Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will be Australia's acting prime minister while Malcolm Turnbull travels to Israel, the Prime Minister has confirmed, while the position of deputy prime minister will remain temporarily suspended until after the New England byelection.

"Julie Bishop will be acting prime minister while I will be overseas, and Nigel Scullion has been appointed interim leader of the National Party," Mr Turnbull said on Saturday.

"Barnaby Joyce remains the leader of the federal Nationals but he is not currently in the Parliament and therefore the normal order of precedence in terms of acting prime minister falls to Julie Bishop as deputy leader of the Liberal Party and Foreign Minister."

Turnbull cabinet minister and Nationals MP Darren Chester said the position of deputy prime minister would not be filled until after the New England byelection on December 2, where disqualified former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has been forced to go back to the polls.