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The Reserve Bank is facing a major overhaul with the creation of two separate boards, one responsible for governance and the other to set interest rates.

A full review, to be handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Thursday, will make 51 specific recommendations to renovate Australia's central bank.

All of those suggestions have the government's in-principle stamp of approval.

The treasurer is also expected to name two new board members to replace outgoing members Wendy Craik and Mark Barnaba.

The creation of a governance board will bring the RBA in line with other central banks, and it will be tasked with overseeing operations that don't concern monetary policy.

The reviewers will also recommend the RBA remain independent and that it keeps its inflation-targeting framework intact.

"The review is all about ensuring Australia's central bank and monetary policy arrangements are as strong and effective as they can be into the future," Dr Chalmers said.

Some of the changes will need to be passed by parliament, and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has already signalled his party's willingness to co-operate on sensible reforms.

Mr Taylor said it was enormously important for Australia to have an independent, credible and capable central bank.

"The coalition's input into this review has been centred on ensuring the Reserve Bank's monetary policy approach remains laser-focused on returning inflation to the two-three per cent target and properly recognises the interaction of monetary and fiscal policy," he said.

As well, any governance reforms should be balanced, appropriately staged, preserve the Reserve Bank's independence and bolster its capabilities, he said.

The Albanese government began the review of the Reserve Bank last year.

© AAP 2023

The NSW treasurer will sit down with casino workers and management of the embattled Star Entertainment Group as he leaves a proposed casino tax rate hike on the table, for now.

The cash-strapped gambling company on Wednesday announced a cost-cutting initiative to slash at least 500 jobs as well as a strategic review of The Star Sydney, Australia's second largest casino.

The changes are independent of any potential impact from NSW's plan to increase casino duty rates, which Star has warned would cost more jobs.

The tiered taxation system, with a top tax rate on casino poker machines of 60.67 per cent, would add an estimated $364 million to state coffers over three years.

The previous Perrottet government announced the hike to shore up the state's financial position amid rising debt.

"That is an issue that I've inherited," Treasurer Daniel Mookhey told AAP.

"We've been pretty upfront with the people of NSW - once it's written into the budget, it has real implications."

The tax hike, which would need to pass parliament, remained government policy but Mr Mookhey has sought detailed advice about its potential effect on NSW and Star.

The previous management had left "quite a legacy" for the current operators, he said.

"We will be meeting with Star workers next week and we're looking forward to engaging with the Star management as well to have a dialogue with them about what their intentions are for their business," Mr Mookhey said.

"Many of these problems were of the making of Star's previous management team. Star's current owners need to accept that there's a long road towards remediation that they're embarking upon."

Star's managing director, board chairman, chief financial officer, chief casino officer and chief legal and risk officer all resigned in 2022 after cultural, regulatory and management issues in the casino group were exposed during a months-long royal commission-style inquiry by the NSW gaming regulator.

NSW and Queensland later found the company unfit to hold a casino licence and each issued a $100 million fine.

Star on Wednesday said it planned to ask for flexible payment terms for the two penalties and the substantial punishment anticipated from financial regulator AUSTRAC.

Its cost-cutting initiatives are expected to reduce more than $100 million in operating expenditure for this financial year.

The board said Star was experiencing a "significant and rapid deterioration in operating conditions", particularly at its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos, driven by regulatory restrictions and weaker consumer spending.

© AAP 2023

Day is set to turn into night when the sun vanishes from the sky during a rare total solar eclipse on a remote peninsula on the Western Australian coast.

About 20,000 eclipse chasers from around the world are expected to witness the phenomenon on Thursday, when the moon casts a 40-kilometre-wide shadow over the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo reef region.

"A total solar eclipse can be a life-changing experience, the temperature drops, the land and the sea looks different, and the stars come out," CSIRO deputy space and astronomy director Mark Cheung said.

"These events are even more special because they are so rare and fall on such small areas where people can witness them."

The eclipse will take about three hours as the moon passes between the sun and earth as a partial, then total eclipse, with darkness set to last about 62 seconds from 11.29am AWST (1.29pm AEST).

During that time, a bright solar corona that looks like a white halo may also become visible on the North West Cape when the moon completely covers the sun.

Veteran astrophotographer and eclipse chaser Terry Cuttle said it will be an "absolutely amazing spectacle and experience".

"Two or three minutes before the total eclipse you see the shadow of the moon coming," he said.

"It can look like a really ominous threatening thunderstorm but it's completely silent ... It's awesome ... Then, within a couple of minutes, the sun disappears."

Mr Cuttle said in the last seconds the sun's rays shine over the edge of the moon through valleys, creating an effect called "a diamond ring".

"Then the moon completely covers the sun and you get to see the sun's outer atmosphere ... It streams out from the sun in the shape of the sun's magnetic field," he said.

"It's just so black surrounded by the corona and then stars and planets come out ... You get to see the entire solar system."

Wildlife biologist Bill Bateman said animal behaviour may also change.

"Animals seem to react to the dimming of the sun as if it were an unexpected sunset and the end of the day," he said.

"Birds may stop singing and move to roosting sites, lizards may move to night-time cover."

Thursday's eclipse is also considered rare because it's a hybrid eclipse that starts as an annular eclipse in the Indian Ocean before changing into a total eclipse near Exmouth.

The town, which normally has a population of about 2800, has swollen in recent days as thousands of visitors keen to witness the eclipse arrive by air and road.

Campsites have sprung up in front yards and on vacant blocks of land, as a festival atmosphere takes hold.

People across Australia can also see the phenomena as a partial solar eclipse, with 77 per cent of the sun covered by the moon in Perth, 19 per cent in Sydney, 21 per cent in Melbourne and 27 per cent in Brisbane.

© AAP 2023