A West Australian couple trying to return home from Queensland say they were threatened with a $20,000 fine or two weeks in jail if they boarded a flight after having their G2G pass rejected.

As the Delta variant continues to spread, WA Police are rejecting many applications from people trying to fly home from New South Wales and Queensland, but have so far provided little guidance or clarity on what kind of cases will be successful.

Emma Butler and James Mahoney were supposed to fly out of Cairns on Sunday night, and already had G2G Passes approved, but just hours before their direct flight to Perth was due to leave they were notified their passes had been rejected.

When Ms Butler rang the state's COVID helpline, she said she was informed that if they boarded the flight they would be fined up to $20,000 or jailed for two weeks.

"We were talking to other people in the airport, in the same situation and they decided to risk it and get on the flight," Ms Butler said.

"We decided that it would be too risky. 

"But we actually had contact with one of the people that did board the flight and they did not have an approved G2G Pass and they were allowed entry into WA.

"I've tried to contact the police asking why those people were allowed to enter WA without their passes, and they've told me that they do not wish to comment."

In a statement to the ABC, WA Police said that anyone who proposed to enter WA must "truthfully and accurately complete a G2G Pass".

"Any person who arrives in WA without having completed a G2G Pass may be refused entry and may be directed to leave the state," the statement said.

It is understood people who arrive without passes will not be fined or jailed.

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'No-one can give you a clear answer'

Now stranded in Cairns, Ms Butler said subsequent attempts to get another G2G Pass have been rejected and the couple risked losing their jobs in Perth.

They flew to Brisbane on July 16 to visit family and then travelled onto Airlie Beach and then Cairns on July 21.

Since then, South-east Queensland has gone into lockdown with an escalating outbreak of COVID-19.

Ms Butler said she fully supported border controls to keep COVID-19 out of WA, but said the current G2G system was flawed.

"At any moment, if you've got an approved pass, they can just cancel it, without warning you at all.

"There's no-one that you can talk to with any kind of authority that can give you advice.

"No-one can give you a clear answer."

The ABC asked WA Police on July 27  for figures on how many G2G Pass applications have been approved and rejected since the start of the Sydney lockdown, but it has declined to comment.

The ABC also asked for information on how many officers are dealing with G2G Passes currently, compared to a year ago, but this information was also not available. 

Process mentally draining on children

Vic Santella's partner Chayapa has tried over 20 times to get a G2G Pass approved so she can fly from Sydney home to Perth with her two daughters, aged 7 and 9.

She flew to Sydney in late June to meet the girls off a flight from Bangkok and join them in hotel quarantine for two weeks.

Mr Santella said they originally had G2G Passes approved but these were rejected a few hours before their flight to Perth.

"I just want to get my partner and the kids out of there," Mr Santella said.

"It is quite disheartening because every time you apply, the notification comes back as being rejected.

"They say just keep applying but the thing is the answer is still the same.

"My partner is a resilient person but it's wearing her down.

"Mentally it's draining and the two little girls need to go to school."

Premier Mark McGowan said he was not aware of the individual circumstances of the cases.

"Obviously in the case of New South Wales, people had a long time to get home and we toughened up the rules so for many people, it may mean that they are in New South Wales for a while," Mr McGowan said.

"But in the case of Queensland, we want to get people home. If those issues are out there, we will certainly follow them up with police."

Mr McGowan said he was unaware of the exact fine that people would face if they returned to WA without a G2G Pass.

"We have been through this for 18 months, we've put in place a whole range of legislative changes to allow people, or allow police to charge people in certain circumstances," he said.

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