The only way out?

The Guardian Australia recently reported that an Australian woman who flew to Sydney from New York has been told she would have to book a $5,000 charter flight in order to see her dying father in Melbourne. Anna Coffey, a student in New York, was informed by her mother last Monday that her father’s condition was worsening after he suffered a second stroke. She booked the first available flight she could find, which was to Sydney. She had assumed she could apply for an exemption to quickly see her father in Victoria.

The chaotic process

Coffey stated that she has provided them with what they’ve asked her for, and every time they come back the next day they ask for more things she needs, more evidence than what she has provided. She is now in hotel quarantine in Sydney, told Guardian Australia that NSW Health told her the only Covid-safe means of getting to Melbourne was to book a charter flight. She has been vaccinated against Covid, said she had tested negative twice already.
Earlier on last Friday, the Victorian government reclassified all of greater Sydney, the central coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour as “red zones”, meaning people who have been there in the past 14 days are not permitted to travel to Victoria. Anyone who has arrived in Victoria from those regions since 11 June must get tested and isolated until they receive a negative result. Coffey said she might have to pay the money and book the flight if there was not another choice.

Takeaway from the Coffey’s story

It is known that all international travellers need a whole quarantine for 14 days. Arguably, Miss Coffey should have understood there will be another 14 days of hotel quarantine if she transferred from Sydney under the current circumstance. Assuming her situation is extremely urgent, she could have bought a straight flight ticket to Melbourne instead of interchanging in Sydney and avoiding a 28 days hotel quarantine and less travel spending.
Moreover, Miss Coffey mentioned NSW Health told her chartering a flight was the only way to get to Melbourne and leave earlier. However, she did not stated the name or position of the person who told her. This could be considered as a non-authoritative answer, which meant it could be any anonymous people advice from the NSW Health department. A non-official response should not be argued as the advice to Miss Coffey and fully blamed on the NSW Health department.