Chief Medical Officer professor Brendan Murphy admits rollbacks rules are sometimes 'confusing' and 'arbitrary'

Some states have "confusing" and "arbitrary" rules as they move on from coronavirus restrictions, Australia's top doctor has admitted. 

For instance, only five people are allowed to gather in homes in NSW, Victoria and Queensland at the moment, despite the fact many offices and other gathering spaces have already reopened. 

"I think there is some arbitrariness about some of these decisions," Chief Medical Officer professor Brendan Murphy told A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw.

He said the discrepancies are born out of fears people may hold parties in their homes but insisted the inconsistencies will soon be smoothed out.

"By the end of June, we should be in pretty much the same place," he said.

This should also be the case with state borders, the chief medical officer said, outlining that interstate travel is planned to resume in earnest in stage three of the national rollback which will happen sometime in July.

While some states, especially Queensland, have recently come under fire for refusing to give a timeline on when they plan to reopen their state's borders, professor Murphy assured medical officers in the state are reviewing the border status on a regular – possibly weekly - basis.

As long as there are no large outbreaks in NSW or Victoria, the chief medical officer was confident border closures would not remain in place long term.

He did admit, however, that it's "never possible to completely prevent imported cases" and that states should not aim for an elimination strategy.

"You can't guarantee elimination," he said.

Currently, the government is aiming for "aggressive suppression" of the virus.

Professor Murphy did not give a timeline on when groups larger than 100 are expected to be able to gather but said a staged approach to this is on the government's agenda.

"It's still too early to tell if we don't have any outbreaks in response [to the rollbacks]," he said.

Officials will first need to determine if the rollback results in a second wave of the virus before issuing guidelines on mass gatherings, but said he expects this to become a focus only after July.

The chief medical officer also reiterated the government's stance on facemasks, saying they believe distancing is a far more effective measure.

"Often a facemasks leads to a false sense of security," professor Murphy said.

He believes facemasks should only be prioritised when social distancing isn't possible.

"Physical distancing is much more important," he said.