It is increasingly obvious there is little common ground between a diverse community of jurisdictions, many at very different points in their coronavirus journeys, and that - with the exception of NSW and Victoria, which are working on a common plan - each is going their own way.

That means Canberra parents are no better informed about when schools in the ACT will go back, or how this will be accomplished, than they were a week ago.

And, while Friday is the day the ACT government has said it would make details of its arrangements public, it is difficult to see how education authorities can put firm plans in place without a guaranteed supply of hundreds of thousands of RAT kits for surveillance testing of teachers and students.

The only significant development to come out of Thursday's national cabinet meeting was a commitment from the federal government to subsidise 50 per cent of the cost of RATs for jurisdictions which make them a requirement.

This actually went against the Prime Minister's assertion last Thursday that while surveillance testing for teachers was sensible, it was not so important for students. And, as Mr Morrison himself conceded yesterday, RAT testing students is not supported by medical advice.

At least the Chief Health Officer, Paul Kelly, was refreshingly frank when he acknowledged testing children was all about instilling confidence in teachers, parents and children that it was safe to go back to the classroom.

And, while the subsidy will be appreciated by many, its impact is going to be severely constrained by the national shortage of RATs.

It is, after all, still up to the states and territories to find their own; a particular challenge for Canberra given the ACT is really behind the eight ball in this regard.

With NSW, Victoria and now Tasmania all seemingly committed to testing students at least twice a week, it is hard to see how educational authorities in the ACT can fail to follow suit.

The territory is under some pressure to at least partially mirror the arrangements being put in place across the border, given its status as a landlocked city-state within southern NSW. While, as the PM said on Thursday, parents should only have to concern themselves with the arrangements made by their state or territory government, that doesn't apply in this part of the world.

If, for example, the ACT did decide to delay the return to the classroom until it had addressed its significant RAT kit shortage, parents in Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Googong, Murrumbateman or Bungendore who have some children at a NSW primary school and others at a high school in the ACT would be in an unenviable position indeed.

So, although the PM's zeal to have schools reopen as scheduled on day one of term 1 is understandable - given his fear that COVID absenteeism could blow out from an expected 10 per cent to 15 per cent if they don't - parents are little better informed than they were before.

An apparent lack of foresight and planning has led to a state of confusion not far short of chaos.

Medical experts were talking about the need for rapid antigen tests over a year ago. Omicron's virulence was well understood before most schools broke up.

It appears that, as has happened far too frequently over the past 12 months, those supposed to have been watching the road ahead were asleep at the wheel.

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