The prime minister says a reintroduction of mask mandates wasn't on the table at the most recent national cabinet meeting amid concerns about an upcoming COVID-19 wave.
Anthony Albanese has resisted calls from the president of the Australian Medical Association to mandate masks indoors amid skyrocketing COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations.
Dr Omar Khorshid said the winter surge impacting hospitals has left many sick Australians without access to healthcare as more than 5000 beds nationwide are occupied with virus patients.
But Mr Albanese says the chief medical officer hasn't advocated for a mandate.
"The clear decision of the AHPPC, the peak body where you get all the state and territory chief health officers together with the chief medical officer, Professor (Paul) Kelly, haven't advocated that to me at all," he told the ABC on Thursday.
"The other thing you need to bear in mind is the mental health aspects of restrictions on people's behaviour.
"We need to get the balance right and I think that's something the chief health officers have borne in mind."
The comments come a day after Prof Kelly warned case numbers and hospitalisations will continue to increase.
"We are in for a new wave of this very infectious variant and we need to do some things differently, at least for a short period of time," he said.
"I have recommended that we need to increase mask use. We have left it there for others to consider the pros and cons of how to do that."
Mr Albanese also raised concerns about the enforcement of any mandates, which remain in place on public transport in NSW and Victoria.
"The question is, are people complying with them? There's no good having a mandate unless it's enforced," he said.
"Are there people jumping on trams here in Victoria and enforcing the rules and fining people? I don't know that that's happening.
"It's not happening in NSW."
There were 53,850 cases recorded across the country in the 24 hours to 6am on Wednesday.
In the past week more than 300,000 cases were recorded in Australia.
Based on modelling from health authorities, the winter wave was expected to peak in August and would likely be over by September, the prime minister says.
"Whilst we're seeing this surge is occurring, it's expected to continue to increase just over the next few weeks, but then decline next month and towards September," he said.
Mr Albanese said he hoped the country would not be plunged into another lockdown, with chief ministers and state leaders arguing for economic constraints not to be re-implemented.
He said the impact of the current wave would be similar to that of summer earlier this year.
"It's pretty close to being the same at the moment, of where we were in January ... but the difference is this is a very infectious strain," Mr Albanese said.
LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA:
NSW: 13,829 cases, 25 deaths, 2210 in hospital with 55 in ICU
Victoria: 14,312 cases, 37 deaths, 875 in hospital with 46 in ICU
Qld: 11,687 cases, 10 deaths, 1034 in hospital with 21 in ICU
Tasmania: 1684 cases, two deaths, 193 in hospital with two in ICU
