[QUOTE=Bankstown Boy;10291731]Sort of, but only once.
Coming out of Glen Innes in the dead of winter, freezing level well below LSALT with lots of wet, grey cloud about topping at about 9,000. I was IFR, in IMC (but out of the clouds) and ATC said to remain outside controlled airspace.
Often ATC needs to coordinate with an adjacent sector to approve a clearance. As I have been told, “remain outside controlled airspace” is the response required until the clearance is agreed.