In a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday, Ombudsman Deborah Glass slammed the program as “inhumane” and a “bureaucratic nightmare” that left Victorians shut out of the state.Victoria’s border crossing permit system was first introduced in January 2021 to prevent incursions of Covid-19 from other states and territories with active community transmission.In July, thousands of Victorians were shut out of the state when hard border closures banned anyone from “red zones” returning home without an exemption.The Ombudsman’s investigation, launched in September, found that of the 33,252 exemption applications received between July 9 and September 14, just 2736, or eight per cent, were granted.Up to 1000 applications were being processed daily, with staff given on average 30 seconds to categorise and prioritise applications.Of 10,812 exemption applications to return home for health or care and compassionate reasons, just 895 were granted.Of the more than 2600 people who applied to return home to attend a funeral or end of life purposes, just 877 were granted.And of the 971 exemption applications to care for animals, only 35 were granted.In stark contrast, almost three quarters of all applications for emergency relocation were granted.Ms Glass said she received more than 300 complaints over refused exemption applications allowing Victorians to farewell loved ones at funerals, attend vital medical appointments, care for sick family members, return home to care for animals, or to start jobs.Some found themselves facing effective homelessness because they lived in Victoria and could not return.“People’s anguish when they spoke to us was palpable,” Ms Glass said.“While we did not review all decisions and I do not suggest that all were unfair, the overwhelming majority of applications did not get to a decision-maker at all, and the guidance did not change even as case numbers in Victoria grew and the risks evolved.VICTORIA’S TRAVEL PERMITS“The consequences of that were vast, and unfair, for many thousands of people stuck across the border.”Ms Glass did not criticise the decision to close the border but said while discretion to approve exemptions was available, most applications never reached a decision-maker.“The result was some of the most questionable decisions I have seen in my over seven years as Ombudsman,” she said.“There is no doubt the government provided explicit warnings to Victorian residents interstate. But people still reasonably relied on a traffic light system which previously would have seen them come home under strict conditions.“Even in a global health emergency, some people need to cross state borders, and too many found themselves bereft.“The effect of a complex and constrained bureaucracy meant some outcomes were downright unjust, even inhumane. People felt caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare.“It appeared to me that the department put significant resources into keeping people out rather than helping them find safe ways to get home.”When Victoria’s hard border was announced in July, there were just 20 staff members to handle exemption requests.The team was scaled up to 285 by September.Ms Glass called on the government to publicly acknowledge that the narrow exercise of discretion resulted in unjust outcomes and consider measures to alleviate this.She also called for improved policies and guidance for such schemes and the consideration of ex gratia payments to help cover the financial cost of not being able to travel home.It is not the first time Ms Glass has been scathing in her reaction to the government’s pandemic response.She has previously called for a public apology over the sudden lockdown of public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington, finding the move violated the human rights of residents.
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