Australia has allowed vaccinated Australian citizens and the parents of residents to visit Sydney from 1 November without the need to quarantine.
The New South Wales (NSW) state government affirmed that all tourists and foreign travellers could freely enter.
But Prime Minister Scott Morrison later quashed that idea.
“We are not opening up to everyone coming back to Australia at the moment,” Mr Morrison said.
He said priority would be given to Australians and family members, after which the nation would then consider migrants, those with work and study visas and the “challenge” of tourists.
“This is about Australian residents and citizens first,” Mr Morrison said on Friday.
Sydney only emerged from a 107-day lockdown last week. But it is charging ahead with reopening to the rest of the world. NSW authorities say their state – which is the most populous in Australia – is leading the way for the nation.
Australia has effectively closed its borders since March 2020, making it difficult even for citizens to enter.
The decision was the world’s strictest border rules.
Australia has recorded more than 1,300 deaths from Covid-19 and more than 107,000 cases of infection.
‘Most Serious Public Health Risk’
Last month, Australian capital had facing its ‘most serious public health risk,’ after detecting the first case of community transmission.
A total lockdown went into effect across Canberra for a whole week.
The announcement came after reporting its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a year.
The country’s biggest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, are already under hard lockdowns.
