A Wollongong couple say they've been "blown away" and "freaked out" by Australia's response to the coronavirus, after they returned from Bali last week with cold-like symptoms but are still waiting to be tested.

Key points: The couple have been waiting five days for a coronavirus test

The couple have been waiting five days for a coronavirus test They say that could be a risk for other people on the flight with them

They say that could be a risk for other people on the flight with them All people arriving in Australia are now required to self-isolate for 14 days

Andrew Whyte and Michelle Carmichael-Whyte returned last Thursday morning, then both woke on Friday with symptoms including fever, cough and a sore throat.

They say the earliest they've been able to book a test is Tuesday, and that despite alerting authorities they've had no way of informing others on their flight.

"We both woke [on Friday] and thought, right, pending the information we were given on the plane, we decided to then contact our local medical centre," Mr Whyte said.

"They advised us to come straight away with a mask on, which we did, and then knock on the front door and they would bring us through to an isolation room.

"When they put us in there, they said, 'Look, the phone will ring in a minute and it will be the nurse and they'll ask a few questions.'

"So they went through the process of asking what the symptoms were, etc, where we'd been. And from then on, the doctor came in."

Mr Whyte said the doctor assessed them and deemed they needed to be tested, and advised there were two centres in Wollongong that were doing the tests.

"I started ringing those two locations, one of which no longer does it any more. The other is a drive-through, which I rang straight away and booked in," Mr Whyte said.

The earliest availability was Tuesday, he said.

"Which sort of blew us away in the fact that we thought, well, considering that we've been on a plane with 300 other people who, potentially, if we do test positive ... that is a risk and, then a further risk to other friends and family."

Mr Whyte said they had been advised results would take two to five days to come through, and he would not be able to return to his job in aged care until after he was cleared.

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The couple said they had no follow-up from authorities about alerting others on the flight, and had now put themselves into self-imposed isolation.

"We haven't had any contact with anybody," Ms Carmichael-Whyte said.

"The doctor asked a few questions about where we live, where we'd been, and that was all."

Thousands of Australians travelling overseas are now weighing up their options for returning home, amid news they must self-isolate for 14 days when they arrive back in the country.

Mr Whyte and Ms Carmichael-Whyte have ordered online shopping and their son has dropped off supplies, but for now it's a waiting game.

Mr Whyte said he had exhausted almost all of his sick leave after two bouts of the flu last year.

"This is the concerning bit I think, my wife and I are doing the right thing," he said.

"But we're in a situation where we're comfortable enough to know we've got finances that can see us through.

"For those that live from week to week, you're going to have a lot of people that may be positive that will go, 'I'm going to go to work because I can't afford not to.'"

"What freaked me out about the whole thing is there's no urgency," he said.

"I'm confident that we won't test positive even though we've got symptoms, like everyone has been saying, it's most likely a common cold.

"It's mind-blowing. And I did ring both the state and the coronavirus hotline, advised them of the situation and all they did at the end was say, 'Yeah, no, sorry, we can't really assist you there. What's your post code?' And that's it."