For years, Triona Mullahy dreamed of coming to Australia and escaping the dreary Irish winters for the Southern Hemisphere sun.

Key points: Triona Mullahy has spent the last money on a flight she hopes will not be cancelled

Triona Mullahy has spent the last money on a flight she hopes will not be cancelled Dan Campbell and his girlfriend are worried about running out of money as they look for work

Dan Campbell and his girlfriend are worried about running out of money as they look for work Backpackers claim consulates and airlines are not helping them with their predicaments

But after joining thousands of fellow Europeans on the working holiday pilgrimage to Australia, her dream sojourn has become a nightmare and the 27-year-old is now broke, homeless and stranded.

"I was staying at a hostel for eight months and they just kicked me out because of social distancing. So they closed the hostel and then on the Monday, I lost my job [in a call centre]," she said.

"So I was jobless and homeless in 24 hours."

She is currently staying on a friend's couch in Melbourne and has spent the last few days desperately trying to find a flight home.

She has purchased four return journeys and has spent $8,000 trying to get back to Ireland but they have all been cancelled.

She has a flight booked for Sunday, which she said was her last hope.

"I don't know what I'll do, I don't think I've got enough food to last me till after that. I don't have any money to buy basic things," she said.

Ms Mullahy approached the Irish embassy for help, but she was told there was nothing they could do and suggested she contact her parents to wire her money.

"It's a lot of money and my parents aren't in a situation to do that," she said.

Her working holiday visa means she is not eligible for any financial help from the Australian Government.

"I get it the Australian Government has priorities, but we just want to be a priority and at the moment it seems that it's just like 'You're a backpacker, we want nothing to do with you'," she said.

"They say they want social distancing but how can we do that when we're homeless and have to sleep on a couch or cram into a house."

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Backpackers stuck and running out of money

Ms Mullahy said she fell in love with Australia and had planned on making it her new home but said her trip had been ruined and she was scared to travel here again.

"It was a dream, but I don't know what it is now … I don't want to be here now," she said.

The ABC has spoken to at least six people on working holiday visas who are in the same situation.

Many have given up on trying to find flights and are migrating north to find work on farms.

English backpackers Dan Campbell and Leanne Hawkes want to go home but say flights are very expensive. ( Supplied )

Dan Campbell and his girlfriend Leanne Hawkes, who are from England, have spent a year travelling the country and were both let go from their jobs in a call centre.

They tried to get home as the virus began to rapidly spread but they also had their flights cancelled.

They are in Queensland seeking out low-paying work on a farm but said that has all been taken by other backpackers in similar predicaments.

"As of right now, I would say we are stuck, flights are very expensive and we have both been let go from our jobs," Mr Campbell said.

"We are worried about running out of money, we are looking for more work, any kind of work, for that matter."

Backpackers said that consulates were closed, and airlines were just as unresponsive.

As a result, Ollie Simpson, a British tourist who is also stuck in Australia, helped start a Facebook page which helps others trying to get home.

So far, it has only been bad news.

"Flights are constantly being cancelled so all of people's money is tied up with airlines," he said.

"People have come out here with some money, in hindsight they would've liked to have come out with more, but you could never predict this situation."

He said most people on working holiday visas got jobs in a bar or hospitality and now that industry has collapsed.

"So the familiar phone call of asking the folks for money isn't so easy now because their parents might have lost jobs," he said.

"So they're without jobs, they're without money some of them have run of medication in health pandemic and they can't get home."

He said the great thing about the Facebook group is that people were banding together trying to find places to stay.

"I've heard of people that have spent nights in a hotel foyer somebody else told me they spent a night sleeping on the beach," he said.