Sonya Bull did not get to say goodbye to her father in person, due to Covid-19 restrictions in Australia.

A Hamilton woman says she was denied the chance to see her ailing father in Australia due to strict Covid-19 border restrictions.

Sonya Bull's father, Colin Bull, died in a palliative care unit in Sydney on Saturday, after being diagnosed with leukaemia in October.

On hearing that her father's health was declining, Bull said she applied for entry to Australia under compassionate grounds, but her application was twice denied.

"When I called him he would ask, 'When are you coming, when are you coming?' and I would tell him that I was trying, I really was trying."

On its website, the Australian Government outlines Covid-19 travel restrictions and information for visa holders.

For those wanting to be granted entry on "compelling or compassionate reasons", they are asked to complete and submit a form.

In this request, they must outline reasons for the visit and include compelling or compassionate reasons, and how they are related to the person they are visiting.

Compelling or compassionate reasons can include: "Visiting or caring for a close relative who is seriously ill or dying, attending the funeral of a close relative, attending the birth of your child".

Bull said she made her first application to Australia's Department of Home Affairs on March 31, providing a letter from her father's doctor and all the relevant documentation proving her relationship to her father.

The letter from the doctor confirmed Bull's father had only "days or weeks to live" but the application was rejected.

Despite the doctor's letter, the government agency asked for detailed medical files.

Due to privacy reasons and patient confidentiality, Colin Bull's medical files were not able to be provided, but in an email seen by Stuff, the doctor was willing to discuss her father's medical condition in detail to the government agency, over the phone.

The application was again submitted, along with a supporting letter and medical notes. Two days later, on April 10, this was again rejected.

Colin Bull died the next day.

"I've been trying to get over there for the last two weeks," Sonya Bull said.

"It's just really frustrating because if that's not compassionate, then what is?

"There was a chance I wouldn't see him as I'd be in quarantine, but there was still a chance."

Bull has been tested for Covid-19, which came back negative, and has been in isolation since her negative test.

She was advised by New Zealand authorities not to travel in case all flights were cancelled and she was trapped in Australia for an unforseeable amount of time. But, if she didn't have any symptoms at the airport, she would be permitted to leave New Zealand.

"The last two days were the worst two days, ever.

"I know I'm not the only one but I don't think it's fair to immediate family - this is not what it means to be compassionate."

Bull's brother Rhys was able to be with their father when he died, and for that, she is thankful he wasn't alone.

"Dad is from Te Puke but moved to Australia in 2009 after being made redundant at a sawmill factory, so he went to Australia to get work.

"He was rugby mad. He once supported the [Auckland] Blues but [after] moving to Australia, he supported any New Zealand team.

"We moved Dad to palliative care in a hospital closer to my brother so he could visit him every day.

"I'm thankful for that."

The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment.