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* Another 15 Victorians have died, bringing the national death toll to 247.
* One of the deaths was a man in his 30s, making him Australia's youngest coronavirus victim.
* 12 of the deaths are linked to outbreaks at aged care facilities.
* Victoria announced 725 new cases on Wednesday, narrowly edging out the state's previous record of 723 on July 30.
* 12 new cases were reported in NSW, one in Queensland and one in Western Australia.
* Premier Daniel Andrews announced only permitted workers with no one at home will be able to send their children to child care, kindergarten or primary school.
* The Morrison government unveiled a childcare rescue package as Melbourne moves into a harsh six-week coronavirus lockdown.
* Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the initiative would secure childcare spots, while ensuring no centres closed or jobs were lost.
* The Andrews government also announced a winding back of non-urgent surgery in regional Victoria, heading into stage three lockdown from Thursday, to cope with coronavirus cases.
* Queensland will shut its border with NSW and ban ACT residents from 1am Saturday, despite Canberra having no active cases and not recording a new infection for almost a month.
* Road access will be blocked to all vehicles except those from border communities and carrying essential workers.
* Anyone else will have to travel by air or via the Northern Territory border.
* Queenslanders returning from NSW hotspots must quarantine in an assigned hotel for two weeks at their own expense.
* "I will not risk the safety of Queenslanders and I will not risk our economy," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
* In NSW, travellers returning from Victoria will be forced into 14-day hotel quarantine at their own expense from Friday. Entry into NSW will be restricted to flights landing at Sydney Airport, except for border community residents with permits.
* In South Australia, no new infections were reported on Wednesday after more than 4300 tests on Tuesday. The rush on tests was prompted by the devastating surge of infections in Victoria and a worrying cluster of cases in Adelaide.
* In Western Australia, the number of active cases rose to seven with the addition of an infected overseas traveller in hotel quarantine.
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KEY DATES
* August 2 to September 13 - stage four lockdown for Melbourne, including a nightly curfew, and stage three lockdown for regional Victoria.
* August 5 - Business shutdowns across Melbourne will begin from 11:59pm, and essential workers will need to begin carrying permits when travelling to and from work. Stage three restrictions in place from 11.59pm for regional Victoria, including Mitchell Shire.
* August 8 - Queensland to shut its border with NSW and ban ACT residents, with road access blocked to everyone except essential workers and border residents.
* August 31 - Tasmania's borders will remain shut until at least the end of the month.
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AUSTRALIAN CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* There were 739 new cases across Australia on Tuesday and 15 deaths.
* Australia's total number of active cases is 7519.
* The national death toll as of Tuesday is 247: NSW 50, Victoria 162, Tasmania 13, WA 9, Queensland 6, SA 4, ACT 3. (Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states).
GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* Cases: at least 18,544,000
* Deaths: at least 700,000
* Recovered: at least 11,143,000
Data current as of 1845 AEST August 45, taking in federal government and state/territory government updates, Worldometer and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.
Australian Associated Press