There has been a blow for Irish people hoping to move to Australia in the near future.
Australia's international borders might not fully reopen until the middle or second half of 2022, Trade Minister Dan Tehan said.
Asked in a Sky News interview when borders might open, Tehan said "the best guess would be in the middle to the second half of next year, but as we've seen throughout this pandemic things can change".
"It's going to very much depend on how we are able to deal with the global pandemic."
Tehan said he hoped more travel bubbles could be opened similar to the one between Australia and New Zealand.
He said: "The hope would be that we might be able to see a few more bubbles set up and we'd be able to see more travel undertaken, but we're in a pandemic."
Tehan added that a wave of cases on the Indian sub-continent showed Australia's near blanket ban on arrivals was still esssential to keep Australia Covid-free.
Since March of 2020, Australians have been banned from travelling overseas and a hard-to-get individual exemption is required for foreign visitors to enter the country.
Meanwhile, Australia will lift a ban on its citizens returning from COVID-ravaged India next week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as state officials reported that an outbreak in Sydney appeared to be contained.
Morrison stood by his decision to impose a biosecurity order last month barring all travel to and from India, a policy that drew heavy criticism from lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.
Morrison said the travel banhad prevented Australia's hotel quarantine system from being overwhelmed.
"The order that we have put in place has been highly effective, it's doing the job that we needed it to do, and that was to ensure that we could do everything we can to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 here in Australia,'' Morrison told reporters.
Australia will charter three repatriation flights between May 15 and May 31, prioritising around 900 people deemed most vulnerable, Morrison said.
The government estimates around 9,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents are in India.
Prospective travellers will need to return a negative COVID-19 test, and will be required to undertake the standard 14-day hotel quarantine imposed on incoming travellers.
Morrison said his government is unlikely to allow the resumption of direct commercial flights from India in the near term and has instead asked state authorities to accept additional repatriation flights.
