Evacuation of Mallacoota

The operation is being coordinated by Victoria Police and the Australian Defence Force on the ground in Mallacoota.

There may be "multiple trips" Mr Andrews said, and other people, such as the elderly, could be evacuated by air when the smoke lifts.

Mr Andrews would not say where the people evacuated by boat will go. He says they should hear the details first in the meetings.

Right now there are 24 isolated communities. That's a big jump from the 12 we were previously told about.

One of them is Cann River. They've managed to get into the town on an old road and those who want to leave are being helped to leave.

Nine satellite phones have been dropped into isolated communities and they're planning on dropping in another 15 today, smoke and weather conditions permitting.

Update from Victorian authorities

Saturday will bring challenges that are "quite unprecedented" in Victoria

There is a "small window of opportunity" for people in the Alpine areas and East Gippsland to leave now if they can

Support will be increased for communities who can't leave, including extra police being flown in

Community meetings in Mallacoota will help authorities understand how many people need to get out via the Navy

The Prime Minister is speaking in Sydney:

Scott Morrison says he is in "constant contact" with the premiers of Victoria and New South Wales.

"At a Commonwealth level, our task has been to fully support and provide whatever assistance is necessary through all the various agencies of the Commonwealth," he said.

The PM says he's spoken to the head of the Australian Defence Force to get an update on military assistance with the fires:

"We have deployed naval efforts which we moved earlier this week and there are other assets that have been identified and are awaiting tasking.

All of these assets, I should stress, whether it is the Black Hawks or any of the other things that are being made available, that is being done to get it in readiness to deploy and then, secondly, it is activated at the request of the State agencies."

He said he commends the state agencies and their leaders for coordinating the bushfire response in Victoria and New South Wales:

"From this point on, what the Commonwealth will continue to do is to support those operational efforts. We will also be there to support the recovery efforts and they will start coming into being in the weeks ahead and months ahead indeed and I have already had a number of discussions about the various payments and forms of assistance that go to small businesses that have been impacted."

Asked whether people should be worried that firefighters can't do anything to stop the bushfires seasons we're now experiencing, Mr Morrision said natural disasters have affected the country for a long time:

"What we are saying is we cannot control the natural disaster but what we can do is control our response, what we can do is support those who are out there putting themselves at risk by showing the patience and the calm that is necessary, that enables them to do their job.

We need to do that for as long as it takes and it will cost whatever it costs to ensure that we can continue to deploy this very well-coordinated response.

In the midst of the disaster, I understand the anxiety and I understand the fear that is there for many and I understand the frustration but this is a natural disaster. Natural disasters are best dealt with through the methodical, well-coordinated response that we are seeing today."

Mr Morrison was asked if he understands the why people are frustrated when he refers to the bushfires as a state issue.

"Our agencies are coordinating responses between Commonwealth resources and State resources.

That is what the Commonwealth does in these situations and that is what the Commonwealth will continue to do and what we won't allow to happen is for Governments to be tripping over each other in order to somehow outbid each other in the response.

What is needed is the coordinated response that these agencies planned for in circumstances like this. I understand the frustration, I understand the anxiety."

Asked about the Government's climate change response:

"We've always acknowledged the link between the broader issues of global climate change and what that means for the world's weather and the dryness of conditions in many places. I am sure you would also agree that no response by any one Government anywhere in the world can be linked to any one fire event."

"Right now, as I said, my focus right now is to deal with the anxiety in the community is the support and supplies and getting people to safety and ensuring that our firefighters have every support they need and I said I am in constant contact with the premiers in terms of what, if any, other additional assistance they need to get the job done on the ground. When I speak to the firefighters, when I speak to those involved in the operational effort, that is what they want from us."