Residents from the inland New South Wales border region say some have been followed by police while shopping as border restrictions continue to disrupt life.
And as COVID-19 edges closer, some say a communication vacuum has also allowed misinformation to spread, feeding vaccine hesitancy among some of the most vulnerable to the virus.
In the far north of inland New South Wales, about 1,300 people live in Boggabilla and Toomelah, a former Aboriginal Mission.
All of them rely on Goondiwindi, the Queensland town just 10 kilometres away, which is now behind a COVID checkpoint.
"They're living with anxiety and the pressure of it all."
To enter Queensland, people need to have a special permit, and according to Queensland Health you can only cross the border "for the time necessary to complete an essential purpose".
Many people in Boggabilla and Toomelah do not have a driver's licence and often have to catch a lift to Goondiwindi to buy food or attend medical appointments.
Ms Armstrong-Lang, who grew up in Toomelah and now lives in Queensland, has been trying to help her family still living over the border.
"Elders are not seeking medical services because they don't want to engage with the Queensland police," she said.
Boggabilla resident Leroy Connors said simple jobs like buying food were becoming difficult.
'Pressured' by police to return home
Christine Cubby said her daughter was recently told to hurry up and return to New South Wales.
"The police were at the food store, putting pressure on them, asking them when are they leaving? What time are they going back to Boggabilla?" she said.
The Queensland Police Service said it understood that border restrictions impacted people's lives, but it remained committed to ensuring compliance with health orders.
"In addition to operating vehicle check points the Queensland Police Service (QPS) is conducting regular patrols of border areas to ensure only permitted people enter Queensland in line with the Chief Health Officer’s Border Restriction Direction," a QPS spokesperson said.
"For example, essential business does not include going to restaurants, shops, or licensed premises outside of a declared purpose for entering Queensland."
Vaccine hesitancy a problem
This week emergency services personnel and volunteers delivered over 600 food hampers to people in Boggabilla and Toomelah.
The help was welcome, but community members said there was another problem.
He and Rosie Armstrong-Lang are suggesting a different approach may be needed to persuade those who were hesitant about getting vaccinated.
"They would rather people come in and do an information session about these vaccines, about the virus, about the processes, the effects it could have on them, before just coming in and setting up a clinic and asking people to take the jab," Mrs Armstrong-Lang said.
The ABC has also spoken to other community members who say many residents are simply not turning up to vaccine clinics.
Three days ago, fragments of the COVID-19 virus were found in the sewerage system in Moree, just an hour south of Boggabilla in New South Wales.
It has become a place where some from Boggabilla and Toomelah have had to go since Queensland closed its border.
"We're stranded in the middle," Christine Cubby said.
