A total of 253 applications have been refused.

In 801 cases, commissioner Michael Outram allowed people into Australia for compassionate reasons, including visiting families where people are critically ill or have died. He refused 195 applications in the same category.

Mr Outram told a Senate hearing on the coronavirus this month he made decisions to let people into Australia case by case, applying "a no-harm rule".

"I have to balance the advice ... that the vast majority of COVID-19 cases have been imported from people coming from overseas and there's a need to protect our country and community from COVID-19," he said.

"On the other hand, in some of the welfare or humanitarian cases - it's kind of heartbreaking in a way because people would ordinarily be able to come and see people who are critically ill, terminally ill or who have passed."

Australia began closing its borders when it banned travel from China on February 1 and has announced increasingly stricter lockdowns of the borders in the weeks since - adding Iran, then South Korea, then Italy.

On March 19, the borders were closed to everyone other than Australian citizens and permanent residents, and people exempted by Mr Outram.

On March 16, all arrivals to Australia were told to self-isolate and on March 29 compulsory two-week quarantines began.

Since March 25, Australians have been banned from leaving the country.

Mr Outram has approved 121 applications from non-Australian students to enter the country, and refused just one.

He approved 473 applications to enter for people with crucial skills, almost half of whom were medical workers, while rejecting 16. Business leaders have their own category.

Fifty-seven business leaders have been allowed to enter, while six have been refused.

And he approved 112 diplomatic arrivals, rejecting one.

Another big category of exemptions is for people on protection visas - 329 of whom have been allowed to enter Australia, and 34 of whom have been refused.

Mr Outram approved 4967 transit travellers.

The Border Force also has discretion to allow Australians to leave the country after Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned travel from March 25. In the first six weeks, Mr Outram allowed 2937 people to leave the country but refused applications from 1065.

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The vast majority of departures were for compassionate or humanitarian reasons, with 2189 allowed to leave for that reason. Another 694 applications to leave for compassionate or humanitarian reasons were rejected, but Mr Outram said where applications were refused it was often because of insufficient evidence - and people were encouraged to re-apply with more information.

The other reasons people have been allowed to leave Australia are for "urgent and unavoidable personal business", with 514 applications approved for that reason, but 277 refused.

Forty-five people have been allowed to travel overseas for urgent medical treatment not available in Australia, with 2 refused in that category, 136 have been allowed to travel for "critical industries and business", and 53 have been allowed to travel for reasons related to the coronavirus.