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Australians have admitted to disposing of asbestos illegally - even dumping it in their neighbour's bin - during a COVID-19 home improvement surge, raising cancer fears.

A study of DIY enthusiasts around the country has revealed 46 per cent cited the pandemic as the motivation to start working on projects around the house.

But the Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency (ASEA) - who commissioned the poll of 1506 home improvers - said their data revealed more worrying trends.

Results showed 38 per cent worked on a "risky property" built between 1940 and 1990 - the decades of greatest asbestos concern.

And 28 per cent conceded they had illegally disposed of asbestos, most commonly placing it in their household bin or in their neighbour's trash.

ASEA urged Australians to be aware of asbestos while renovating, saying it was still causing cancer in the country.

ASEA chief executive Justine Ross said hundreds of cases of mesothelioma - a usually fatal form of asbestos-related cancer most commonly found in the lungs - were diagnosed in Australia each year.

"For anyone who thinks asbestos-related diseases are a thing of the past, think again," Ms Ross said at the start of National Asbestos Awareness Week.

"Around 700 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in Australia each year and the estimated annual health system expenditure for mesothelioma is more than $27 million annually."

Ms Ross said there was an estimated six million tonnes of legacy asbestos in Australia, affecting one in three households.

She said at the current rate of disposal, legacy asbestos is likely to remain in "significant amounts" until at least 2060.

ASEA is developing a national residential asbestos "heat map" they hope will help manage the problem.

"Once completed next year, it will allow governments to target awareness and removal programs where they are most needed, protecting home owners and tradespeople," Ms Ross said.

"It also means we can better target infrastructure and resources, such as waste disposal facilities, in areas that will need it most.

"We want to see Australians treat asbestos with the same caution as electricity.

"People working on homes built before 1990 can stay safe if they know where asbestos is, if they don't disturb or damage it, and if they seek professional help to locate, manage or remove it."

© AAP 2021

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A NSW police officer who rescued two boys from a flood-affected river will be recommended for a bravery award while wet weather continues to batter much of the state.

Emergency services were called to the Lachlan River in Condobolin on Saturday afternoon after two 11-year-old boys jumped in.

They were swept 60 metres away by the fast-moving current, made worse by the flood level, which the Bureau of Meteorology warns will worsen by next weekend.

They were rescued by a police officer who swam out to them with a flotation device.

There are warnings of more to come from the severe storms that have hit parts of northern NSW, delivering damaging winds and more heavy rain to saturated catchments.

There is a gale warning for the Hunter Coast for Monday and strong wind warnings for the Sydney and Macquarie coasts.

The bureau has predicted an inland low pressure system from the Northern Territory is on track to deepen on Sunday and spread rain across the mid-north coast, Hunter region and the central north, causing minor flooding across inland rivers.

There are heavy rainfall warnings in place for the Central West Slopes and Plains, northern parts of the Hunter region and on the mid-north coast.

On Saturday night those storms reached the coast at Grafton bringing damaging winds and large hailstones.

Twenty millimetres of rain fell in an hour south of Grafton and at Port Macquarie on Saturday night.

Crawney Mountain, south of Tamworth, received 19mm in an hour, while gusts of 105km/h were recorded at Moree airport on Saturday.

Minor to moderate flooding is predicted on the Belubula and Bell rivers at Orange and Molong, while minor flooding is also set to impact parts of the Upper Macintyre, Gwydir, Peel, Castlereagh and Macquarie rivers.

Residents in Forbes in the state's central west were evacuated and farmers in the surrounding areas are counting the cost of lost crops.

© AAP 2021

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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says unvaccinated people will not be granted freedoms any earlier than December 15 despite thousands rallying against vaccination requirements.

"All of these measures are not tailored for rules for the sake of the government, they are tailored to keep people safe and that's what we're focused on," Mr Perrottet said in Sydney on Sunday, the day after unmasked protesters descended on the city.

NSW recorded 176 new local COVID-19 cases and two deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday.

An unvaccinated women in her 40s died at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a fully-vaccinated man in his 80s died at Liverpool Hospital. Both had underlying health conditions.

The state is inching closer to the 95 per cent mark for first-dose vaccinations, with 94.4 per cent of residents over 16 years stepping forward for at least one jab. Some 91.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said there had been multiple cases in schools across the state.

"We are urging parents to remain really vigilant to help protect the rest of the school community," he said on Sunday.

"Symptoms in children can be quite mild and not obvious so if they get any symptoms at all please take your children to a testing clinic."

Two Sydney schools and one in Newcastle remain closed due to COVID outbreaks.

Of the 12- to 15-year age group, 75.3 per cent are fully vaccinated and 81 per cent have received at least one vaccine.

The new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday were diagnosed from 55,330 tests.

Some 192 people are hospitalised with the virus and 32 are in intensive care, 15 of whom required ventilation.

At least 104 of Sunday's cases were in Sydney, while Hunter New England was the regional health district with most new cases, recording 32.

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NSW has recorded 176 new local COVID-19 cases and two deaths.

The new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday were diagnosed from 55,330 tests.

This was a drop of six cases from the previous day.

Some 192 people are hospitalised with the virus and 32 are in intensive care.

The state is inching closer to the 95 per cent mark for first-dose vaccinations, with 94.4 per cent of residents over 16 years stepping forward for at least one jab.

Some 91.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Of the 12- to 15-year-old age group, 75.3 per cent are fully vaccinated and 81 per cent have received at least one vaccine.

© AAP 2021