Planes flying over the ocean for long distances will now be tracked every fifteen minutes in a new global trial, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has announced a week before the anniversary of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370's disappearance.

The trial, in conjunction with Malaysian and Indonesian air services, will track planes flying over large bodies of water every 15 minutes, an improvement of the current 30-to-40-minutes rate.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss says the oceanic tracking trial was recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Credit:Andrew Meares

Mr Truss said the trial was recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and has started in Brisbane. If successfully, it could be extended to Melbourne and Indonesia and Malaysia, he said.

"This initiative adapts existing technology used by more than 90 per cent of long haul passenger aircraft and would see air traffic control able to respond more rapidly should an aircraft experience difficulty or deviation from its flight plan," Mr Truss told reporters on Sunday.