NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet drops NSW call for more hospital funding

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also claimed Australia's hospitals have avoided a worst-case scenario, despite Victoria warning its emergency departments are facing ongoing strain.

The comments came just hours before Friday's national cabinet meeting, with hospital capacity and booster shots set to be central to discussions.

All states and territories in September wrote to Health Minister Greg Hunt demanding "immediate additional funding" to steer them through the pandemic, warning the nation's hospital system was stretched to breaking point.

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But Mr Perrottet, who was NSW treasurer at the time the letter was sent, was more circumspect on Friday, insisting the state had prepared for the worst but "didn't go anywhere near that".

"As a former treasurer, I'm always going to try and get more money out of these guys," he said, standing alongside Mr Morrison.

"But ultimately our strategy, our approach, and plan during this pandemic is to stand on our own two feet in this state and to not blame the Commonwealth."

Hospital capacity sparked alarm in recent months, as the Australian Medical Association joined the states in warning of imminent shortages due to a wave of COVID-19 cases.

The states' demand came despite the Commonwealth increasing its share of funding to 50 per cent, a plan they wanted extended until at least 2023.

At the height of the NSW outbreak, former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned hospitalisations would peak in October.

It followed predictions from the Burnet Institute that more than 500 COVID-19 patients would be in intensive care across NSW by early November. Just 61 patients were in ICU on Friday.

Mr Morrison, who has rejected calls to go further on hospital funding, said modelling presented to national cabinet covered "all scenarios" but "our worst fears have not been realised".

He described NSW and Victoria as a model for Queensland and WA as they reopened.

"We were prepared for the worst, and we're thankful for what is one of the best results that we're seeing," he said.

"[Victoria and NSW show] it can all be managed well if you plan well. We've modeled it and worked through those issues."

But Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley on Friday warned the state's system was "under huge pressure from COVID-19", ahead of an expected peak in December and January.

Hospitalisations had increased compared to this time last year, with demand for Ambulance Victoria jumping 17 per cent between June and September.

Victoria will pump an extra $307 million its hospital and ambulance network, but Premier Daniel Andrews warned on Thursday booster shots were key to ending the pandemic.

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The federal government has been criticised for failing to build adequate purpose-built quarantine facilities, forcing Australia to rely on leak-prone hotel quarantine.

The federal government in October, 18 months after the virus reached Australia, gave the green light to facilities in Queensland and Victoria.

Mr Morrison said, while the facilities would be used to quarantine non-vaccinated travelers, they were not built with the short-term in mind.

"It's important that in the future for whatever pandemic we might face that we have that initial bank of facilities," he said.

"That was not, from our point of view, as much about dealing with the current situation."