Alfredton man Allan Meers' second application for an exemption to return home from NSW has been denied

Mr Meers arrived in Lismore on NSW's North Coast on July 11 to visit long-term friend and colleague Nicholas Tollett who was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, but before he could return the border slammed shut.

He received word that his second application to return home to Alfredton had been rejected just hours after The Courier highlighted his plight on Monday, and two weeks to the day after his first application was denied.

"What is needed at this point is time is an immediate change in policy and approach in relation to the 16,000 Victorians stranded in NSW," Mr Meers wrote in an email to Wendouree MP Juliana Addison.

"I will be continuing to advocate not just for the right to return safely to my own home, but that all Victorians who have been subjected to your Government's cruel and callous policy, should be allowed to do so. And I will not rest until this has been achieved."

Mr Meers was also angry at the comments in the rejection letter directing those in distress to call Lifeline.

He branded as "pathetic" the advice given to "people like myself who are emotionally and financially hurting because of your government's inability to develop a suitable process by which we can return to our homes".

Ms Addison said she knew the border closures had been distressing for many Victorians who travelled in to NSW.

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"We are looking into ways to bring Victorians back home without compromising the safety of Victorians. I am in contact with a number of Ballarat residents seeking to return home and will continue to keep them informed of the situation," she said.

Premier Daniel Andrews acknowledged thousands of Victorians were stranded interstate and said he would announce "soon" plans to allow them to return.

"It won't be everyone coming back at once," he said. "The Prime Minister and I agreed, and I think New South Wales agreed as well, to do a home-based quarantine pilot and technology will be part of it.

"We want to get them all home at some point but we can't necessarily have 3000-4000 people come home right now and pretend we've got the resources to check they are all doing the right thing."

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Liberal Senator for Victoria Sarah Henderson said the situation Mr Meers and thousands of others were in was a disgrace.

"It is shocking that so many Victorians are being trapped interstate, denied permits to return to their homes. These are cruel and heartless restrictions, disproportionate to the public health risk," she said.

Federal Labor MP for Ballarat Catherine King said she had raised Mr Meers' case with the state government.

"While the specific details of individual cases my office deals with are private, I can say that anyone who has contacted my office seeking permits to enter Victoria has had their matter raised directly and immediately with the relevant State Minister's office," she said..

"We understand the state government is working with the NSW and federal governments on a way to get people stuck on the border home and able them to quarantine at home as a matter of urgency."

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