Deadline looms for unvaccinated in NSW.

The unvaccinated in NSW have a little over a month to get double jabbed if they want to be able to visit family and friends, dine out, travel and go to the hairdresser, gym or football matches.

Under a roadmap out of lockdown announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday, a suite of restrictions will be eased when 70 per cent of the state's residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Catching a movie at the cinema, hitting the pub, a trip to the nail salon, dining out and having a small number of household guests are all back on the cards, as is travel to the state's regions.

But the unvaccinated will miss out.

They will only be able to access "critical retail" like supermarkets.

"You have been warned - come forward and get vaccinated or you won't be able to participate," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

The race to vaccinate in NSW is on with freedoms to be unlocked one the state reaches the 70 per cent vaccination target. #9Today pic.twitter.com/kMGFycgt5i

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow)

Some limits on where vaccinated people in hotspot areas can make the most of their new freedoms may remain.

The freedoms will be policed via a vaccination status feature on the state's QR code check-in system.

"If you want to go and buy something in what is regarded as a non-essential shop, you will put up the QR code and if it is not a green light saying you have been vaccinated, you won't be welcome inside," she said.

While NSW recorded 1405 new local COVID-19 cases and another five deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, some virus-free regional areas will be released from lockdown.

From Saturday, parts of the mid-north coast and the north coast will emerge from lockdown on the weekend. So too will the Riverina and Murrumbidgee areas, including Wagga Wagga and Albury.

A new bubble agreement could be revealed for the Queensland and NSW border today. #9Today pic.twitter.com/lRXUCu7GzP

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow)

While the plan was enthusiastically welcomed by business and tourism industry bodies, the Australian Medical Association criticised it as lacking sufficient detail.

President Dr Omar Khorshid is calling for the release of any modelling of future case numbers and health system impacts.

The health system is already under considerable stress, and the state would be easing restrictions while recording more than 500 infections each day, without the ability to trace contacts of all cases.

Meanwhile, the announcement of the HSC timetable is due on Friday, with Nine Newspapers reporting no exams will be cancelled.

Victoria's regions wake to greater freedom.

More than a million regional Victorians are waking to more freedoms as lockdown lifts for all areas outside Melbourne except Shepparton, but a number of restrictions remain.

People in the regions can now travel as far as they want from their homes after the stay-at-home order and five-kilometre travel limit ended at midnight on Thursday.

While businesses can now reopen in regional Victoria, a number of strict rules applying to the hospitality industry make it unviable for many venues to open.

On the advice of the Chief Health Officer, Regional Victoria's lockdown will be lifted. There remains a significant risk of cases seeding, so we all have to continue to work hard to keep regional Victoria, and all of us safe. pic.twitter.com/0vqNEhQfng

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP)

Retail businesses have been given a density limit of one person per four square metres, but hospitality venues are allowed a maximum of 10 people seated inside and 20 outside.

Schools can reopen from Friday for years prep to two and year 12, but all other students must continue their studies remotely.

Also coming into effect on Friday is a relief for some Victorians who have been stuck living in a NSW local government border area.

Victorians who have resided in those areas for at least 14 days, from Wednesday 25 August to Wednesday 8 September, will be able to apply for a new permit exemption category to come home.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews says detailed modelling from the Burnett Institute will be released in the next week forecasting the Victorian outbreak's peak and how the healthcare system will respond.

He said there is an "enormous amount of work" being done to prepare the state's hospitals for a surge in cases.

Melbourne and Shepparton remain under lockdown, after the state recorded more than 300 cases on Thursday with 195 of those located in Melbourne's north.

PM warns of virus pressure on hospitals, criticises WA timeline.

Scott Morrison has warned hospitals will come under pressure when Australia reopens but insists that shouldn't stop states from easing restrictions.

The prime minister has lauded the NSW government's plan to allow major freedoms to all fully vaccinated people when 70 per cent double-dose coverage is achieved.

He said the next stage of the pandemic would be hard, with cases set to rise as restrictions ease under the national reopening plan.

"That comes with additional pressure on the hospital system. That's understood. That is inevitable," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

"If you want to live with the virus, you inevitably have to pass down that tunnel, and that will be true in every single state and territory in the country."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticised Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan’s reopening timeline after NSW revealed its roadmap out of restrictions. https://t.co/0FdWijFui5

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust)

WA Premier Mark McGowan is adamant he won't reopen to infected states until early next year, when he predicts the state will reach 80 per cent vaccination coverage, and was criticised by Morrison on Thursday.

"My advice for Western Australia is to get vaccinated and get ready, get your hospital system ready, get your health system ready, and push through and we can all connect and be one again," the prime minister said.

