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State border closures may soon be a thing of the past, after West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced a new reopening date could be imminent.

Mr McGowan said an announcement on when the state's hard border would be eased would be made by the end of the month.

The state was supposed to reopen to the rest of the country on February 5, but was delayed due to large numbers of Omicron cases in eastern states.

"We are reviewing (restrictions) as we speak," he told reporters in Perth.

"The reality is though that we are getting the third dose vaccination rate up, the eastern states appear to be coming off their peak, which is a good thing."

One of the reasons Mr McGowan made to delay the border reopening was to allow more time to increase the booster dose rate in the state, which was lagging behind the rest of the country.

"By the time we reopen the interstate and international borders, we'll be one of the highest vaccinated places in the world with one of the safest populations in the world," Mr McGowan said.

It comes after the state reported 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, as Western Australia deals with an outbreak of the virus.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt defended the government's handling of virus outbreaks in aged care facilities.

He said all aged care facilities had been visited by vaccination teams for booster shots, with 300 facilities having had second visits.

83.4 per cent of the eligible population in aged care have had their booster dose.

"In terms of workforce, over 82,000 surge positions have been made available, 50 million units of PPE have been provided to aged care homes," Mr Hunt told parliament on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, the national booster program passed 10 million doses.

The head of the country's vaccine rollout Lieutenant-General John Frewen said 17 million Australians were eligible for boosters.

"Another 144,000 people came through the doors yesterday. The uptake is really good, but we have a way to go still," Lt Gen Frewen told the Seven Network on Tuesday.

"It has never been more convenient to get a vaccine and there is good choice across the range of vaccines."

This week also marked the start of the rollout of the Novavax vaccine.

The vaccine is the fifth to be approved by Australia's medical regulator and the first protein-based vaccine to be used in the country.

Lt Gen Frewen said while the overall vaccination rate was more than 90 per cent, it was hoped more people would use Novavax to start their primary course of COVID-19 vaccinations.

"We have had more than 3000 GPs and pharmacies show an interest in stocking it and more than 2000 orders placed now," he said.

"We are now at 94 per cent of the nation who have come forward and had their doses. This is an extremely high number by any standard, and there is another six per cent of the nation potentially."

Tuesday saw a further 50 COVID-19 deaths reported, with 20 fatalities in Victoria, 16 in NSW, 10 in Queensland and four in SA.

There were 23,817 new infections, with both NSW and Victoria registering more than 8000 cases, Queensland getting 5286, 1138 in SA, 513 in Tasmania and 455 in the ACT.

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An experienced helicopter pilot who died in a crash while fighting bushfires in northern Tasmania had been "working tirelessly" to keep communities safe.

The 41-year-old man, who was the sole occupant, was killed on Monday afternoon when the water bombing aircraft crashed into a paddock at Pipers Brook Road.

Tasmania Fire Service acting deputy chief Jeff Harper said the man was working as a contractor.

"From my understanding he was an experienced helicopter pilot that has been involved in multiple Tasmanian incidents," he told reporters.

"It's a tragic loss and TFS's heart goes out to the man's family and friends. All of our pilots form close bonds with the teams that support them and the ground crews they support.

"He'd been working tirelessly to keep the Lebrina and Pipers Brook communities safe over the last few days."

It is yet not known what caused the crash. The incident will be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Mr Harper said the man, who was from northern Tasmania, was flying a heavy bomber capable of carrying up to 3000 litres of water.

"(It is an) incredibly difficult role to be an aircraft pilot over a fire," he said.

"They do undergo significant training, qualification and validation before they are authorised to operate."

Emergency services were called to the paddock around 3.20pm. The man later died at the scene.

Mr Harper said the TFS would work with all authorities to ensure the incident is fully investigated.

He indicated support was being provided to members of the fire service.

Aerial firefighting efforts were grounded on Monday evening but are expected to be in the air again on Tuesday.

The blaze at Lebrina, which was sparked last week when a burn-off on private property got out of hand, has burned through more than 1500 hectares.

It was at 'advice' level on Monday but had threatened homes on Saturday night.

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A man helping fight a bushfire in northeast Tasmania has been critically injured after the helicopter he was flying crashed into a paddock.

Emergency services were called to Pipers Brook Road around 3.20pm on Monday.

The pilot was the only occupant of the plane, with initial investigations suggesting he was involved in fighting a bushfire in the Lebrina area.

"Our thoughts are also with our people and others who have been working very closely with the man involved to help fight the Lebrina fires," Tasmania Fire Service acting deputy chief Jeff Harper said.

"We will be working with police, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities so that this incident is fully investigated.

"It is a very tragic situation, especially because it has involved someone who was working hard to fight the Lebrina fires to help our community safe.

"Understandably this is a very distressing incident for everyone involved and we will be ensuring our people have access to all available support."

The bushfire at Lebrina, which was sparked last week when a burn-off on private property got out of hand, has burned through more than 1500 hectares.

It was at 'advice' level on Monday.

Police say further updates on the man's condition will be provided "when appropriate".

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Police and emergency services are responding to reports a bushfire-fighting helicopter has crashed in northern Tasmania.

"Initial reports suggest a helicopter has crashed in a paddock while responding to a bushfire near Lebrina," Tasmania Police said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

"Details of injuries are not able to be confirmed at this stage."

Emergency services representatives are expected to hold a press conference later on Monday.

The bushfire at Lebrina, which sparked last week when a burn-off on private property got out of hand, has burned through more than 1500 hectares.

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