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Australia has recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic since the first case was detected in the country two years ago, with 98 fatalities confirmed on Friday.

Of the new deaths, 39 came from Victoria alone, with 35 in NSW, 18 in Queensland, five in South Australia and one in the ACT.

The previous one-day high for COVID-19 deaths was set just last week when 88 deaths were recorded.

While COVID-19 cases are plateauing, chief nurse Professor Alison McMillan, said death rates were set to remain high for some time.

"As we have seen during the two years of the pandemic, the number of deaths associated with those cases stay higher for a longer period," she told reporters in Canberra.

It comes as the eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots were expanded to 16 and 17-year-olds, after the medical regulator gave provisional approval for the age group to receive a third dose.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said final approval still needed to be handed down by the vaccine advisory group.

"We are hoping to receive the ATAGI advice within the next week, if not earlier, and if that's a positive, we can make this available immediately," he said.

The waiting time between second and third doses will also shorten from four months to three months from Monday, allowing more people to get the booster.

However, some states and territories have already shortened the waiting time to a three-month gap.

There have been more than 7.3 million COVID-19 boosters administered across the country, with two-thirds of those eligibly having received theirs.

While NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said people who had recently acquired COVID-19 should wait for four to six weeks after their infection to get the booster, Professor McMillan urged people to get the third dose sooner.

She said people would be able to get their booster immediately after they stopped displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

"We know that an initial infection does potentially provide you with a small amount of protection from COVID, but we really don't yet know how much," she said.

"But we do know that the booster will provide you with high levels of protection against severe disease and death."

A NSW survey found half of people eligible for the COVID-19 booster didn't know they were eligible for their third dose.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck, after it was revealed he chose to attend the cricket over a COVID-19 committee hearing when 40 per cent of the system was in lockdown.

While Senator Colbeck said he couldn't attend the hearing due to diverting resources away from "urgent and critical work", his register of interests showed he accepted tickets to the Ashes test in Hobart for three days.

"Ministers have many responsibilities, I can understand the criticism ... I think Richard has taken that on board," Mr Morrison told radio station 4BC.

Mr Morrison said 86 per cent of aged care facilities had received a visit for residents to get the booster shot, with the remainder to have theirs in the next week.

South Australia has announced QR code check-ins won't be required in retail settings going forward, however they will still be required in hospitality and high-risk settings.

There were 13,333 cases in NSW, while there were 12,755 infections recorded on Friday in Victoria.

Queensland had 9974, South Australia had 1846, the NT had a spike to record 940, while there were 734 and 584 in the ACT and Tasmania respectively.

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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has rejected calls for a royal commission into her government's integrity, saying Queensland already has a "very robust system" of checks and balances.

Liberal National Party and the Katter's Australian Party want a probe after the controversial departures of three watchdogs.

Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov and Crime and Corruption (CCC) chairman Alan MacSporran have resigned in the past week, while former state archivist Mike Summerell says he was forced out in March.

Dr Stepanov, who finishes her role in June, and Mr Summerell have both complained of "interference" in their roles.

In response, LNP leader David Crisafulli has written to Ms Palaszczuk asking for a royal commission into government integrity.

"Anything short of a royal commission doesn't cut it," he told reporters on Friday.

"Only a royal commission will get to the bottom of the corruption that is running through the government."

The premier rejected the request, saying Queensland already has an independent agency dedicated to probing corruption.

Ms Palaszczuk said all public servants, officials and politicians had a legal obligation to report graft allegations to the CCC.

"We have a very robust system here in Queensland," she told reporters on Friday.

"We have the CCC, which is essentially a standing royal commission."

The premier also confirmed the CCC was probing a complaint made by the integrity commissioner against the Public Service Commission.

Dr Stepanov said earlier this week that the PSC had confiscated a laptop from her office and later deleted its contents "without my knowledge or consent" last year.

"As these matters are under consideration by the CCC, I'm advised it will not be appropriate for me to comment further," Ms Palaszczuk said.

Meanwhile, the former state archivist said on Friday that he had been forced out of his role back in March.

Mr Summerell left his role, hours after the LNP asked him to probe whether the premier had used any of her private emails, which he was holding, for official government business.

He said was forced out after his role became "compromised" by potential interference, including a lack of support and advice.

"My time as state archivist post-2017 was greatly hindered by what I considered potentially inappropriate interference in my statutory role," Mr Summerell told News Corp Australia on Friday.

At the time of his departure, Arts Minister Leanne Enoch told parliament the archivist decided not to renew his contract.

However, Mr Summerell denies Ms Enoch's version of events.

"I did not actually resign. I was simply told my contract would not be extended," he said.

"My own opinion is that my stance on matters of integrity and the independence of the office of the state archivist were primary factors in that decision."

However, Ms Palaszczuk on Friday claimed the then-archivist was offered a contract extension but declined it.

The premier said Mr Summerell had also "outlined his concerns to CCC" before he left the role and she said anyone with concerns should do the same.

"I absolutely encourage, if anyone suspects any form of corruption, they should make a complaint," Ms Palaszczuk said.

© AAP 2022

Climate scientists have questioned the timing of a $1 billion Great Barrier Reef spending splash days out from Australia's deadline to update UNESCO on how it is protecting the World Heritage site.

The funding over nine years follows the Morrison government's successful bid last year to delay a decision about listing the reef as "in danger" until 2023.

UNESCO had asked Australia to provide more information by next Tuesday about what's being done to protect the reef.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley on Friday confirmed Australia would be submitting its report next week.

She also requested UNESCO send a reactive monitoring mission to look at work to restore and protect the reef.

"It certainly is the case that you can see the reef from outer space, but not from an office in Paris," she told reporters in Cairns.

The Climate Council's Lesley Hughes thinks it's inevitable the reef will end up on the list because of the threat from global warming.

"The Australian environment in general is woefully underfunded, especially by this government, so any increase in funding to anything environmental in Australia is always welcome," Professor Hughes told AAP on Friday.

"However, the timing of the announcement and the scale of the funding, one would have to be fairly cynical about (that)."

Australia last year took diplomats on a diving trip in a bid to convince countries to vote against an earlier draft recommendation for an "in danger" listing.

"One of the advantages of making that listing would be to draw attention to the fact that the Australian government - which has stewardship of the reef - which is really one of the world's most precious natural and irreplaceable icons, also has one of the worst climate policies of any country," Professor Hughes said.

More than $500 million of the new federal funding will be used to boost water quality including by remediating erosion and reducing pesticide run-off.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will get more than $250 million to reduce threats from the crown of thorns starfish and prevent illegal fishing.

Another $92.7 million is slated for research to make the reef more resilient and to boost adaptation strategies.

Traditional owners and community groups will receive $74 million for projects to deal with species protection, habitat restoration and citizen science.

The funds come on top of $2 billion previously given to agencies including the marine park authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Ms Ley acknowledged climate change posed the biggest threat to the reef and insisted Australia was playing its part internationally in reducing emissions.

"But we also know that building a healthy and resilient reef is the best thing we can do in the face of those pressures," she said.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles criticised the funding announcement as mere posturing.

"You cannot be serious about supporting the Great Barrier Reef if you are not serious about action on climate change. Scott Morrison is not," he said.

© AAP 2022