Canberra-Adelaide travel bubble could open as soon as this month

But the opening of the bubble hinged on there being no fresh COVID-19 outbreaks, with South Australia Premier Steven Marshall indicating the ACT and NSW would need to go 14 days without recording a new case of community transmission before his state would relax its border restrictions.

People from Canberra and NSW can currently travel to SA, but they are forced into two weeks of mandatory quarantine when they arrive.

Mr Barr used Friday's national cabinet meeting to pitch plans to allow passengers to travel from Canberra to Adelaide without needing to self-isolate on arrival.

He also wanted to establish direct flights from Canberra to Darwin and, "in time", resume flights from the capital to Hobart and Brisbane, respectively. The Tasmanian and Queensland borders were currently shut.

Mr Barr also floated the possibility of a future bubble across the Tasman between Canberra and Wellington.

The chief minister hoped the arrangement with South Australia would prove domestic flights could safely resume amid the ongoing health emergency.

"I think it is important to show national leadership here," Mr Barr said on Friday.

"If we can make it work then it opens the door for other 'city pairs' and other opportunities for Canberrans and that is going to be an important next step as we head through spring and into summer."

Mr Barr said he understood Mr Marshall would formally consider the offer next week. It would take airline carriers between one and two weeks to prepare flights, Mr Barr said, raising the possibility the travel bubble could be set up before the end of the month - provided SA gives it the green light.

Speaking at a press conference in Adelaide, Mr Marshall said it was possible the state's restrictions on incoming travellers from Canberra and NSW would be relaxed as soon as a fortnight's time.

But Mr Marshall indicated there would need to be no cases of community transmission in the ACT and NSW for 14 days before the border restrictions would be eased.

It was not clear if the Canberra travel bubble would be allowed to proceed if ACT continued its virus-free streak, but some cases were detected in NSW. The ACT has not recorded any new cases, let alone a case of community transmission, for almost eight weeks.

The Canberra Times requested an interview Mr Marshall but was told he was unavailable.

His office referred The Canberra Times to the comments Mr Marshall made in the press conference.

In Canberra, Mr Barr said national cabinet had discussed a series of requirements that might need to be met before flights could resume to other parts of the country, particularly into Queensland.

Mr Barr said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had insisted authorities be provided with more information about who was travelling on a flight, and where they had been in the recent past. This requirement would have been legislated in the federal Parliament, Mr Barr said.

The Queensland premier had also called for passengers to undergo a pre-flight coronavirus test, Mr Barr said.