All Australian states and territories will begin testing hotel quarantine staff daily and quarantine international aircrew amid fears a highly infectious UK variant of the coronavirus wreaking havoc across Britain could spread locally.

Other first ministers pushed for weekly testing of hotel quarantine workers, but finally agreed to daily testing, the Victorian government has confirmed to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews cut short his summer holidays to press his case at the national cabinet meeting. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this week called a special national cabinet meeting for Friday to discuss strengthening the country's COVID-19 protocols for returning travellers.

The Victorian government had been pushing for the rest of the country to adopt its strengthened hotel quarantine procedures, with Premier Daniel Andrews cutting short his leave to press the state's case at national cabinet.

Ahead of the 10am meeting, Mr Andrews told reporters he expected the federal government to "endorse" Victoria's proposal and he believed his state and territory counterparts would adopt it.

"I'm very confident that we will see issues like pre-flight testing, issues like flight crew being tested when they get here, being treated in effect as they were a returned traveller, a whole range of measures that we've pushed and advocated for particularly in light of the UK strain, I believe they'll be adopted by national cabinet," Mr Andrews said on Friday morning.

"Given the extremely infectious and contagious nature of this UK variant, it is very, very important that we do everything we can, never making it 100 per cent risk free, but each additional layer is about keeping each of us safe."

More to come.

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