Experts are calling for a national centre for disease control to ensure Australia is better prepared to respond to disease outbreaks.

Individual states and territories are responsible for public health protection and providing the infrastructure for surveillance and response.

Experts from the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases (SIID) at the University of Sydney say there's an urgent need for a national health protection strategy.

SIID co-director Ben Marais says one of the federal Labor Party's election promises was to establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control.

The COVID-19 pandemic had shown Australia lacked a national mechanism to efficiently collate disease surveillance data, co-ordinate responses and conduct rapid applied research to inform policy and guide decision making.

"A national health protection strategy for all Australians is increasingly urgent," Professor Marais said in a statement on Tuesday.

Careful consideration and consultation were needed to establish the organisation, which needs to be a leader in preventing, preparing for and responding to disease outbreaks, he said.

The national organisation needed to bring together the collective expertise of researchers, epidemiologists, public health microbiologists and practitioners as well as communications, infection prevention and control experts and policymakers, Prof Marais said.

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA:

NSW: 5157 cases, three deaths, 1341 in hospital with 39 in ICU

Victoria: 6071 cases, 15 deaths, 473 in hospital with 28 in ICU

Tasmania: 658 cases, one death, 45 in hospital with one in ICU

Northern Territory: 169 cases, no deaths, 22 in hospital with two in ICU