Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says paid pandemic leave should be available while the states and territories require isolation of COVID cases.

Mr Albanese will host a virtual national cabinet meeting with premiers and chief ministers on Wednesday to discuss the pandemic response.

Several premiers have said that the period of the pandemic leave payment, which is due to end on September 30, should be extended.

The leaders agreed in July to equally share the cost of the payment, which benefits people with no access to sick leave.

Asked about the calls to keep the payments, Mr Albanese said on Tuesday: “I accept my own view, and my own view is while governments impose restrictions then governments therefore have a responsibility as a result of those decisions.”

He said the leave payments, which had cost taxpayers more than $2.2 billion since the start of the pandemic and $320 million since July 20, were not too expensive.

Greens social services spokeswoman Janet Rice urged the government to extend the payments beyond the end of September.

“The government can’t ask people to follow public health advice and then completely undermine that message by taking away the financial help they need to isolate,” Senator Rice said.

“If national cabinet does not agree to the extension tomorrow, I will be moving an urgent disallowance in the next sitting of parliament to ensure that the crisis payment remains in place for people on income support who are forced to isolate or quarantine.”

Asked if Victoria could go it alone on isolation payments, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was highly unlikely the arrangement would continue without funding being split between the state and the Commonwealth.

“Victoria’s position is to continue the arrangements for as long as we have mandatory ‘iso’ periods,” Mr Andrews said in Melbourne.

“While these matters are principally … for the Commonwealth, we have arrangements in place now and I think the best we’ll do is see them extended on the basis that they’re currently being paid.”

Workers in high-risk settings, such as aged care and disability care, are required to isolate for seven days, with five days applying for other employees.

-AAP