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Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have gone offline for users across the globe, including Australia, as the social media giant works on restoring its services.

The cause of the outages on the platforms, all owned by Facebook, was not immediately clear.

But error messages suggest there's a problem with Domain Name System (DNS), which allows web addresses to take users to their destinations.

In Australia, outages began being reported by users of Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp from around 3am AEDT local time on Tuesday.

Thousands of users reported issues accessing Facebook websites and aaps, according to Downdetector's Australian site.

A similar outage at cloud company Akamai Technologies Inc took down multiple websites in July.

Facebook's internal systems used by employees also went down, the Associated Press reported.

Security experts tracking the event said the outage could have been triggered by a configuration error, which could be the result of an internal mistake, although sabotage could not be ruled out.

An outside hack was viewed as less likely.

A massive denial-of-service attack that could overwhelm one of the world's most popular sites would require either coordination among powerful criminal groups or a very innovative technique.

Facebook acknowledged users were having trouble accessing its apps but did not provide any specifics about the nature of the problem or how many were affected by the outage.

"We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and we apologise for any inconvenience," Facebook said.

Shares of Facebook, which has nearly two billion daily active users, fell 5.5 per cent in Monday afternoon trading in the US, inching towards its worst day in nearly a year.

Downdetector - which only tracks outages by collating status reports from a series of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform - showed there were more than 50,000 incidents of people reporting issues with Facebook and Instagram.

The outage might be affecting a larger number of users.

Meanwhile, the social-media giant's instant messaging platform WhatsApp was also down for more than 35,000 users while Messenger was down for nearly 9800 users.

Facebook has experienced similar widespread outages with its suite of apps this year in March and July.

Several users using their Facebook credentials to log in to third-party apps such as Pokemon Go and Match Masters were also facing issues.

"If your game isn't running as usual please note that there's been an issue with Facebook login servers and the moment this gets fixed all will be back to normal," puzzle game app Match Masters said on its Twitter account.

The outage comes a day after a Facebook whistleblower accused the firm of repeatedly prioritising profit over clamping down on hate speech and misinformation, and said her lawyers have filed at least eight complaints with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

with AP

© AP 2021

Planning Minister Rob Stokes is refusing to back down from his bid to become the next premier of NSW, despite a deal done to install his "good friend" Dominic Perrottet in the top job.

After behind-the-scenes factional wrangling for much of the weekend, Mr Perrottet on Sunday confirmed he would seek to become the next premier.

Long touted as the 'heir apparent' to Gladys Berejiklian, the treasurer has appealed to his Liberal colleagues after striking a deal to make Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres his deputy and promote Environment Minister Matt Kean to treasurer.

He is a member of the Liberal Party's right faction, while Mr Ayres and Mr Kean are from the dominant moderate faction.

But Mr Stokes, also a moderate, is refusing to follow his factional colleagues, on Monday confirming he would not withdraw his nomination to be party leader.

The Pittwater MP has offered himself as a more experienced alternative to 39-year-old Mr Perrottet, arguing he was the party's best shot at winning the 2023 election.

"Dominic Perrottet is a good friend of mine. He has a lot of great qualities. I just believe in terms of experience that I offer more," he told reporters on Monday.

But the 47-year-old remained coy on his chances of winning the leadership when the Liberal party room meets on Tuesday to vote for their new leader.

"That is up to my colleagues," he said.

"I feel very confident that I have every chance of being successful but, after all, the main game here is to give a choice to the people of the party room."

Both candidates are fitness fanatics, fathers and men of faith.

But while Mr Stokes was elected to parliament as in 2007 during the Labor Iemma government's tenure, Mr Perrottet - elected in 2011 - has not spent any time in opposition.

Mr Perrottet has bounced around three electorates in as many terms - Castle Hill, Hawkesbury and Epping.

Both have served as ministers in several portfolios since 2014. Mr Stokes was minister for environment and education, while Mr Perrottet took on the finance and industrial relations portfolios before becoming treasurer.

Mr Perrottet on Monday played up his credentials working alongside Ms Berejiklian as deputy leader, and argued for stability.

"As Gladys demonstrated so well, leading a successful Liberal and National government requires unity across our party's 'broad church'," he wrote in an opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday.

"We can only do that if we remain united, and maintain stability and continuity for the people of our state."

Former prime minister and Liberal party elder John Howard has backed Mr Perrottet, saying he is driven and reform-focused.

Ms Berejiklian quit on Friday after the state's corruption watchdog disclosed she was under investigation for potential breaches of public trust given her secret five-year relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire.

She will formally step down as leader when the party elects her replacement, and will quit parliament altogether when a by-election for her seat can be arranged.

It comes as the NSW Nationals prepare for their own leadership contest.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Monday announced he too would leave state parliament, saying it was time for a "refresh" as much of the state prepares to emerge from nearly four months of COVID-19 lockdown.

Nationals MPs Melinda Pavey, Paul Toole and Adam Marshall are believed to be the main contenders to lead the junior coalition party and become the new deputy premier.

Mr Barilaro's resignation means the NSW government faces three by-elections in coming months for the seats of Willoughby, Bega and Monaro, after Transport Minister Andrew Constance on Sunday also announced he was leaving to attempt a switch to federal politics.

Opposition leader Chris Minns on Monday blasted Mr Constance and Mr Barilaro for resigning during the pandemic.

"That you've got a new job opportunity or you'd like to move into a new political arena is not a good enough reason to abandon your electorate and start a new career, particularly during a pandemic," he said.

By-elections cost upwards of $1.5 million each, he said, and urged them to reconsider their decisions to quit.

© AAP 2021

Australia has boosted its supplies of a life-saving antibody treatment for COVID-19 shown to slash hospitalisation rates.

More than 15,000 additional doses of GlaxoSmithKline's sotrovimab have arrived in the country over recent days.

It has been shown to reduce hospitalisation or death in patients with mild or moderate infections and who are at high risk of severe illness.

Australia is also in advanced discussions with US pharmaceutical company Merck and Co about supplies of antiviral drug molnupiravir, which has been shown to drastically reduce hospitalisation rates.

Should it be approved, Health Minister Greg Hunt hopes supplies could be brought forward to the first half of next year.

"It means the vaccinations and the treatments all help provide safety and they will bring us closer to reopening," he told 3AW radio on Monday.

Sotrovimab is administered through an intravenous infusion and needs to be given within five days of symptoms developing.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval for the use of sotrovimab in August.

It is estimated between eight and 15 per cent of adults with COVID-19 will be recommended the drug.

Australia had increased its order to more than 31,000 doses. Final deliveries are expected to arrive throughout the remainder of the year.

© AAP 2021