and out of Australia without an exemption
‘So you’re telling me if I want to visit my family, I may not be able to leave the country again to come back to my home that I pay mortgage on? To the country I pay taxes in?’ she added.
‘Unless someone decides I have a good enough reason or an upcoming contract?’
Australian citizens and permanent residents have been banned from going overseas since March 2020 but people who don’t live here could depart without permission.
Not impressed: The Dancing with the Stars pro, 36, slammed the new rule on Instagram, writing: ‘So you’re telling me if I want to visit my family, I may not be able to leave the country again to come back to my home that I pay mortgage on? To the country I pay taxes in?’
But that will change on August 11 when updated rules require them to apply for an exemption.
The government wants to stop Australians leaving the country during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce the number of people who may need to use hotel quarantine in the future.
Health Minister Greg Hunt introduced the new rules last week.
Traveller: Sharna, who hails from Wagga Wagga, resides in Los Angeles but regularly travels back home to visit her family
The amendment to the Biosecurity Act 2015 says: ‘The Amendment Determination will remove the automatic exemption for Australian citizens and permanent residents ordinarily resident in a country other than Australia, such that a person will no longer be able to rely on an automatic exemption to travel overseas where they ordinarily reside in a country other than Australia.
‘However, in exceptional circumstances, the Australian Border Force (ABF) Commissioner or an ABF employee may grant an exemption to an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, or an operator of an outgoing aircraft or vessel from the requirement not to travel outside Australian territory.
‘The person will be required to demonstrate that they have a compelling reason for needing to leave Australian territory.’
New rules: Australians who live overseas now have to get permission to leave the country after a rule change last week