An Australian author jailed in Thailand for three years for insulting the country's monarchy in a novel that sold only seven copies has returned home after he was granted a royal pardon.

Harry Nicolaides had a tearful reunion with his family at Melbourne airport after being put on a plane out of Thailand where he had been imprisoned for several months.

Nicolaides told reporters that he found out only a few minutes before his flight home that his mother had suffered a stroke.