PM to make national disaster declaration

The decision came despite Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk earlier saying the state would not need the measure.

"The time for that national emergency (declaration) was probably a week ago," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Thursday, before her call with the prime minister.

"So we've actually gone past that. The floodwaters have gone down, they've subsided, and ... those (state) disaster declarations will be lifted on Sunday."

The prime minister said there had been a misunderstanding over the impact of the national declaration, which would have nothing to do with the flow of funding.

"I will be having a meeting with the governor-general when I return to Canberra and we will be advancing those issues, having undertaken appropriate consultations with the premiers of Queensland and NSW," Mr Morrison said.

The national declaration would allow the Morrison government to access stockpiled resources and removed red tape.

It's the first time such a declaration will be made, with the law only coming into effect in 2020 following the Black Summer bushfires.

Mr Morrison, who toured flood-hit areas of southeast Queensland on Thursday, said federal cabinet would meet on Friday to look at further assistance following the "inland tsunami".

"We will stand with those communities as they go through the rebuilding process."

A meeting with Governor-General David Hurley has been scheduled for Friday night in Canberra.

Labor MP Justine Elliot, whose electorate of Richmond takes in the Ballina region that had been hit by the floods, claimed the government had ignored affected residents in the area.

"People are suffering when we are not part of that announcement," she told ABC Radio on Thursday.

"Many people can't access housing or money and they need urgent assistance, and what we have seen since the flood hit is rolling incompetence from the state and federal governments."

Neighbouring MP Kevin Hogan said there was an overwhelming feeling of trauma and pain.

"This is a multi-year recovery for our region," he told Sky News.

The government has paid out more than $480 million in federal disaster payments to more than 414,000 people in NSW and Queensland since the floods.

Of that, $310 million has been paid out to 268,000 people in NSW, while $170 million has been paid to 146,000 in Queensland.

ADF troops assisting with the clean-up are set to increase to 5748 by the end of the day, with that figure expected to rise to nearly 6540 by the end of Friday.

The Insurance Council of Australia has estimated the damage bill from the floods to be more than $1.7 billion, with that figure expected to rise.

More than 118,000 claims have been made following the disaster, of which 44,193 were from NSW and 73,823 were in Queensland.

The council's chief executive Andrew Hall welcomed commitments from the government to make communities more resilient to natural disasters.

"The Insurance Council and insurers have been calling for an increase in federal government investment in this area to $200 million per year, matched by the states and territories," he said.

"This infrastructure and mitigation investment is vitally important to prevent future harm and devastation to these communities, as we know flood events will inevitably repeat."

Australian Associated Press