Queensland's chief health officer hopes to see widespread home quarantine in the state by December, with a trial starting next week.
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From Monday, 1000 people who have applied to enter Queensland from interstate hotspots will be offered the chance to go into 14 days of home, rather than hotel, quarantine.
But the trial is only being offered to Queensland residents currently interstate, and will not be made available to those who opt to travel to hotspots.
Health chief Jeannette Young says if the trial is successful, widespread home quarantine could be implemented as soon as December.
"I hope to see (it), but let's wait, let's not jump ahead of ourselves," she told reporters on Thursday.
Trial participants must have had at least two weeks since their second vaccination, a negative test 72 hours prior to travel and must reside within two hours of Brisbane airport.
The government is still wary about home quarantine for international arrivals, and will closely monitor a trial in South Australia.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath says mass quarantine facilities such the one under construction near Toowoomba will still be needed for many months to come.
"They're not going to be made redundant. Hopefully one day they will be redundant when it comes to COVID, but these facilities will be used for a whole lot of other things," she told reporters.
Currently, exemptions for home quarantine are only granted to certain students attending boarding schools in interstate hotspots, people with a disability and those recovering from medical procedures.
The home quarantine trial has been welcomed by thousands of Queenslanders stuck interstate, people from other states who are trying to move to Queensland and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.
He says the border closure has taken a heavy psychological toll and home quarantine, which he has been advocating for, will allow people to come home in a safe and affordable manner.
"The trial is a no-brainer. This is a win for common sense and the trial is going to show that it's viable," he told reporters.
Mr Crisafulli said home quarantine should be extended outside the state's southeast.
"We're all Queenslanders, whatever part of the state we live in, and we all deserve to come home in a safe, affordable and effective manner," he added.
Queensland's borders are still set to stay closed to interstate virus hotspots until 80 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated.
The state government also wants to see the final analysis of measures used against the Delta variant of COVID-19 before reopening state borders.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's office said the national cabinet of federal, state and territory leaders has only seen interim analyses of testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine measures, home quarantine trials and the impact of opening on local health networks.
While the government awaits completed modelling from the Doherty Institute, 19 schools across the state will become vaccinations centres this weekend as a follow on from the 'Super Pfizer' push.
Queensland surpassed 50 per cent of eligible people fully vaccinated on Thursday, with 68.3 per cent having received one dose.
The state recorded zero locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, while one was recorded in hotel quarantine and five in a bulk carrier off the coast of Cape York.
There are 31 active virus cases in the state.
Australian Associated Press
