Strict health rules as British backpacker will 'never be able to enter' Australia due to medical condition

Joe Harker
2026-03-17T09:06:20.243Z
Lifestyle

Australia requires many people who want a visa to pass a health test, and if you don't pass you're not allowed in

Australia has some strict rules on the health of people trying to enter the country which have left a British backpacker reckoning she'll 'never be able to enter'.

23-year-old Regan Sparks has already ticked a lot of countries off her travel list having hiked mountains, ziplined and generally partaken in adventurous activities, while she's also been training to run a 10k in Paris.

All of this she's done with the chronic health condition cystic fibrosis, which causes thick mucus to block the lungs and digestive system and can lead to chronic infections.

While she's gained entry to a number of countries during her travels she cannot get into Australia as they rejected her application for a working holiday visa.

The 23-year-old relies on medication to manage her condition and gets the green light from doctors in the UK when she wants to travel, but according to the Australian government's strict health rules her chronic condition prevents her entry.

They won't let her in as they've got some strict restrictions (Instagram/Rsparks.travel)

Australia's health requirements

Trying to get a visa for travel to Australia may require you to undergo a health examination depending on the kind of visa you're applying for, how long you plan on staying in the country, your country of origin and whether you have significant medical conditions.

This can include a chest x-ray if you're over 11, blood tests for the over 15s and other examinations, and if you're applying for a visa for a group of people if one fails then typically the whole application sinks.

Those aged over 11 from countries with what Australia deems a high incidence of tuberculosis have to undergo mandatory TB screening.

Permanent visa applicants and some getting temporary visas must also undergo HIV testing.

Australia says the health examinations are to protect their population from health threats and not to burden their healthcare system.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "With the exception of tuberculosis, the migration health requirement is not condition-specific, and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity.

"Having a disease or health condition does not mean an applicant will not meet the migration health requirement."

Regan's visa to Australia was rejected due to her cystic fibrosis condition (Instagram/Rsparks.travel)

Regan cannot get in

Regan said this was 'the first time my disability has got in the way of my life' and 'the first time in my life that I have felt hatred towards my CF'.

She had never let the condition stop her from doing anything in the past but now there's an unmoving and seemingly insurmountable barrier to her chances of entering Australia.

She's spent around $1,000 in medical exams attempting to get a working holiday visa or a tourist visa to Australia, but her attempts have been unsuccessful and the Daily Mail reports she spent a couple of years trying to make her trip down under happen.

During her appeals Regan provided letters from her doctors in London and the Australian Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust, with her explaining the trust had 'basically said it's f**king barbaric not to let someone in based on a blanket assumption'.

She claimed she'd been refused entry to Australia based on their assessment of a 'hypothetical person of my age, with my condition, and how much I hypothetically could cost them', rather than her specific situation.

It has left her only path into Australia being marrying an Australian as she can't get around their strict health rules.