Queensland Police are building a border fence to stop New South Wales residents illegally entering the state.
The 700m wall was erected on Thursday in the Gold Coast suburb of Coolangatta after motorists, tired of the long queues to cross the border, drove around plastic barriers and bypassed checkpoints.
The Courier said the main culprits were Tweed Head Hospital visitors and border residents.
"This is our commitment to keeping COVID-19 out of Queensland," Gold Coast chief superintendent Mark Wheeler said of the wall, 7News reported.
"What we're finding is, people were encroaching across the fencing that was there. They were coming into Queensland technically unlawfully. So we just strengthened that up.
"I understand people are frustrated, but by doing that they're actually breaking the law. We'd ask them not to do that. That’s why we've taken this action."
Motorists have been facing delays of over an hour, with queues as long as 8km.
But Wheeler says police are implementing a new border pass which will make it easier to manage checkpoints and protect Queensland from COVID-19 community transmission.
People crossing the border will now fill out an online form in advance – but providing false information or entering the state illegally could result in a NZ$4250 fine.
The restrictions come after a recent outbreak of coronavirus cases in NSW after a "patient zero" attended a party.
"A man from Melbourne came into a workplace in Sydney, and then there's some transmission within that workplace and then they all went to a party that night of the third of July, at the Crossroads hotel," NSW Health Operations Manager Jennie Musto said.
"So this is where it all began."
At least 40 cases of COVID-19 have now been linked to the outbreak, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
