A determination made under the Biosecurity Act that came into effect on March 27 directs that all cruise ships must leave Australian territory without docking unless they have permission, their safety is at risk or their voyage started in Australia.

The tough new restrictions have come as a stand-off between cruise operators and the NSW police continues to drag on over the state's refusal to allow the ships to dock.

There has been mounting pressure on both the NSW government and cruise companies over the impasse, with crew fearful of onboard outbreaks of COVID-19 and officials worried about the extra burden caring for sick travellers could place on the state's health system.

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NSW Police Commissioner Michael Fuller has revealed that Aspen Medical health teams will be helicoptered aboard seven cruise ships, and board an eighth that is docked, in a joint operation with Australian Border Force to test for COVID-19 and evacuate passengers and crew in need of treatment.

"They will go on and they will do an assessment and the standard temperature check and ask questions around symptoms of the virus," Mr Fuller said.

"If the crew is fit and healthy, I have no hesitation in asking [Home Affairs] Minister Peter Dutton to enforce the orders for them to leave our shores."

In a prelude to that exercise, NSW Police and the Australian Border Force on Thursday jointly helped a medical team to board the Ruby Princess and evacuate a 66-year-old crew member in need of medical care.

NSW Police said they are also assisting with the medical evacuation and transfer of "a number" of Australian crew from the stranded cruise ships.

Earlier this week six crew from the Ruby Princess were taken to Australian hospitals after falling ill. The liner remains off the coast with 1100 crew onboard.

The Defence Department said it was aware that the NSW government was looking at options to resolve the cruise ship stand-off and was preparing to provide assistance.

"At the request of the NSW government, Defence is planning to provide land-based logistics and additional quarantine compliance at some New South Wales ports, in support of New South Wales Police," a department spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said management of cruise ships was up to the states but the country would live up to its obligations to provide medical care and allow for re-fuelling and re-provisioning.

"If there are people who are sick and need health care, then whether it's a foreign national off our shores who is in need of that or an Australian somewhere else who is in need of that, then countries have been respecting that," Mr Morrison said.

"That is the position of the Australian government and that has been respected...as we've seen in Western Australia [where] we are provisioning those ships so they'll be able to move on their way."

Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram ordered all cruise ships to leave Australian waters late last month, but told Perth radio 6PR on Thursday that "a lot of the ships around our waters have sought permission to stay, and then we have to work through case by case why that might be. My general position is that they need to go back to their home ports or the flag states."

International Transport Workers' Federation Australia Coordinator Dean Summers said the cruise ship stand-off was a "terrifying time" for the thousands of crew on board the vessels.

Mr Summers warned of a rapidly developing humanitarian disaster and said all crew but a skeleton staff should be allowed to disembark and flown home, at the expense of cruise operators.

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