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The first shipment of Moderna vaccines have arrived in Australia, with one million doses expected to be in the country from this weekend.

Moderna is the third type of COVID-19 vaccine to be used, with national first dose figures for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs now cracking the 70 per cent milestone.

The Moderna shipment arrived in the country on Friday night, with a second expected soon after.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Moderna doses meant more GP clinics would be able to administer the vaccine to the public.

"These are very important because they simply provide not only more vaccines, but more points of access for Australians everywhere," the minister said.

"My hope is that everybody who has not yet taken the vaccine will come forward over the coming days and weeks and there is sufficient vaccine for every Australian before the end of October, if not slightly earlier."

New data shows the inclusion of telehealth consolations as part of Medicare in response to the pandemic has contributed to bulk billing rates being at an "all time high".

Almost nine out of 10 visits to the GP in 2020-21 were bulk billed with no out-of-pocket cost to the patients, the federal health department says.

A total of 377.2 million medical services were bulk billed to Medicare over the period, 34.1 million more than in the previous year.

The inclusion of telehealth consultations was designed to limit disease spread in the community by reducing the number of people leaving the house and mixing in waiting rooms.

GPs provided 38 million consultations via phone and 769,543 via video over the last 12 months.

The temporary telehealth items represented just under a quarter of GP consultations and almost 10 per cent of all Medicare services in 2020-21.

The figures follow the latest national cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon, during which the vaccine rollout was the major talking point.

The national plan to transition away from lockdowns once vaccination targets are reached was also discussed, along with updated Doherty Institute modelling and the situation in virus-affected jurisdictions.

The most recent federal figures showed Australia is now at 70.5 per cent of over 16s having received their first vaccine dose, while more than 45 per cent are fully immunised.

However, the figures for young age groups remain significantly lower, with just 22 per cent of 25 to 29-year-olds and 19 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds being fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile home quarantine trials are set to begin for fully vaccinated returning Australians.

The four-week trial will see 175 people who have received two vaccine doses spend seven days in quarantine at home, rather than two weeks in a hotel.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said he wanted to see home quarantine as soon as possible to allow more fully vaccinated people to return to Australia from overseas.

© AAP 2021

France has plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with the United States and Australia after it recalled its ambassadors from both countries over a trilateral security deal that sank a French-designed submarine contract.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement on Friday that the rare decision taken by President Emmanuel Macron was made due to the seriousness of the matter.

On Thursday, Australia said it would scrap the $US40 billion ($A55 billion) deal with France's Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines and would instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and British technology after striking a trilateral security partnership. France called it a stab in the back.

A White House official said the United States regretted the French decision and Washington had been in close touch with France over it. The official said the United States would be engaged in coming days to resolve differences with France.

Australia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The foreign ministry statement made no mention of Britain, but a diplomatic source said France considered Britain had joined the deal in an opportunistic manner.

Le Drian said the deal was unacceptable.

"The abandonment of the submarine project ... and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States aiming at launching new studies for future possible nuclear propulsion co-operation is unacceptable behaviour between allies," he said.

"The consequences touch the very concept that we have of alliances, our partnerships and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried on Thursday to calm the French outcry, calling France a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier on Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected French criticism that it had not been warned about the new deal, saying he had raised the possibility in talks with the French president that Australia might scrap the 2016 submarine deal with a French company.

Morrison acknowledged the damage to Australia-France ties but insisted he had told Macron in June that Australia had revised its thinking.

The French announcement came as Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne was speaking at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington. She gave no sign she was aware of it.

Referring to the submarine deal, Payne said such commercial and strategic decisions were difficult to manage, but, responding to a question, she said there was "no question" that France remained a valued ally.

"I absolutely understand the disappointment," she said.

"My task is to work as hard as I can ... to make sure that they do understand the value we place on the role that they play and do understand the value we place on the bilateral relationship and the work we want to continue to do together."

France is about to take over the presidency of the European Union, whose new Indo-Pacific strategy includes seeking a trade deal with Taiwan and deploying more ships to keep sea routes open.

© AP 2021

Sydney's status as a globally-engaged city can be rebuilt through the establishment of shorter home quarantine periods for vaccinated international arrivals, the NSW government hopes.

NSW recorded 1284 new local COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday and 12 deaths, including two women in their 20s.

It takes the toll for the current NSW outbreak to 222.

Two more regional areas have also been thrust back into lockdown, after cases were detected in previously virus-free towns.

The Glen Innes Severn council area, inland from Coffs Harbour, will go into seven days of lockdown from 6pm Friday, as will the Hilltops local government area in the state's south, which encompasses the town of Young.

Albury and Lismore were on Thursday also sent back into a week-long lockdown after reporting local COVID-19 cases.

It comes as NSW on Friday passed a vaccination milestone - with 50 per cent of the state population now fully vaccinated.

The premier on Friday also announced a seven-day home quarantine pilot program, to start later this month.

Of the 175 vaccinated participants, 50 will be Qantas flight crew.

The pilot would deploy similar facial recognition and geolocation technology used in recent home quarantine trials in South Australia.

Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said the NSW government would rapidly scale up international arrivals if the pilot goes to plan.

Hotel quarantine arrangements will remain for the unvaccinated.

"We want to expand the amount of people who can come back to Sydney as quickly as possible, we want international tourists coming through Sydney. This is an important step for that - we won't hold caps a single day longer than we have to," Mr Ayres told reporters.

"Australia must reopen. We must get rid of lockdowns, we must get rid of home quarantine, we must re-engage with the world.

"Sydney is a global city and it must engage with the globe."

Ms Berejiklian added the pilot was "the start of a process" which in the longer term may result in the removal of quarantine obligations.

But she hoped home quarantine would help the more than 40,000 stranded Australians overseas return in time for Christmas, and enable Australians to visit family and friends overseas.

Committee for Sydney chief executive Gabriel Metcalf welcomed the plan, saying stranded Australians should be home by Christmas.

"It's time for us to start reopening - not all at once, but step by step. We can't stay closed forever and this is a very sensible next move," he said.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce also declared the plan a winner, saying the airline's flight crew - now all fully vaccinated - have spent months in hotel quarantine amid the pandemic.

They could now quarantine at home, significantly improving their lives.

Meanwhile, NSW Labor has called for more freedoms for outdoor exercise and recreation to be restored to western Sydney locals.

While up to five fully vaccinated people in different households can now meet outdoors outside the 12 council areas of concern, only two jabbed people in different households can do so inside those councils.

COVID-19 transmission is significantly reduced in outdoor settings.

"Spending a few hours outdoors at this very good time is a small way that families can try and get some enjoyment back," opposition health spokesman Ryan Park said in a statement on Friday.

There are 1245 COVID-19 patients in NSW in hospital, with 228 patients in intensive care units and 112 on ventilators.

Some 18 people have also been diagnosed with COVID-19 across three social housing buildings in inner Sydney's Redfern. A mobile vaccination team is visiting each tower building to provide vaccinations.

© AAP 2021