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Terminally ill Queenslanders will be able to end their lives at a time of their choosing from early next year after the state parliament voted to legalise voluntary assisted dying.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was on Thursday passed by 61 of the state's 93 MPs in a rare conscience vote in Queensland's single legislative chamber.

It was met by applause in the public gallery after a marathon debate that took much of the parliamentary week.

The laws allow people suffering a disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced, progressive and terminal to access voluntary-assisted dying (VAD).

Their condition must be expected to cause death within a year, they must have decision-making capacity, and proceed without coercion.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles says the law won't make terminally ill Queenslanders' deaths any less tragic, but it will ease their pain and suffering.

"It has been a very considered debate and, as many members on both sides of the house have said, it's been a very difficult debate," he told parliament on Thursday.

Thirty MPs voted against the bill, with some objectors concerned a funding shortfall in palliative care could put pressure on patients to end their lives.

"Will this government provide a guarantee that people will get access to quality integrated palliative care services wherever they live in Queensland, when they have a terminal diagnosis, and not just in the last few months of life," Liberal National Party MP Fiona Simpson said.

But Mr Miles said palliative care and voluntary assisted dying were actually complementary policies, which gave more options to terminally ill people.

"Members do not have to choose between palliative care and voluntary assisted dying, they are not competitive," he told parliament.

"They, in fact, can and do operate, side by side, and by continuing to harp on as though it is a choice, you're attempting to demand members make a false choice. And it is indeed a false argument."

Parliament did not pass any of Deputy Opposition Leader David Janetzki's 54 proposed amendments, which he said would improve safeguards for conscientious objectors and reporting processes.

Conscientious objection by faith-based organisations, and the 12 month time frame for end of life as a requirement for access, caused much debate during the bill's final stages.

Mr Miles justified the one year clause, as opposed to something shorter, by stating it was the point at which patients could begin the process.

"In practice...six months for some people does not allow them enough time to go through the rigorous multi-step request and assessment process, while maintaining the level of decision making capability required," he said.

Institutional conscientious objection proved especially difficult for several MPs.

The laws allow the scheme to be accessed in healthcare facilities through outside doctors, regardless of whether the organisations that run them object.

Member for Toowoomba North Trevor Watts said private hospitals within his electorate had expressed "great concern" about the measure.

"It is unusual for a hospital to be told who it will allow onto its premises and who it will allow to operate under its insurance," he said.

Many people don't have an option as to which facility they are placed in, particularly in the case of aged care, Mr Miles said.

"In many circumstances, the entity they end up in is their home, it's not just an institution," he said.

The scheme will be operating from January 2023, meaning Queensland will become the fifth jurisdiction in Australia to legalise euthanasia.

Voluntary-assisted dying is legal in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

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The NSW government has prepared a "draft" reopening roadmap for when the state reaches 80 per cent double-dose vaccination in its eligible population, the deputy premier says.

John Barilaro on Thursday promised the government's risk appetite would increase proportionate to the state's first and second-dose coronavirus jab coverage.

However, two regional NSW council areas - Lismore and Albury - have been sent back into lockdown after new cases were uncovered.

NSW reported 1351 new local cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, taking the toll for the three month virus outbreak to 210.

The deaths included a man in his 40s, a man in his 50s, four people in their 60s, two in their 70s, three in their 80s and a man in his 90s.

Ten of the 12 had not received a single vaccine dose.

Having already unveiled plans to restore some freedoms to the fully vaccinated at 70 per cent double-dose vaccination coverage, the government on Thursday said further plans were in the works.

A plan for 80 per cent coverage - entailing further freedoms including international travel, larger gatherings at Christmas and larger audiences at major events - was in "draft form".

"That work was in parallel with the 70 per cent roadmap ... if we reach those targets earlier, we can be bold," Mr Barilaro told reporters.

"That'll give us other opportunities."

There are 1231 COVID-19 patients in NSW hospitals, with 231 people in intensive care units and 108 on ventilators.

The government also said it would move as quickly as possible to remove its classification of 12 western Sydney council "areas of concern", which has meant harsher restrictions for people living in those LGAs.

Residents in those coronavirus hotspots were again urged to come out in high numbers for vaccination as local curfews lift.

Vaccination numbers in the 12 local government areas have been surging but authorities hope they will push beyond 90 per cent.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard noted it was 100 days until Christmas.

"The best present you can give yourself, your family, your friends and the state is to get vaccinated ... go and do it," he said.

The unvaccinated will be shut out when NSW begins to reopen at the 70 per cent double-dose threshold in mid-October.

This "lockout" of unvaccinated people will be mandated in the public health order and not subject to business discretion. Mr Barilaro said more clarity would soon be provided to business.

Elsewhere, 12 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across three social housing buildings in inner Sydney Redfern.

Mr Hazzard said it was another example of the virus "effectively identifying and moving in on the socially disadvantaged."

A mobile vaccination team is visiting each tower building to provide vaccinations to residents. Almost two-thirds have been jabbed.

