Dear students,
I am writing to inform you that the Australian Government has from today suspended travel from mainland China to Australia for everyone except Australian citizens, residents and their families.
If you haven't yet left for Australia, this means you won't be able to get here for several weeks.
We know this will be a shock and want to reassure you that, as a member of our community, we still look forward to welcoming you on campus when you are able to travel.
If you are about to arrive from China you will be required to self-isolate for up to 14 days.
This directive applies to travellers from all of mainland China and not just Wuhan and Hubei province.
All travellers who have come in contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus must also self-isolate for up to 14 days.
In addition, the Australian Government has advised that all travel from mainland China to Australia will not be possible until further notice.
I want to reassure you that you are welcome at ANU as soon as it is possible for you to join us. We are committed to making sure you can still pursue your studies with as little disruption as possible.
For those of you who have already arrived at ANU or who are already in Australia, we will work with and support you if you need to complete the 14-day self-isolation period. We have already started making arrangements for this across our student residences.
For those of you who remain in China, we will contact you again in coming days. We are committed to you completing your studies with minimal disruption and will explore how you can do this while you are away from the ANU campus. We are committed that no one will be financially disadvantaged by this, and we will also work to do everything we can to help you make up lost study time.
We know you will have a number of questions about this development. We have put on a specialist team who will be able to answer your questions via telephone. Calls will be answered between 9am-4pm AEDT. If you are outside Australia, please call +61 2 6125 7257. If you are in Australia please call 1800 620 032.
Please also check our website regularly for updated information and advice.
I know this news will be terribly disappointing for many of you. It is disappointing for the entire ANU community who were looking forward to you joining us on campus over these next few weeks. You are a vital and important part of our community.
Please be assured that the entire ANU community stands with you. And we are looking forward to the time when we can all study, work and learn and live together as one.
We will be in touch with further updates as soon as we can.
Professor Brian Schmidt AC
Vice-Chancellor
Professor Grady Venville
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
