The Australian Medical Association is calling on the government to produce new modelling based on the health system capacity to help guide the path out of widespread lockdowns.

The warning comes as the state government on Thursday announced a $3.9 billion plan to keep its support during the statewide lockdown rolling.

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The AMA said the medical system risks "a permanent cycle of crisis", even with higher vaccination rates.

President Dr Omar Khorshid has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking a detailed understanding of hospital capacity within the national roadmap.

Even pre-COVID, emergency departments were full, ambulances ramped, and waiting times for elective surgery too long. Dr Khorshid said.

While National Cabinet is considering the cost of expanding intensive care capacity for an expected COVID surge, a funding top-up alone wont cut it. The Commonwealth will need to address the longer-term public hospital funding crisis.

We must urgently prepare our health system before opening up and to do that we need new modelling based on our hospitals ability to cope with the associated increase in caseload.

The practice of furloughing staff exposed to COVID-19 wont be sustainable once caseloads increase and this is one of the reasons the AMA called for vaccination to be mandated for all employees and contractors in hospitals and community health settings.

Our hospital system will need to adapt to incorporate new facilities, staff and processes required to stop the spread of COVID-19, especially recognising airborne transmission."

Dr Khorshid said a vaccination rate higher than 80 per cent might be necessary to help the health system cope.

If we throw open the doors to COVID we risk seeing our public hospitals collapse and part of this stems from a long-term lack of investment in public hospital capacity by state and federal governments, Dr Khorshid said.

Our hospitals are not starting from a position of strength. Far from it. As well as ambulance ramping, we have the lowest bed-to-patient ratio in decades, our emergency and elective performance continues to decline, and our doctors and nurses continue to barely cope with their workloads and the constraints of the system."

The costs of the lockdown were laid bare in Thursday's announcement that state support for individuals and businesses will rise by billions more.

Including $1.5 billion in federal funds, the extension prolongs JobSaver and the Micro-Business Grant as well as offering rent relief and takes the state's lockdown spend north of $11 billion.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet also announced payroll tax deferrals to December or early January would be allowed as well as 12-month interest free repayment plans. The tax itself would also be reduced, he said.

"We are giving businesses, employees and families across the State certainty they can access the financial help needed to get them through," Mr Perrottet said.

"We know business and communities are doing it tough and this ongoing support will not only help get them through the depths of the pandemic but will also provide them with a springboard to bounce back once restrictions ease.

Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said close to 500 assessors had been hired in recent weeks, and the application process had been honed.

He said less than one per cent of applications took more than two weeks to process.

The government will also establish a hardship panel to assess businesses that do not qualify for grants individually.

Minister for Finance and Small Business Damien Tudehope said thousands of businesses needed relief.

"Businesses are experiencing one of the toughest periods right now and as restrictions continue, we've heard loud and clear that businesses across the state need this ongoing support and more to get them through to the other side of this," Mr Tudehope said.

"We simply cannot and will not turn away from small businesses in NSW - they need our support and the NSW Government is standing by them."

Extension of JobSaver from 28 August

Eligible businesses with a turnover between $75,000 to $250 million that continue to experience a minimum 30 per cent decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible for payments of up to 40 per cent of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll;

Eligible businesses in the hospitality, tourism and recreation sectors with a turnover of more than $250 million and up to $1 billion that continue to experience the requisite decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible to receive payments of 40 per cent of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll, up to $500,000 per week;

Eligible Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisations in the social support and animal welfare sectors with a turnover between $75,000 and $250 million that show a minimum 15 per cent decline in turnover will be eligible for payments of up to 40 per cent of their pre-COVID weekly NSW payroll. Eligible NFPs will be able to apply from later in September to access backdated payments.

Extension of the COVID-19 Micro-business Grant from 28 August

Eligible businesses with a turnover of more than $30,000 and less than $75,000 that continue to experience a minimum 30 per cent decline in turnover due to the Public Health Order will be eligible for a fortnightly payment of $1,500.

Extension of payroll tax deferrals and waivers

Businesses eligible for a 2021 COVID-19 Business Grant or JobSaver with payrolls $10 million or less will be eligible for a 50 per cent reduction (waiver) in their 2021-22 payroll tax, up from 25 per cent.

All businesses will also be able to further defer payroll tax payments due from July 2021 through to December 2021. The payments will now not be due until 14 January 2022, and 12-month interest free repayment plans will become available.

Extension of support for commercial, retail, and residential landlords

Eligible commercial and retail landlords that provide rental waivers to COVID[1]19 impacted tenants and have not claimed land tax relief, will be eligible for a monthly grant of up to $3,000; and

Eligible residential landlords can choose between applying for land tax relief or a further payment of $1,500, taking total assistance to a maximum of $4,500 per tenancy if they agree to reduce the rent for COVID-19 impacted tenants by at least $4,500.

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