Shearers from New Zealand were among the Kiwis caught travelling to Melbourne last week.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said 55 New Zealanders entered the state following the opening of a travel bubble between New South Wales and New Zealand, despite Victoria opting out of the bubble.
Among those New Zealanders were a number of shearers, reports Australia's ABC News.
Shearing Contractors Association of Australia secretary Jason Letchford confirmed to ABC the shearers were on the first flights out of New Zealand to Sydney, and they later went on to catch a flight to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. But he says they did nothing wrong.
"Anecdotally I know they were on those flights and there was nothing illegal or incorrect in what they did - they followed process and were sponsored by their employers and had the correct permit to travel from metropolitan Melbourne to rural Victoria," Letchford said.
"The workers and employers should have been applauded by Premier Andrews for making the effort to get here so quickly.
"They shouldn't have been poo-pooed by the Premier, as they are actually coming into the state to work and are trying to keep the economy going."
Although shearers and wool handlers are allowed to travel to Australia and in some states begin work immediately without having to quarantine, Letchford said he was still expecting only "a dozen at best" to come as they would still need to quarantine - at their own cost - when they return to New Zealand.
Before COVID-19, around 480 seasonal shearers travelled to Australia from New Zealand for the spring season, he said.
"We are halfway through spring now and this new travel bubble is really just a one-way ticket to New South Wales, so we don't expect many shearers from New Zealand to jump on aeroplanes," Letchford told ABC.
