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A group of disability representative organisations has joined with First Nations advocates to ensure there's accessible information about the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Damian Griffis, spokesperson for the Disability Collective for Voice and CEO of First Peoples Disability Network, said it was important the disability community was informed before the poll on October 14.

"With four million Australians living with disability, it is incredibly important that voting is accessible," he said.

"This means everything from information materials on the voice to voting facilities and, as a collective, we're determined to ensure that information on a voice to parliament is accessible to all groups across Australia so everyone can make an informed decision at the referendum."

First Peoples Disability Network worked with other representative organisations like Inclusion Australia, which represents people with an intellectual disability, and radio for the print handicapped, which assists people with impaired vision.

"It's difficult to think of any more disadvantaged Australians than First Nations people with disability," Mr Griffis said.

"But also, we're anxious to ensure that the wider Australian disability community, which is very large and a very significant voting bloc in its own right, has access to information in ways that they can understand."

Indigenous academic Marcia Langton told the National Press Club this week that a 'yes' vote would deliver hope and healing, while a 'no' vote would continue the cycle of disadvantage and disempowerment.

Muriel Bamblett chairs the national body for First Nations children, SNAICC, and is also CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency.

Professor Bamblett said if Indigenous people were involved in decisions that affected, better outcomes would be achieved, pointing to statistics on reuniting children in out-of-home care with their families.

She said the agency she headed up reunited Indigenous children with their families at twice the rate of the state department.

"It's important that we have Aboriginal people sitting at the table and being able to talk about what are really big issues for Aboriginal people on the ground," she said.

"I don't want to wake up on the 15th of October to an Australia that doesn't recognise our voice and our need for a voice."

Mr Griffis said there was a range of accessible information for members of the Australian disability community on the group's website.

"Inform yourself in the best way you can," he said.

"Seek information from people you trust and from sources you trust, seek information from friends and colleagues within the Australian disability community."

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The number of coronavirus infections is on the rise again in the northern hemisphere, according to the World Health Organisation.

"We continue to see concerning trends for COVID-19 ahead of the winter season in the northern hemisphere," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Wednesday.

During the colder months, which are just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, people are exposed to a higher risk of infection because they spend more time indoors, said the WHO's top coronavirus expert Maria Van Kerkhove.

According to the UN agency, the coronavirus death toll is on the rise again in parts of the Middle East and Asia, while North America, Europe and Asia are registering a rising number of hospitalisations due to COVID-19.

"We estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of people in hospital now for COVID," Van Kerkhove said.

The WHO experts called on older people and other vulnerable groups to get booster vaccinations if needed.

According to Van Kerkhove, the COVID-19 vaccines currently available also protect against severe illness and death when contracting newer virus variants.

Meanwhile only 42 cases of the new BA.2.86 variant - also known as Pirola -which the WHO has been monitoring since mid-August, have been recorded worldwide in 11 countries, the expert said.

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Medicinal cannabis boosts the health and quality of life of patients suffering from mental health conditions, chronic pain and fatigue, an Australian study shows.

The longitudinal study, led by the University of Sydney, followed 2327 Australian patients who were prescribed medicinal cannabis for health conditions between November 2020 and December 2021.

Their conditions ranged from chronic pain (69 per cent), sleep disorders (23 per cent), anxiety (22 per cent) and anxiety or depression (11 per cent).

Roughly half the patients, who were recruited by 120 doctors across six states and aged 18 to 97, were being treated for more than one condition.

Results from the first three months of the treatment showed improvements in the patients' health-related quality of life and fatigue across all assessed conditions, except sleep disorders.

General practitioner Jamie Rickcord, who was involved in the Quality of Life Evaluation Study, said the results should embolden doctors to offer medicinal cannabis as a treatment option.

"The QUEST results show that medicinal cannabis provides statistically, and more importantly, clinically significant improvements in pain levels, fatigue and quality of life for patients," he said in a statement.

Participants completed a questionnaire before the study, along with regular follow-ups for up to a year after beginning their treatment.

Twelve-month results continue to be analysed to assess if the clinical benefits of medicinal cannabis for patients are maintained over the longer term.

The study's peer-reviewed findings will be published in open-access journal PLOS ONE on Thursday.

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Anthony Albanese will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for one-on-one talks as Australia aims to repair economic ties with its biggest trading partner.

The pair will meet on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta on Thursday during the annual gathering of world leaders.

The bilateral talks follows China lifting tariffs on Australian barley, with the softening of trade impediments giving hopeful signs restrictions on other products such as wine and lobsters will follow.

Mr Albanese will meet with China's second-in-command after President Xi Jinping opted not to attend the summit in Indonesia.

The prime minister had met with Mr Xi at the G20 summit last year, and since then, 15 meetings have taken place between Australian ministers and Chinese counterparts.

On Wednesday at the ASEAN summit, Mr Albanese foreshadowed a meeting with Mr Li was on the cards at the summit in Indonesia.

"My position on the relationship with China remains a consistent one, which is we'll co-operate where we can or disagree where we must," he said.

"I'm sure that over the next period both here and at the G20, Premier Li will be present, we'll certainly be in the same room."

The talks with Mr Li coincide with the resumption of Australia-China high-level dialogues in Beijing, the first time such discussions have taken place since 2020.

Trade impediments imposed by China had resulted in a more than $20 billion reduction in the value of exports to the Asian nation.

It comes as Trade Minister Don Farrell proposed suspending Australia's wine complaint against China in exchange for a review on punitive tariffs, but has yet to hear back.

While in Jakarta, Mr Albanese will also hold bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is hosting the ASEAN and East Asia Summits.

Both leaders will also take part in the ASEAN-Australia Summit and will co-chair the event.

The East Asia Summit will involve leaders from all 10 ASEAN nations, along with the US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and India.

Mr Albanese will also be looking to boost trade ties with Southeast Asian nations following the release of a new economic strategy for the region to 2040 on Wednesday.

The strategy, which had 75 recommendations, called for greater investment in the region, with Southeast Asia set to be the world's fourth-largest economy by 2040.

The prime minister said the opportunity for trade within the area was enormous.

"This strategy makes very clear that Australia's economic future is right here in Southeast Asia," he told a business event in Jakarta.

"My government will take some time to properly consider the strategies ... one area we're particularly interested in is Southeast Asia's energy security and clean energy transition."

The prime minister will then fly out of Indonesia on Thursday for the Philippines, ahead of bilateral talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, before then flying to India for the G20 summit.

© AAP 2023