TLC Healthcare will roll out on-the-spot antigen tests, which can produce a result within 15 minutes, at its 11 residential aged care homes in Melbourne and Geelong from September 9.

In a national first, every visitor to the centre will be required to undergo the test. Staff members and contractors ineligible to receive a Covid vaccine will also need to test negative before each shift, and take a "gold standard" PCR test each fortnight.

TLC chief executive Lou Pascuzzi said the screening would reduce the threat of lockdowns while allowing centres to welcome visitors.

"It may take some getting used to, but we see this as an invaluable tool in minimising the risk of a Covid outbreak amongst our very vulnerable residents," he said.

The reliability of rapid antigen tests varies depending on the make, though TLC insists the model it will use will be 95 per cent effective.

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The federal government earlier this month began a trial of antigen tests in western Sydney aged care facilities. A similar pilot was conducted by aged care provider Whiddon at one of its Sydney sites in July.

However, Mr Pascuzzi claimed there was a lack of guidance over how aged care providers should manage Covid in the long-term. He said the the Doherty Institute modelling, on which the government's reopening hopes are pinned, did not specifically address the sector.

"There is ambiguity in the report around effects of current and future variants of Covid, and the disease-severity assumptions that don't cater to high-risk environments such as residential aged care," he said.

"I would urgently recommend that a more detailed report be compiled that contains modelling and recommendations specific to residential aged care."

The Grattan Institute has already called for antigen testing to be implemented at schools to add an extra layer of protection. It argues the tests are significantly cheaper than PCR tests, allowing them to be conducted much more frequently.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved more than 20 antigen tests in Australia, which need to be administered by a professional. Unlike in the United Kingdom, no variation has been approved for self-use.

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