Lismore and Albury council areas will also be forced back into lockdown, just days after restrictions in those areas lifted.

One case was uncovered in Lismore and two in Albury, with stay-at-home orders to resume in both towns for at least seven days.

A new case was also identified in Glen Innes, not yet locked down.

The Lismore case has prompted concern the renewed "border bubble" arrangements with Queensland could again burst.

However, 12 regional NSW council areas - Bega, Blayney, Bogan, Cabonne, Dungog, Forbes, Muswellbrook, Narrabri, Parkes, Singleton, Snowy Monaro and Upper Hunter - will on Thursday exit lockdown.

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Australia's first nuclear-powered submarines could be in the water before 2040 under a historic partnership with the United States and United Kingdom.

A $90 billion deal with French company Naval Group has been torpedoed, with Australia switching to at least eight more-expensive boats using nuclear propulsion.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison hailed the new AUKUS pact as a "forever partnership" which would be the most important alliance since the 70-year-old ANZUS treaty.

Defence spending will be increased to fund the submarines and boost Australia's long-range strike capability including Hawk and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The nuclear submarines with unlimited range will not require reactors in Australia, with sealed modules for the vessels to be sent from the UK or US.

They do not require refuelling with the nuclear system lasting the life of the submarines, which are faster, have greater stealth and more carrying capacity than conventional boats.

An 18-month consultation period will determine workforce and training requirements, production timelines and safeguards on nuclear non-proliferation agreements.

Construction is expected to start before the end of this decade.

Australia will become the first nation without nuclear weapons to acquire the submarines.

Mr Morrison said no civil nuclear capability would be needed in Australia.

"This is not about acquiring nuclear weapons," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

"Australia has no interest in that. No plans for it, no policy for it, no contemplation of it. It's not on our agenda."

China's ambassador to Australia was briefed about the AUKUS pact and the prime minister said there was an open invitation to the country's President Xi Jinping for a discussion.

China's Washington embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said countries should shake off their "Cold War mentality" and ideological prejudice.

Mr Morrison confirmed Australia spent $2.4 billion on the scrapped French submarine deal for 12 Attack-class submarines.

"Of course they're disappointed," he said.

He stressed the decision did not reflect on the Attack class, Naval Group or the French government.

"If we were unable to access this technology to have a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, then the Attack-class submarine is the best conventional submarine," he said.

But Defence Personnel Minister Andrew Gee said the French submarines would have been technologically obsolete by the time they came into service.

"Future generations would not have thanked us for passing them down to them," he said in a statement.

Mr Gee said Australia should not mourn the loss of the deal.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Labor would support nuclear-powered submarines if there was no domestic nuclear industry.

No nuclear weapons and being compatible with the non-proliferation treaty were his other sticking points.

"All of those conditions, I believe, can be met," Mr Albanese said.

South Australia has secured the maintenance and upgrade - known as full-cycle docking - of Australia's fleet of Collins-class submarines beyond 2026.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the AUKUS pact aimed to preserve peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

"We're opening a new chapter in our friendship," he said.

US President Joe Biden said it was a historic step to deepen co-operation between the three nations.

"We all recognise the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long-term," he said.

Mr Morrison is due to travel to Washington next week for a meeting of the Quad alliance of the US, India, Japan and Australia.

It will be his first US visit since Mr Biden became president.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne are already in Washington for the 31st annual Australia-US Ministerial Consultations, or AUSMIN.

with Reuters

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Cricket Australia will shift the opening fortnight of the Women's Big Bash to Tasmania as it continues to tinker with the summer's schedule amid COVID-19 outbreaks.

A year after establishing bio-secure hubs in Sydney, WBBL organisers confirmed on Thursday the tournament would return to a similar set up in Hobart and Launceston.

The first 20 matches of the tournament will be played in the two cities, with three others scheduled for the opening fortnight pushed back to later in the competition.

Crucially, no cricket will be played on Blundstone Arena after November 20, leaving the door open for the in-doubt one-off men's Test between Australia and Afghanistan to go ahead.

Given the current virus outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne, where half of the WBBL teams are based, it appears inevitable that most players will spend the majority of the season on the road.

The move to Hobart does at least offer flexibility for the latter stages of the tournament, given all states still have their borders open with Tasmania.

"Following on from us hosting the first of the KFC BBL hubs last year, we know this is something we can do, and do well," Cricket Tasmania CEO Dominic Baker said.

Under the revised schedule, the tournament will still begin on October 14, with the opening match between the Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars to now be staged at Blundstone Arena.

Players based in Melbourne, Sydney and the ACT will also be forced to head south early in a bid to complete two weeks' quarantine.

It comes after CA last week pushed back the start of the WNCL to after the WBBL, while the start of the men's Sheffield Shield and one-day cup has also been altered.

Victoria and NSW are still yet to learn how they will start their seasons in those competitions, while South Australia and Western Australia commence the domestic season with a one-day match next Wednesday.

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