Dealt with the devastating news his terminally ill mother had just weeks left to live, Matthew King raced to apply for a border exemption into Queensland, only to be blocked by flaws in the application process, wasting precious time.
It comes after months of reports of stranded Queenslanders in desperate situations trying to return to their home state, with more than 8,310 border passes yet to be processed as of October 1.
Brisbane resident Tony Barrington told ABC Radio Brisbane his family had been delivered the devastating news on Monday that his wife and Matthew's mother, Vicki, only had weeks to live.
"After a series of diagnoses, we've worked out she's got Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is a one in a million chance of contracting it," he said.
Matthew King lives in Sydney and immediately attempted to apply for a border exemption pass to travel home to see his mother before she passes.
"A mandatory question early in the portal says what flight are you on and what dates you require travel but of course you can't answer that question without knowing if you're actually going to be allowed to come to Queensland," Mr Barrington said.
Mr Barrington said Mr King called Queensland Health and was told he could not be transferred to the exemptions unit but acknowledged there was a problem with the online application, so forwarded his details to the exemption unit.
"He then got an email from the exemptions unit and in the email it says this is what you need," Mr Barrington said.
It has been confirmed an error in the email was provided and this has been flagged with the exemptions unit for the future.
Frustrated, Mr Barrington rang Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath's electorate office, and within 20 minutes his son received a voicemail from Queensland Health saying they would contact him but with no information about a time or date.
"I don't feel it's right, people shouldn't have to go through this process and this much grief when we're already facing grief," Mr Barrington said.
"My son is already facing the fact that his mum may not remember him when he gets here.
"He's not asking for an exemption from quarantine, he's asking to be allowed to come and see his mum while she remembers him and before she passes.
"He's got to do 14 days in quarantine and that's OK because it's appropriate but what happens to him if his mum passes?"
Exemption granted following media reports
After being contacted by ABC Radio Brisbane, Mr King has been informed he has been approved for an exemption.
In a statement, a Queensland Health spokesperson said they were unable to comment on individual cases.
"We know border restrictions are inconvenient and can cause disruption to people's lives and livelihoods," the spokesperson said.
"We must balance these factors against the serious health risk to more than five million Queenslanders.
"The Queensland Health Exemptions team works incredibly hard, under very difficult circumstances, seven days a week."
The statement said Queensland Health treated end-of-life visits with "absolute priority and we process these applications as quickly as possible".
"We are doing everything possible to process exemption requests as quickly as we can."
Mr Barrington said the process should be improved for anyone trying to return to Queensland.
