The thousands of Australians stranded overseas may have a glimmer of hope on the horizon, as NSW, Queensland and Western Australia announced Friday that they will raise caps on international arrivals.

Until this announcement, just 4000 people were able to arrive on Australian shores - a measure to reduce the strain on the strict hotel quarantine required to ensure coronavirus is kept at bay at the potential arrival point.

Following Friday's National Cabinet, it was announced that Queensland and Western Australia would initially take an additional 200 arrivals per week from September 27. This will be increased to 500 arrivals per week from October 4 in Queensland and October 11 in Western Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the states would have support from the Commonwealth to manage the increased arrivals, including the defence force to manage quarantine needs.

But even with increased number that will be able to return in a staggered arrivals system, the situation is still untenable for the 30,000 Australians stuck overseas. It is not acceptable to have so many citizens finding themselves with no safe path home, regardless of the ongoing global pandemic.

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Australia is a rich and well-resourced country, and should have made extensive arrangements for these people in previous months. Hotels are not the only venues for quarantine; army bases and remote accommodation remain options, as the fact remains that quarantine periods are, in the scheme of things, short-term.

While Australia has been prevaricating over how best to manage the wellbeing of its citizens overseas, many said citizens are facing financially crippling costs, with expired visas and ostensibly no way back.

On Friday, the Prime Minister pointed out that about 15 per cent of the Australians attempting to return home were in New Zealand, and allowing them in without hotel quarantine would free up space for more returned travellers.

It's worth noting that he also commended the ACT's home quarantine system for people entering the territory from Victoria, saying it presented an option for other jurisdictions, who could apply this to domestic travellers to free up space in hotel quarantine for Australians still overseas.

Meanwhile, the news that Canberrans will be able to travel to Queensland will be welcome to many. It's explicit recognition, finally, that the ACT is about as safe as anywhere in the country, having been COVID-free for many weeks.

With sensible management, tentative movement between the two states can start to take place - sensible being the operative word; preventing Canberrans from visiting Queensland has been a heavy-handed, over-cautious decision that has led many to question the wisdom of those making decisions over state borders.

The recent debacle involving a grieving Canberra resident prevented from attending her own father's funeral close to where she was diligently quarantining in Brisbane has been a case in point.

But now that Canberrans again have the opportunity to travel north, it's time now for NSW to get a better deal from the other states, given that it has kept infection numbers down, and has been carrying most of the load in terms of quarantine. It is a long road out of this pandemic, and we are nowhere near the end. But it's heartening to see that sensible decisions are finally being made.