Lockdowns and hard state borders will be removed when 70% of Australians are vaccinated against Covid and overseas travel will be allowed at 80% in a new four-phase plan unveiled by Scott Morrison

Lockdowns and state borders will be largely removed when 70 per cent of Australians over 16 are fully jabbed against Covid-19 and overseas travel will be allowed when 80 per cent are double vaccinated, Scott Morrison has announced. 

The Prime Minster revealed the jab rates required for each step of his four-stage plan to get Australia back to normal after a National Cabinet meeting with state premiers on Friday afternoon. 

'We've agreed that the way we get there is Australians, one by one, family by family, community by community, going out there, getting vaccinated, getting the job done,' he said. 

Australia - which has only vaccinated 18.24 per cent of over 16s - is currently in phase A of the plan which requires lockdowns 'straight away' to suppress Covid-19 to prevent thousands of infections and deaths.

A state or territory can move to phase B when the national vaccination rate hits 70 per cent and the rate in that state also hits 70 per cent. Pictured: Sydney's Bondi Beach on Friday

A state or territory can move to phase B when the national vaccination rate hits 70 per cent and the rate in that state also hits 70 per cent. 

Mr Morrison said he hopes this phase will be achieved before the end of the year but warned the timing 'is entirely up to how the nation responds to this challenge we're setting for ourselves.'

This phase will make lockdowns 'less likely' and will give doubled-vaccinated people 'special rules' to allow them more freedom than Aussies who refuse a jab.

'If you get vaccinated, there will be special rules that apply to you. Why? Because if you're vaccinated, you present less of a public health risk,' Mr Morrison said.

A 'small working group' involving the Northern Territory, Victoria and Tasmania has been set up to determine which restrictions will not apply to the double-vaccinated. 

The Prime Minister warned that some localised lockdowns may be required in phase B but 'broad-based metropolitan-wide lockdowns' shutdowns will not be needed. 

Lockdowns and state borders will be largely removed when 70 per cent of Australians over 16 are jabbed, Scott Morrison announced. He is pictured holding his four-stage plan

'Lockdowns in phase B are less likely, but they are possible... they may be necessary but they are not something that you would normally expect,' he said. 

'Once we get into phase B, then the calculus does change and lockdowns do cost a lot. 

'Where you have that higher level of protection then there is more discretion exercised. That's why that phase is referred to as less likely, but possible.'

Mr Morrison said 'track, trace, isolate and quarantine remain very important parts of the program' in phase B.

The phase will increase the cap for vaccinated Australians arriving from overseas and allow 'reduced' quarantine requirements such as home quarantine - as well as capped entry for students and economic visa holders.  

Phase C begins when 80 per cent of adults are double-jabbed, allowing vaccinated Australians to travel overseas for any reason. Pictured: Sydney Airport before lockdown

Phase C begins when 80 per cent of adults are double-jabbed, allowing vaccinated Australians to travel overseas for any reason. 

Travel bubbles will be set up with safer countries such as Singapore to allow vaccinated travellers to fly in without quarantine.

Mr Morrison said a country would be deemed safe if it has 'the same sort of vaccination levels as Australia'. The UK has already fully vaccinated 71.4 per cent of adults.

Phase C will remove all domestic restrictions on double-jabbed Aussies and abolish caps on returning vaccinated Australians.

There is no vaccination rate set for phase D, which will remove almost all rules except for testing of unvaccinated arrivals and quarantine for arrivals from 'high risk' places.

'It is too hard to say what the situation will be down the track,' Mr Morrison said.

'It will depend on the booster program, which we have ample vaccines for.

'But the durability and the proof of those vaccines over time, there are too many unknowns before we can understand life as normal, but that's certainly where we are heading.'

What are the four phases of opening up? 

