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A four-year-old girl who went missing on the Tasman Peninsula has been found alive and well.

About 100 people have been involved in the frantic search for Shayla Phillips in southern Tasmania since she went missing on Wednesday afternoon.

State Emergency Service crews conducting a close-to-ground search spotted her on a steep slope in dense bushland near Halls Rd just after 4pm on Friday, hundreds of metres from where she went missing near Stormlea Rd.

Inspector Gavin Hallett said Shayla was able to walk but appeared disoriented, and police reunited her with her mother as soon as they could.

"It was obviously very emotional when I passed the happy news on to mum. She was very grateful," he told reporters.

Shayla has been taken to hospital for medical assessment after spending two nights in the remote area where temperatures dropped to 11C.

"Dehydration would be an issue so certainly that's something they'd be wanting to fix as soon as they can," Insp Hallett said.

The area where she was found was about 500 metres from the nearest home, and had previously been searched from the air, but not on foot.

Insp Hallett said he knew that search crews, combing their way through dense bushland, simply had to persevere.

"We've said all along this was a search and rescue operation, there was nothing at all to indicate that anything untoward had happened, we knew that if we just kept pressing away we would find her," he said.

"It was certainly a great relief to find her safe and well."

It's understood the search crew saw her about 100 metres from where they were.

Thermal imaging drones, helicopters, divers and sniffer dogs from Victoria Police were involved in the search.

Shayla had been playing outside with dogs from a neighbouring property when she was last seen about 2.30pm on Wednesday, wearing pink leggings, a cream top, and gumboots.

When her mother went to check on her after about half an hour later, Shayla and the dogs were gone.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the news was heartwarming and thanked everyone who helped with the search.

"For the last 48 hours, Tasmania's thoughts and prayers have been with Shayla, her family and loved ones wishing for her to be found safely," he said.

"We are all so pleased to see little Shayla reunited with her family and friends following this positive outcome."

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A four-year-old girl who went missing on the Tasman Peninsula has been found alive and well.

About 100 people have been involved in the frantic search for Shayla Phillips in southern Tasmania over the past three days.

She was found Friday afternoon in bushland near Halls Rd, hundreds of metres from where she went missing near Stormlea Rd on Wednesday, and on the other side of Cripps Creek.

Shayla has been taken to hospital for medical assessment after spending two nights in the remote area where temperatures dropped to 11 degrees.

She had been playing outside with dogs from a neighbouring property when she was last seen about 2.30pm on Wednesday, wearing pink leggings, a cream top, and gumboots.

When her mother went to check on her after about half an hour, Shayla and the dogs were gone.

One of the dogs was found about 7pm on Wednesday, 800 metres from where Shayla was last seen.

Police did not believe there was anything suspicious about her disappearance.

Significant resources, including thermal imaging drones and sniffer dogs from Victoria Police, were involved in the search operation.

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Vulnerable and older Australians will soon be able to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended a second booster be administered for Australians over 65, Indigenous Australians over 50, those in disability care and those who are immunocompromised over the age of 16.

The doses will be rolled out to those groups from April 4 at pharmacies, GPs and vaccine clinics.

The ATAGI advice recommends the second booster be given to those groups between four and six months after the first booster.

ATAGI said the fourth dose could also be administered four months after a COVID-19 infection, if the infection happened after a person received their first booster.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be recommended for the booster doses, but non-mRNA vaccines such as AstraZeneca and Novavax will also be recommended for a fourth shot, should people prefer those options.

The advice was given ahead of a winter that is expected to bring a spike in COVID-19 cases alongside a rise in flu infections.

However, Health Minister Greg Hunt said it was not likely the fourth dose would be expanded soon to include all of the eligible population.

"There's always continuous review, but at this stage, we're not predicting that that's likely to change," he told reporters on the Gold Coast on Friday.

ATAGI said there was insufficient evidence of benefits for an additional dose for broader sections of the population.

"Prevention of severe illness from COVID-19 remains the primary goal of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program," it said in a statement.

"These recommendations for an additional booster dose focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups against severe disease and reducing the potential burden on the healthcare system over the coming months."

Mr Hunt said the limiting of the fourth dose to certain groups was not due to supply issues.

"We have sufficient vaccines to dose all Australians not just four times but five times," he said.

"We are protecting the vulnerable, we are reducing harm."

Mr Hunt also announced the government's biosecurity emergency determination would not be renewed after April 17, when the determination expires.

The move would mean there would be no need for pre-flight testing for arrivals into Australia.

The health minister will also lose certain plenary powers that have been in place for more than two years.

However, arrivals to Australia will still need to be vaccinated and wear masks on flights.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the timing was right to ease the emergency power provisions.

"We can't keep an emergency in place just in case, that's a not a thing we can do," he said.

"For the moment, this is the time to move on and to keep those measures in relation to vaccination."

Mr Hunt said he was pleased the emergency declaration was being eased.

"I'm very happy to do that, that's about normalising Australia," he said.

The health minister has spoken with Qantas and Virgin about changes to pre-flight testing requirements.

Mr Hunt announced the flu vaccine program would also be rolled out on April 4.

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA:

NSW: 23,702 cases, seven deaths, 1182 in hospital including 43 in ICU

Victoria: 9244 cases, nine deaths, 253 in hospital including 19 in ICU

Tasmania: 1786 cases, no deaths, 24 in hospital

ACT: 1122 cases, one death, 42 in hospital

Queensland: 9730 cases, three deaths, 265 people in hospital including 14 in ICU.

NT: 335 new cases, 20 in hospital

WA: 8133 new cases, two deaths (both historical), 209 people in hospital including 10 in ICU

SA: 4549 new cases, four deaths, 157 people in hospital including six in ICU.

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Truckies pinched by high fuel prices can look forward to a hydrogen highway linking three eastern states in a concerted renewables push for the industry.

In a landmark collaboration between NSW, Queensland and Victoria at an estimated cost of $20 million, four massive hydrogen refuelling stations between Sydney and Melbourne will initially be built.

The highway along Australia's busiest freight routes will link the Hume Highway, the Pacific Highway and the Newell Highway by 2026.

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said the hydrogen highway will pave the way for decarbonisation of the heavy transport industry to reduce the effects of climate change.

"Renewable hydrogen will increasingly become a competitive zero emissions fuel option for our heavy transport sector, giving our trucking industry the opportunity to decarbonise their fleets," Mr Kean said.

The accelerated drive to wean off fossil fuels comes after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned last month Australia will have more floods, bushfires and droughts and stands to lose entire ecosystems to climate change.

Queensland Energy Minister Mick De Brenni said this couldn't come at a better time when fuel prices are soaring on the back of the Ukraine conflict.

"When you consider the impacts of the COVID pandemic and international conflicts, it's clear Australia must achieve energy independence," he said.

Victorian Energy and Climate Change Minister Lily D'Ambrosio noted the "historic collaboration" between the three states "will revolutionise Australia's busiest freight corridor, lighting a pathway to a zero-emissions transport sector".

The $20 million injection will also fund Australia's first long-haul hydrogen fuel cell electric freight trucks.

© AAP 2022