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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged businesses not to enforce rules requiring employees to return a negative rapid antigen test each day before they start work.

While the prime minister acknowledged people's frustrations during the summer period because of escalating Omicron cases and rapid test shortages, he said daily tests for employees were only needed in essential sectors like health, aged care and meat processing.

"There is no requirement for workers to be tested on a daily basis with rapid antigen tests, that is not the medical advice," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

"Seeking to impose that would not only frustrate supplies, but it would also impose further burdens on our employers."

As COVID-19 deaths across the country continue to rise amid the Omicron outbreak, Mr Morrison said the variant must be respected but not feared.

The government is also considering whether to adopt a US-style approach and reduce the isolation period from seven days to five following a positive COVID-19 test result.

"All of these things are always under active consideration and have been for some time," Mr Morrison said.

"The most recent information that we have is that post-five days you've still got 30 per cent (of cases) that are remaining infectious, and so that is a calibrated decision you've got to make."

National cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday, where a unified approach to reopening schools safely is on the agenda.

The prime minister said it was still uncertain whether all states and territories would agree to the same reopening approach.

Meanwhile, NSW is set to have students undergo rapid testing several times a week as part of its safety measures.

"There is a very strong case about surveillance testing for teachers, just like we do with healthcare workers," Mr Morrison said.

"Each state jurisdiction will make their own call on that ... and when they do, the Commonwealth will support them in that, including arrangements for students."

Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said the government had failed to secure enough rapid antigen tests to ensure access.

"The prime minister is now trying to rewrite history and pretend that the emergence of this new variant was something completely new," he said.

"It was a job he had to do if we were going to move to the next phase of the pandemic and it is a job he has failed."

As shortages of rapid antigen tests persist across the country, 52 million kits will be flown from Asia and the US into Australia this month through an emergency freight supply scheme.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said rapid tests continued to be in short supply across the globe.

"These kits - destined for supermarkets, pharmacies and medical services across the country - will help Australians juggling the demands of jobs and families with requirements to isolate and undergo rapid testing," he said.

Several jurisdictions on Wednesday also moved to shorten the time before people could get their third COVID-19 dose.

The interval between doses has been lowered to three months in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.

Wednesday has been another deadly day for Australia during the pandemic, with 64 fatalities recorded.

Of those, 32 were in NSW, 18 in Victoria, 11 in Queensland and three in SA.

SA Health initially reported six deaths in their figures for Wednesday but hours later advised of the lower number "following further clarification".

The country on Tuesday recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic with 77 deaths.

There were more than 32,000 cases of COVID-19 reported in NSW on Wednesday, while Victoria and Queensland had 20,769 and 19,932 cases respectively.

South Australia had 3482 cases, Tasmania registered 1185 new infections and the ACT 1467.

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Victorians can now get their COVID-19 booster shot sooner, with the government shortening the interval between second and third doses to three months at all state hubs.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced the change, effective immediately, on Wednesday as the state recorded 20,769 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths.

"The total number of people eligible increases substantially by two million Victorians and it will help us get more people third-dose boosted quicker than would otherwise be the case," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Some 60,000 additional appointments will be available as part of a four-day "booster blitz" beginning on Friday at eight of the state-run vaccination hubs.

Hours at major hubs including Bendigo, La Trobe University and Sandown have been extended specifically for the blitz, while more than 100 GPs and pharmacies across the state will receive grants to provide additional appointments at the weekend.

Mr Andrews flagged the possibility the booster would soon become mandatory for a person to be considered fully vaccinated, noting a mandate was imposed for several essential industries last week.

Professor Rhonda Stuart, an infectious disease expert who runs the Health Department's South Eastern Public Health Unit, said people who had a booster shot were less likely to have COVID-19 symptoms if infected, and less likely to be hospitalised.

Fewer than five per cent of people in ICU have received a booster shot, she said.

Prof Stuart also warned young people against deliberately catching the virus.

"We are seeing young, fit, healthy people being admitted to hospital with Omicron, we are seeing people being admitted to ICU with Omicron," she said.

"But also we are seeing people very sick in the community being bed-bound, having high fevers, shaking, chills, terrible muscle aches. I wouldn't wish that upon anybody."

Prof Stuart said natural immunity after infection waned more quickly than that provided by a booster vaccine.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the government needed to do more to encourage booster uptake, suggesting more vaccination hubs, including at tourist locations, 24-hour sites and an advertising campaign.

Meanwhile, 20 Australian Defence Force personnel and 12 Australian Public Service workers will arrive in Victoria on Thursday to assist paramedics and triple-zero phone operators.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the extra support on Wednesday, after Mr Andrews requested assistance.

It comes as a 'code brown' declaration for Victoria's hospital system came into effect at midday on Wednesday, allowing hospitals to postpone or defer less urgent care and reassign staff.

It is the first such state-wide declaration, usually reserved for more localised emergencies, and comes as more than 4000 healthcare workers have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are isolating as close contacts.

In addition, authorities are expecting hospital admissions from the current Omicron wave to skyrocket in the coming weeks.

There are currently 1173 Victorians in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 21 on Tuesday's figures, of which 125 are in intensive care and 42 on ventilation.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price said the code brown would likely funnel more patients to GPs and general practice teams, placing them under increasing pressure.

"GPs and general practice teams will step up once again and do all we can for our patients, but we will need a helping hand from government," Dr Price said, suggesting several federal reform commitments for the upcoming election.

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Mining billionaire Clive Palmer is attempting a return to federal politics, announcing he will lead his party's Senate team in the upcoming election.

Mr Palmer's United Australia Party plans to field Senate candidates in every state and territory, with the one-time lower house MP last tasting victory in 2013 when he won the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax.

"The reason I've come back into politics and taken a key role at this important time is because of the state of the nation," he told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday, pointing to the level of national debt.

"I'd like to be on my boat but I'm not, I'm in this situation."

The vaccine-mandate opponent says his party has attracted more than 80,000 members, and will be backed by a campaign with significant resources.

"I don't budget, we just respond to the political circumstance," he said.

Wednesday's press conference was held at Brisbane's Hyatt Regency, where a check-in sign at the door stated proof of vaccination is required for entry from December 17.

However Mr Palmer said he did not need a vaccination.

"I don't think I need a vaccination for COVID personally, I haven't caught it, I have a healthy life," he said, undeterred by the impact Queensland's vaccine mandate for a wide range of venues may have on his campaign.

"I haven't checked into the hotel, I haven't gone to a restaurant here, I just came up to the escalator and walked into this room," he said after being questioned if he was asked for proof of vaccination.

The party has just one seat in the federal parliament - the electorate of Hughes held by Craig Kelly, who was elected as a Liberal candidate until he resigned to sit as an independent before joining the UAP.

But Mr Palmer continues to spruik the party's chances in the election to be held sometime before the end of May, and says candidates will also be fielded in every lower house seat.

"We can win seats in Western Sydney, Western Melbourne. There are seats in Queensland that we can win," he said.

The party's Senate team also includes former Deloitte Australia chief executive Domenic Martino in NSW and property executive Ralph Babet in Victoria.

The announcement follows controversy sparked by Mr Kelly, who caught the attention of the Therapeutic Goods Administration after spamming people with unsolicited text messages last year.

The messages included a link to a website showing listings of "adverse event notifications" from COVID-19 vaccines, which TGA's John Skerritt labelled a misuse of data.

© AAP 2022