A. Vaccinate, prepare and pilot (from July 14)

Arrival caps cut in half to 3,035 a week; early, stringent and short lockdowns if outbreaks occur; trials of seven-day home quarantine for vaccinated arrivals in South Australia; medicare vaccination certificates available on apps like apple wallet   

B. Post vaccination phase (when 70 per cent are jabbed, expected late this year)

Lockdowns less likely but possible'; vaccinated people face reduced restrictions; caps for unvaccinated arrivals increased; a larger cap for vaccinated arrivals with 'reduced quarantine requirements'; capped entry for students and economic visa holders  

C. Consolidation phase (when 80 per cent are jabbed, time not announced)

Lifting all restrictions for outbound travel for vaccinated travellers; no caps for vaccinated arrivals; increased caps for students and visa holders; more travel bubbles being set up with countries such as Singapore; booster shots rolled out 

D. Final phase (percentage or time not announced)

Uncapped arrivals for vaccinated people without any quarantine and uncapped arrivals for unvaccinated people with testing before departure and on arrival 

The Prime Minister warned the plan is based on the Delta variant and is 'subject to change' if a new, more contagious variant comes along. 

The percentages were calculated by modelling experts at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Mr Morrison also took into account economic modelling by Treasury on the impact of lockdowns as well as the country's hospital capacity. 

On Thursday a record 210,742 Covid jabs were administered across the country. 

So far 18.24 per cent of over 16s have been fully vaccinated and 39.46 per cent have had their first dose. 

The Grattan Institute think tank released a report on Thursday saying 80 per cent needed to be fully vaccinated before opening up.

'Abandoning our Zero Covid strategy before 80 per cent of Australians are vaccinated would risk a rapid surge in cases that overwhelms our hospitals and imposes a high death toll,' the Race to 80 report says. 

Allowing the virus to spread with half the population vaccinated would lead to 31,440 deaths within 300 days, it claims.  

Phase B will increase the arrival cap for vaccinated Australians arriving from overseas - and allow 'reduced' quarantine requirements. Pictured: Scott Morrison on Friday

The Institute believes the country can hit the 80 per cent target by December 31.

Meanwhile, NSW has suspended elective surgery in Sydney and called in 1,000 police and soldiers to enforce the city's lockdown as another 170 Covid-19 cases were recorded overnight.

The premier said while the number of new cases was 'considerably less' than Thursday she expected that figure could spike again on Saturday. 

Of the newly-acquired cases, 42 were infectious in the community and 93 are still under investigation. 

Sydney's lockdown will last until August 28. Pictured: Woolloomooloo on Friday

NSW Health said 87 were reported in south-west Sydney and 32 in both the western and central local health districts in the 24 hours to 8pm.

There are 187 patients suffering from Covid-19 across the state, of which 58 are intensive care and 24 are on ventilators. 

From August 9, Ms Berejiklian said Qudos Bank Arena - a 21,000-capacity complex in the Olympic Park in the city's west - would open to vaccinate students living in eight hotspot local government areas in Sydney's west and south-west.

The state government hopes 20,000 Year 12 students a week will receive a Covid-19 jab every week at the vaccination hub. 

Queensland is investigating a local Covid-19 case after a 17-year-old girl at Indooroopilly State High School tested positive on Thursday night. 

Victoria recorded three new cases, all in home isolation. 

Earlier Anthony Albanese slammed Mr Morrison for being 'too slow' to order vaccines last year and made four suggestions for speeding up the vaccine rollout.

He said Australian officials should be calling the Americans and asking for any supplies they can spare, build MRNA vaccine production facilities faster, have more pop-up vaccine clinics and a better advertising campaign. 

In July 2020, the US ordered 200 million doses of Pfizer, the UK ordered 90 million and Canada ordered 20 million.

But Australia didn't order any until November, when it requested just 10 million doses of the highly effective jab. 

In April the government increased the order to 20 million and doubled it to 40 million in June - but critics say this quantity should have been ordered far earlier. 

A shopper wears a face mask at Bankstown in Sydney on Friday after the state recorded 170 new Covid-19 cases