Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at a press conference in Canberra on February 6. Andrew Taylor/AFP/Getty Images

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has called for an "independent review" of the circumstances that led to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, adding to growing pressure on China over its handling of the virus.

"We need to know the sorts of details that an independent review would identify for us about the genesis of the virus, about the approaches to dealing with it, and addressing it, about the openness with which information was shared, about interaction with the World Health Organization, interaction with other international leaders," she said in an interview with Australia's ABC television on Sunday.

"All of those sorts of things will need to be on the table."

Paine said that when it comes to Australia's relationship with China, "transparency is essential."

Asked whether she believes the World Health Organization is too "beholden" of China, she said Australia shares the concerns that the US has expressed.

"I think it is about an independent mechanism, and I’m not sure that you can have the health organization, which has been responsible for disseminating much of the international communications material, and doing much of the early engagement and investigative work, also as the review mechanism," Payne said.

"That strikes me as somewhat poacher and gamekeeper."