Editorial policy

What we're trying to do

Give Australians accurate, specific, current answers about what they need before an overseas trip - and be honest about the limits of what we can tell them.

Who writes and reviews the site

Every page is written and reviewed by Jamie, the site's founder - an Australian traveller with 81 countries behind them, which is where the site's obsessions with departure-gate visa checks, plug types and activation-friendly eSIMs come from. Guides carry the byline; every fact page names its reviewer in its structured data and shows the date it was last reviewed against the official source. There is no content farm behind this site - when a page is wrong, there is one person responsible for it, and the contact page reaches them.

First-hand use

The providers recommended on this site are ones Jamie personally uses. That means eSIMs bought and used overseas from the connectivity providers listed, activities booked through the platforms in the tables, travel cards spent on abroad, and insurance informed by policies personally taken out. Being a partner never substitutes for being a customer: providers appear because the products held up in use, and the affiliate relationship is disclosed separately.

Comparison figures still come from the provider's published pricing and terms rather than from memory - personal use tells us whether a product deserves a place in the table; the provider's own published numbers fill the cells.

Sources

Entry requirements are sourced from three places, in this order of authority:

1. The destination's own immigration or foreign affairs authority
2. Smartraveller, the Australian Government's travel advice service
3. The destination's embassy or consulate in Australia

Every destination page lists the exact sources used and links to them. Where those sources disagree, we follow the destination's own authority and say so.

Product information comes from provider APIs where available, and from the provider's own published terms, PDS or rate card where not.

Review cycle

Every entry requirement page carries a "last reviewed" date. We review:

• Daily and automatically. Each morning we re-read the government page every destination cites and compare what it says about durations, fees and visa status against what it said last time. Where nothing has changed, the review date moves to that day, because re-reading the official source and finding it unchanged is exactly what the date claims.
• Immediately, by a person, when that comparison finds a difference, or when Smartraveller or a destination authority announces a change. The date does not move until someone has read the source and updated the page.
• Before peak season for the destinations Australians travel to most.

A date that has not moved for a while means one of two things: a government page we could not reach, or a change we are still checking. Either way the date tells you, and we would rather show an old date honestly than imply currency we can't back up.

Prices

Comparison prices are labelled as indicative unless they come from a live provider API. Prices change constantly and the provider's site is always authoritative. We show prices in AUD to make comparison possible, which means converted prices are approximate.

Corrections

When something on this site is wrong, the process is:

1. Tell us through the contact page - or any channel that reaches Jamie. Reports that link the official source that disagrees with us get fixed fastest.
2. We check the source, not our memory. The claim is re-verified against the authority listed on the page.
3. We fix the page, and its review date moves - so the correction is visible in the same place the error was.
4. Material errors get a note. Where an error could have affected a real decision - a wrong visa rule, a wrong medication rule - the corrected page says what changed, not just the new answer.

We would rather publish a correction than defend a mistake. Every source we rely on is listed on the data sources page.

General advice only

This site provides general information for Australian travellers. It is not personal financial, medical or legal advice, and it does not consider your individual circumstances.

• Insurance: comparisons describe policies in general terms. Before buying any policy, read its Product Disclosure Statement and consider whether it suits your circumstances - the PDS, not this site, is the binding document.
• Health and medication: information about travelling with medication is general guidance. Decisions about your medication belong with your doctor, and the final word on what may enter a country belongs with that country's authorities.
• Entry requirements: we work hard to keep them current, but governments change rules without notice. The official sources linked on every page are final, and you should confirm against them before booking or flying.

Rankings

Every comparison table can be re-sorted by price, which orders on the number alone and ignores every commercial arrangement. The default order is set out in our terms. A paid placement sits at the top of the table it is in and is labelled Featured partner there; it does not change the order of the rows beneath it, and it does not buy a better write-up, a higher rating or a drawback left out.

Financial products

We are not licensed to give financial advice and don't. Travel insurance and travel money content is general information only. We link to the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination for every financial product we mention, and we tell readers to check whether a product suits their circumstances.

Automation

Prices and availability are updated automatically from provider APIs.

Entry requirements, guides and warnings are researched and written by people, and no automated process edits them. What is automated is the checking: a daily job reads the official sources and either confirms that nothing has changed, or flags the difference for a person. It can move a review date. It cannot change a rule.

Corrections

We correct errors promptly and note material corrections on the page. If you spot something wrong, email hello@beforeyoufly.com.au - corrections from readers are genuinely welcome, especially from people who've just been through a border.

Independence

No advertiser, affiliate partner or commercial relationship gets a say in what we publish about them. If a partner asks us to remove an accurate warning, we decline and, if it matters, we say so.

Last updated 2026-10-08.