The carols were supposed to go ahead on December 9 at the Bradman Oval.

The committee made the announcement on their Facebook page on November 12.

"When we proposed that the Carols could go ahead, the NSW Government indicated that both vaccinated and non-vaccinated members of the community would be able to come to large outdoor public gatherings Bowral Family Carols Director Irma Le Roux said in the post.

"As we recognised that the Southern Highlands was ready to gather as a community, we set about organising the event and in a short period of time, all arrangements have been put in place to do so."

Restrictions also meant that the carols were cancelled in 2020.

Read more:

It was announced on November 2 that restrictions are due to ease for non-vaccinated people once NSW has 95 per cent of residents double vaccinated or on December 15.

The Bowral Family Carols post continued to explain that the committee was in the process of applying for an exemption, but was rejected.

The response they received from the state government said that "this time it is necessary to maintain restrictions to protect all people of New South Wales, including those who would be at grave risk should they contract COVID-19".

"Unfortunately, with our limited resources, we are unable to meet the additional requirements set out by the NSW government for the event to proceed," Ms Le Roux said in the Facebook post.

"We were looking forward to celebrating a joyous occasion, and acknowledge that this is a sad loss for our community!"

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.

Did you know the Southern Highland News is now offering breaking news alerts and a daily email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.