While he's faced criticism for WA's nation-trailing rollout, Mr McGowan argues he can't speed it up until the Morrison government provides more vaccines.

The prime minister believes the state will reach 80 per cent faster than the premier thinks.

Australia has fully vaccinated 40.4 per cent of its over-16 population, while 65.4 per cent have received a single dose.

Payne, Dutton in Jakarta security talks.

The foreign and defence ministers of Indonesia and Australia have met in Jakarta, flagging deeper defence ties and jointly urging the Taliban to respect the human rights of Afghan women and girls.

Marise Payne and Peter Dutton engaged in security talks with their counterparts Retno Marsudi and Prabowo Subianto on Thursday.

It emerged from the talks that Indonesian troops could join regular training exercises on Australian soil as part of deepening defence ties.

Subianto said he and Dutton discussed "the possibility of Australia opening their training areas for the participation of Indonesian units to be training together with Australia".

Dutton said Australia and Indonesia were bolstering their security cooperation in "an increasingly contested region".

It’s a pleasure to be back in Indonesia and to have met with @prabowo. I thank @prabowo for the warm welcome & constructive engagement. Today we signed a revised Defence Cooperation Arrangement, strengthening our capacity to work together in the region. pic.twitter.com/APPowMcCT3

— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP)

Dutton also said Australia would provide 15 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to Indonesia for use in peacekeeping operations.

He said defence education programs would also be stepped up, with cadets from Indonesia's armed forces studying at Australian defence education facilities.

Marsudi said Indonesia was closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and hopes the country will not be used as "a breeding and training ground for terrorist organisations and activities that threaten peace and stability in the region."

The foreign ministers of Indonesia and Australia have jointly urged the Taliban to respect and promote human rights, especially those of women and girls. https://t.co/Cj7fqHiIBh

— SBS News (@SBSNews)

The two foreign ministers on Thursday urged the Taliban to respect the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Indonesia has suffered a series of militant attacks since bombings on the tourist island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, including 88 Australians. The Bali bombings were blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah network.

"Indonesia has a significant role to play as a Muslim country with a strong voice on these issues," Payne said in a joint video news conference with Marsudi, Dutton and Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Payne and Dutton arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday for the first of a series of meetings with foreign and defence ministers in Indonesia, India, South Korea and the United States to underscore Australia's role in the Indo-Pacific region, where China's influence and military power are growing.

Australia waters down climate in UK deal.

Australia is under fire for watering down climate change references and disappearing temperature targets from a UK trade deal.

The British government has agreed to "drop both of the climate asks" including a reference to Paris Accord temperature goals to get its pending free trade deal with Australia over the line.

While specific references to temperature commitments are gone, a leaked email notes the Paris Agreement still gets a mention in the yet-to-be-inked deal.

A leaked internal email has revealed the UK Government caved to Australian demands to drop key climate change targets from the free trade deal being struck between the two countries. @pablovinales @benlewismedia pic.twitter.com/78cPFMUWOa

— SBS News (@SBSNews)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the move, saying the agreement with the UK is about trade and not climate.

"It wasn't a climate agreement, it was a trade agreement," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

"In trade agreements I deal with trade issues. In climate agreements I deal with climate issues."

Coal and gas are among Australia's top exports.

Australia has not updated its 2015 Paris pledge of reducing emissions between 26 and 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 ahead of upcoming climate talks in Glasgow.

It continues to cop international criticism about failing to pull its weight, relative to comparable nations, on emissions reduction and the issue remains vexed within the coalition.

Officials await flu-COVID jab trial result.

Australian health officials will be keeping close tabs on the results of a trial which combines the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Novavax has announced the enrolment of the first participants in a study at a number of sites across Australia to check the safety and effectiveness of a combination vaccine using its seasonal influenza and COVID-19 jabs.

Results of the study are expected in mid-2022.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration, which assesses all COVID-19 vaccines before they can be used in Australia, will only register a vaccine if its benefits are much greater than its risks.

A health department spokeswoman told AAP the co-administration of a COVID-19 vaccine with other vaccines is "not routinely recommended as this can sometimes lead to a higher frequency of mild to moderate adverse events or make the attribution of potential adverse events to vaccination more challenging".

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation currently recommends a preferred minimum interval between a flu shot and a Pfizer or AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab of seven days.

This can be shortened if there is an increased risk of COVID-19 or another vaccine-preventable disease, or logistical and scheduling issues.

Report exposes pandemic's indirect impacts.

Restrictions designed to preserve the health of Australians saw millions of them feed unhealthy habits and turn to their vices to cope, new research from the national health data agency suggests.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on Friday released a report – based on several data sources and surveys – exploring the direct and indi