The New South Wales government will provide free rapid antigen tests to vulnerable communities after a federal government program ends at the end of the month.
Premier Dominic Perrottet is expected to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other state and territory leaders in on Monday to discuss the increasing COVID-19 cases across the country.
Concession card holders can currently access up to 10 free RATs under the federal government's access program, which finishes at the end of July.
The NSW government said people eligible for free tests under the federal program will be able to continue accessing free tests under a state-funded scheme until October 31.
These include people in multicultural communities, people with a disability and their carers, homeless services, social housing tenants and children and young people in out-of-home care.
On Thursday, NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns broke ranks with his federal Labor counterparts by calling for the re-introduction of the $750 emergency COVID-19 isolation payment, which ended on July 1.
Meanwhile, health services across the state are preparing for the worst of a new COVID-19 wave in the weeks ahead.
Experts believe the flu season has likely peaked but the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of Omicron continue to rapidly spread through the community.
Epidemiologist Dr Tony Blakely from the University of Melbourne said authorities are closely watching another Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.75, which has recently emerged in the state.
The sub-variant originated in India and three cases have been reported in returned overseas travellers.
"We are going to see health services under extreme pressure right around Australia over the next two to eight or 10 weeks or so," Mr Blakely said.
The free tests will be available to eligible concession card holders through 210 neighbourhood and community centres across NSW.
Mr Perrottet said taking tests at home was part of living with the virus.
"We know [RATs] work … they are a crucial part of everyone taking that responsibility as we move through this next stage of the virus … it's not going away," Mr Perrottet said.
He said he would aim to strike a "balance" between budget pressures and financial implications on workers during his discussions with the Prime Minister on Monday.
"I think it's unfair that when the state imposes public health orders on people, that restrict their liberty and their capacity to work, for the [federal] government to not provide financial support," Mr Perrottet said.
Minister for Multiculturalism and Seniors, Mark Coure, said the state government had already made millions of free RATs available to those communities.
"There is no need to rush or panic about whether or not you will be able to access tests. We have enough tests to support you," Mr Coure said.
