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The first international tourists in two years have touched down in Sydney to be greeted by jubilant well-wishers waving Tim-Tams, jars of Vegemite and stuffed koalas.

Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan was on hand on Monday to welcome the first arrivals on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles which landed at 6.20am as Australia's borders reopened to vaccinated travellers.

Qantas on Monday is bringing in people from eight overseas destinations including Vancouver, Singapore, London, and Delhi.

"What wonderful, wonderful news for our tourism industry and the 660,000 people employed in it," Mr Tehan told the Nine Network.

"There is excitement everywhere, people are loving it, absolutely loving it.

"The first passenger (to enter the arrivals hall) had a huge smile on their face even though they have been on a plane for ... 20-odd hours."

The happy scenes are expected to be replicated at international airports in Melbourne and Brisbane on Monday.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said bookings had been strong since the federal government announced the country was opening on February 21 after borders were shut two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Joyce thanked the millions of Australians who got vaccinated and gave Australian governments confidence to reopen to the rest of the world.

"It has been tough two years for everybody in the tourism industry, but today is really one of the big steps on the way back to a full recovery so we are very excited about today," he told the Nine Network.

Mr Joyce said the airline is bringing 14,000 people into the country this week on more than 150 international flights.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday was an important day that all Australians had looked forward to.

"Whether you are in far north Queensland or in Sydney ... that is going to be welcome news for so many tourism operators," he told Sydney's 2GB.

"You don't have to be a long way away from the city to be reliant on international tourism."

There are 1.2 million people around the world who are "visa-ed up" to come to Australia with more than 50 international flights to touch down in the next 24-hours, the prime minister said.

But Mr Morrison accused the rail union of "pulling the rug out" from tourism operators on the first day back after train strikes were announced throughout Sydney.

"There are people who this morning are going to have an overpriced Uber, or they're going to be unable to get to work," he said.

"This is just not how you behave, and this is not how you treat your fellow citizens."

However, travellers from Australia's biggest tourism market, China, will be absent.

That's because Chinese travellers are not allowed to venture to Australia at the moment, Mr Morrison said.

"That's why we're focusing our campaign on those markets that are open to travel to Australia," he said.

"Australia is one of the most popular destinations of choice all around the world."

It also comes at a time when NSW, Victoria and the ACT have started winding back further restrictions, like ditching most QR check-ins and lifting bans on dancing at hospitality venues

Victoria is opening its newly built $200 million quarantine hub on Monday for those international travellers who are not vaccinated.

Queensland also has its own purpose-built 500-bed quarantine centre near Toowoomba, which is likely to house unvaccinated international arrivals.

Meanwhile, Australia's death toll from the Omicron variant continues to climb.

There were 21 deaths reported in NSW, alongside 5582 new infections announced on Sunday.

In Victoria, there were 4867 cases along with a further nine deaths, while Queensland reported 4265 cases and another two deaths and one fatality was recorded in the Northern Territory.

The ACT reported 560 new infections.

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Queensland has announced a crackdown on e-scooter "cowboys" with speeding and drink driving on footpaths set to be outlawed.

However, the state government is unable to confirm when new reforms will be in place, saying further discussions may take months.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said e-scooter speed limits will be cut by half to 12km/hr on footpaths and warning devices like bells will be mandated.

Mr Bailey wants police to be able to "throw the book" at rogue riders on footpaths.

"Those sorts of cowboys in the e-scooter community, we want to sort them out," he said on Sunday.

"If you are speeding in a car you get fined, if you are speeding on an e-scooter you should be fined as well.

"Drink driving is an issue. I want to see that stamped out as well. If you are over .05 and on one of these things you are unsafe."

But Mr Bailey said there was still work to be done on aligning different rules of enforcement for roads and footpaths, and resolving issues on "is it a vehicle, is it not a vehicle".

Other measures would include creating parking rules to keep footpaths clear and looking at shared laneways.

He said new reforms were needed with e-scooter use in Queensland "nearly double the national rate" since they were legalised in 2018.

"What we are finding is a lot of pedestrians feel threatened when they (e-scooters) are ridden on footpaths," Mr Bailey said.

"One of the main issues I was concerned about is hearing that people with disabilities were feeling so threatened that they were moving around in the community a lot less, particularly people with visual impairments.

"Another issue that concerns me is how they are parked ... people particularly with visual impairment are fearful of falling over them."

An e-scooter safety education campaign is planned alongside the new measures, he said.

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A man has been charged with murder after allegedly sawing off another man's leg in a far north Queensland park as part of an "arrangement".

A 66-year-old man died soon after he was discovered by passers-by at Innisfail's Fitzgerald Park early on Saturday morning.

Police believe he succumbed to his wounds after his leg was amputated by a 36-year-old man using a circular saw owned by the 66-year-old.

"Police will allege these two people were known to each other, the extent of that relationship is still forming part of our investigations," Detective Acting Inspector Gary Hunter told reporters.

"Police also believe there was an arrangement between the two people for the amputation of the leg.

"We can say this was not an unprovoked attack."

Police allege the men drove together to the park before 4am on Saturday and sat under a tree.

They said about 20 minutes later the 36-year-old cut off the older man's leg below the knee using what is believed to be a battery-powered saw, helped him return to the car and then departed on foot.

The older man was discovered near the car at about 4.30am by two passers-by but died before emergency services arrived.

The 36-year-old man was located by police around noon at an Innisfail residence and was charged with one count of murder.

He will appear at an Innisfail court on Monday.

Det Insp Hunter could not offer any more details on the nature of the alleged "arrangement".

"The specific reasons and the arrangement are subject to inquiries by detectives," he said.

He said a police liaison officer was assisting the victim's devastated family.

"During my 34 years as a police officer I've never experienced a situation as we are presented with here today," Det Insp Hunter said.

Police are appealing for information or anyone with dash cam or CCTV footage.

© AAP 2022