‘I’m alone’: grandfather says to still deny adult children entry to Australia is ‘a slap in the face’

Stewart Hayter is at his wits' end.

You can hear it in his voice, which breaks with emotion as he recalls the two years he's spent separated from his UK-based daughter Charley, his severely autistic grandson Tyler, eight, and his granddaughter Annabella, seven, who also lives with autism.

Where so many other families were given a reprieve from border restrictions allowing them to reunite before Christmas, Hayter's nightmare has continued in a farcical fashion.

In October, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced he was opening the international border to immediate family members of Australians and permanent residents, so long as they were vaccinated.

But the rules create a bizarre situation. Currently, adult children of Australian residents are not considered immediate family, but the parents of Australian residents are.

That means Hayter's daughter is not allowed to travel to Australia without an exemption. Neither are her two children or her husband.

"I can cope with anything, you can throw me any situation and I'll deal with it," he said.