It's odd to think Barber should be in the middle of her Diamond League campaign and putting the final touches on her Olympics' preparation.

Instead of throwing javelins across European stadiums, Barber has been working out in her garage and training at the AIS Track.

The Diamond League released a new timetable for the 2020 circuit last month, with the season set to resume in August. But if Australian and international borders remain closed, Barber could be forced to compete in local meets to practice reaching her peak for Tokyo.

"We're still very much at the mercy of international travel," Barber said.

"I would definitely be disappointed to not compete. I love the Diamond League circuit and if that's what it comes down to, I'll miss competing at that level this year.

"I don't think it will influence my preparation for Tokyo too much, hopefully there'll still be a Diamond League circuit before the Olympic Games next year. I would definitely want to be a part of that."

Barber was named the 2019 Female Athlete of the Year at the Athletics Australia awards on Wednesday night, having claimed the javelin world title in Doha last year.

She shared the achievement with her husband Mike Barber, who won the award for Coach of the Year.

Mike famously coached Barber to the Doha gold medal, as well as Canberra's Jayden Sawyer to the World Para Championships and Jess Bell to the World University Games.

"It was quite a busy year and there was a lot of success across the board. It seems so long ago now but to be recognised among your peers is always quite nice," Mike said.

"Kelsey and I share the whole journey, so to receive awards together was nice. I don't think we've both won something at the same time before, it's usually one or the other."

Mike has been able to continue coaching his top three athletes relatively uninterrupted through the coronavirus shutdown, with the AIS allowing them access to the athletics track.

Now the ACT government has lifted restrictions to allow groups of 20 people for outdoor training, he's looking to increase his development athletes' workload to 2-3 sessions per week.

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"To their credit, they've really dug in and worked on the things they can and not been too disappointed by the things they can't," he said.

"To put it in perspective, there's no immediate elements they're working towards. It builds resilience for the knocks you can get in a sporting career. They may not see it now, but I think in the long term it'll be a beneficial experience.

"It's built a sense of autonomy, I've been confident and trusted them to do the things they need to do."

Athletics Australia is finalising plans with its member federations to have competitions running later this year, with the domestic circuit expected to start in December.

Mike and Kelsey-Lee Barber will look to compete in some local meets before the domestic season kicks off.

"There's some Canberra competitions we'll target to just practice the peak we were going to do in Tokyo, just to get an idea of what shape we're in to then refine our process," Mike said.

ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA 2019 AWARDS

Canberra recipients: