The retired and often caravan-towing holidaymakers, who regularly head to the northern states for the warmer months, are the latest group to find themselves smack bang in the middle of the COVID-19 travel confusion.
It seems there is no easy way for them to return home thanks to rapidly shifting COVID-19 conditions across the country, as well as confusion about which permits they need.
Permits are proving hard to come by for the older and retired community members, who travel for months at a time across the country, traditionally during winter.
Compounding issues for returning Victorians are the requirements surrounding transit through red zones, particularly for those stranded around the Queensland/NSW border.
Travellers there are faced with the prospect of a 24-hour dash across NSW, which has been labelled “dangerous” and “stressful”.
It is an offence to enter Victoria without a valid permit, exemption or exception, with fines of up to $5452.
Border permits are always changing and constantly need to be updated, a challenging scenario for the grey nomads, who often lack the necessary technology or know-how to meet all government requirments.
The grey nomads The Riv has spoken to say they are being “put through hoops” with online processes as they attempt to fulfill all quarantine requirements and provide a negative day 13 test.
One border resident on his way home told The Riv last week he had been given 72 hours to get from Queensland to Victoria.
He had been stuck, like many others, as lockdown conditions changed mid-trip.
But he had heard many stories worse than his own - of people in need of medical treatment, those forced into extended stays with facilities inappropriate for long-term living and others suffering heavily from the stress of not knowing when they would be allowed to return home.
