At one point Francis Nader, owner of Metro on Crown Street, was the only store between Shellharbour and Wollongong with tests available.

But instead of being hailed as a hero, Mr Nader said he has been attacked with allegations of price gouging and illicit repackaging.

Read more: BOM issues wind warning for the Illawarra

In order to clear his businesses' reputation on Tuesday Mr Nader provided the Illawarra Mercury with evidence he was operating in good faith, including invoices and other financial documents.

On December 31 Mr Nader spent $8000 on tests from his usual supplier, but due to high demand he was told he would not receive them until February. He heard of another supplier, with stock available in bulk - Homart Pharmaceuticals. He was able to purchase 800 tests for $12,350, including GST - about $15.40 per test.

"I had to send someone to pick them up from Sydney, which added about 50 cents to the cost price of each test," Mr Nader said.

"I sold them for $22, which less GST, EFTPOS fees and income tax made about a $3 to $4 per test in profit. Some people have called that price gouging. Yes we're a business, and yes we're here to make money, but we're also here to serve our community. Legally I could have marked it up to $25, but I chose not to, because it's a pandemic. I didn't want to take advantage of the fact that we were the only ones selling them."

A peculiar feature of the bulk purchase was that the tests came from the supplier in individual snaplock bags, which led to speculation the tests had been taken out of larger packs and repackaged before being sold.

To prove that was not the case, Mr Nader opened a sealed and branded package full of single-use tests in clear snaplock bags.

"That's how the supplier gave them to us, and that's how we sold them," he said.

The Illawarra Mercury newsroom is funded by our readers. You can subscribe to support our journalism here.