Bushfires royal commission back next week

The bushfires royal commission has postponed its hearings until next week, just 20 minutes before it was due to start.

A hearing was due to resume in Canberra on Friday but the commission announced that it would not go ahead.

The Royal Commission into National National Disaster Arrangements explained the delay by saying it had received additional material.

Thursday's hearing day had also been cancelled to give the commissioners more time to review the information provided to the inquiry.

The hearing will resume on Tuesday, as Monday is a public holiday in the ACT.

The hearing on Friday was set to examine the impact of Australia's unprecedented 2019-20 bushfires on essential services, after the blazes left a number of communities without power and communications.

The witness list for Tuesday has not yet been released.

The hearing is being conducted electronically due to coronavirus restrictions.