* Suppliers contacted about rapid antigen testing on construction sites and in schools

* Will be available for Year 12 students as they resume face-to-face learning on August 16

* Have already been trialled in aged-care facilities in NSW and used by film and television production companies

HOW COVID-19 TESTS WORK:

* Australia has so far mostly used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, involving a nose and throat swab but results can take one to two days

* Unlike PCR tests, which search for genetic material from the virus, rapid antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus and can produce a result within half an hour

* A study from the Doherty Institute found rapid antigen tests had picked up all COVID-19 cases among people who had symptoms in the previous seven days but was less accurate in returning positive cases for people with lower viral loads

* Rapid antigen tests are overall less sensitive and so less reliable than PCR tests which can lead to false negative results

* Rapid antigen tests are cheaper than PCR tests

WHAT'S BEING SAID:

* Federal Liberal and Labor MPs have called for the tests to be introduced for frontline workers

* The chair of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, Lyn Waring, says rapid antigen tests are not suitable in countries where there are low COVID-19 case numbers

* Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says rapid testing would not replace PCR testing but "complement" it

Australian Associated Press