There have been more than one and a half times as many confirmed flu cases so far this year than in the whole of 2018, new data shows.

But despite the surge in early cases, experts say this year's season is not worse than average, and an early start to flu season could mean an early end.

This year to date there have been 97,920 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza across Australia, compared with 58,870 cases for the whole of 2018, according to the latest data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).

This year's flu season has started early with a surge in cases. Credit:Brook Mitchell

In the fortnight to June 16, there were 19,353 new cases of influenza alone - “substantially higher” compared to the same period in the previous five years, according to the latest influenza surveillance report.