Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his government's delayed purchase of rapid antigen tests, saying no health advice predicted a variant for which vaccines wouldn't work.
Mr Morrison said other countries, like the UK, already had supplies of the test because they were dealing with tens of thousands of cases a day, but Australia remained in the position to continue using the more accurate PCR tests.
"Rapid antigen tests are not as good as PCR tests. In the Delta phase, PCR tests were the best thing to do," he told the Seven Network.
"Omicron changed all of that and no country in the world could avoid Omicron."
Mr Morrison also defended a Brisbane-based company sending millions of rapid tests overseas while Australia was plagued with shortages, saying the company didn't apply to have the tests approved for use.
"(It) is still before the Therapeutic Goods Administration and they've been asked to give the data to show that their tests are actually reliable," he said.
"I understand the frustration, believe me, I understand it very well, but Australia is not going to compromise on the health standards and the health advice that protects Australians."
Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles said the prime minister was always trying to pass the buck.
"Scott Morrison is not someone that takes responsibility," he told Sky News.
"He is always pushing the blame to someone else."
While the prime minister defends the rapid test rollout, the government's handling of COVID-19 in aged care will be put under the microscope when a parliamentary committee meets on Wednesday.
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck will be grilled by senators following large COVID-19 outbreaks at facilities across the country, as well as shortages of rapid antigen tests and protective equipment for staff.
Senator Colbeck will also face questions about not attending a previous COVID-19 committee hearing held on the same day he attended the Ashes Test match in Hobart.
Officials from the Department of Health, including chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly, will also be questioned at Wednesday's hearing, along with members of the medical regulator and leading advisory group on vaccinations.
The COVID-19 committee meeting comes after the government offered $400 cash bonuses to aged care staff as retention payments.
Mr Morrison denied the payments were being used as a pre-election sweetener for the aged care sector, which has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
"What we're doing here is helping the aged care providers give that support to aged care workers during this pandemic to be able to keep them there working in those facilities," he said.
"That's what it's designed to do, and we know it was effective last time and we believe it will be effective again."
Since the start of the Omicron wave there have been 566 virus-related deaths in aged care.
The sector has been hit hard by staff shortages due to the large number of cases in aged care facilities and workers needing to isolate.
