It is the maths of life and death and the basis for public policy decisions.

Modelling has been behind the Government's response to this deadly coronavirus pandemic, with its team of epidemiologists creating models of the population to try to work out what will happen tomorrow, next month and next year.

So why haven't we seen their work?

The issue has been a contentious one as scientists, mathematicians, doctors, federal Labor and crossbench politicians continue to pile pressure on the Government to publish its data — in the same way other countries such as the UK and New Zealand have.

On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared to bow to that pressure, announcing the Government would release updated modelling next week.

But what exactly will this data show? Why has the Government been reluctant to release it? And why do others want it in the public domain?

What is modelling and what's the point of it?

In the context of an epidemic or pandemic like coronavirus, modelling is used to predict the course and impact of a virus.

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely, a public health medicine specialist from the University of Melbourne, said modelling was effectively done in two ways.

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The first is on a wide-scale or macro level — where the entire population is modelled at once to estimate the average rate of spread of the virus.

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The second is on a more detailed, micro level, where every person in Australia is represented and accounted for.

"It's a bit like a pinball machine where every individual is moving around society, and each time they contact somebody they have a chance of getting COVID or not," Professor Blakely said.

The micro-simulation modelling is the type the Government's team is currently doing, with a range of parameters and scenarios, such as what happens to the rate of spread of the virus when schools are closed, or businesses are shut down.

Micro-simulation modelling ranges from the worst-case scenario (what will happen without any policy intervention) all the way through to best-case scenario modelling (trying to work out what policy settings can sustainably maintain minimal coronavirus rates).

And this is the type of modelling other epidemiologists, doctors and politicians want access to.

Why do people want to see the Government's modelling?

Infectious disease experts say it's in the public interest to find out what's in store and what options the Government has.

Professor Blakely said the public needed to be involved in the Government's response to the pandemic, rather than simply be told what the response was.

"We as a society need to partake in this decision, this is one of the most important decisions since World War II," he said.

"It's not just up to the politicians — it's actually up to the politicians to reflect who we are.

"We're still in a democracy last time I looked."

Professor Blakely said there needed to be open discussions about the trade-off between saving lives from coronavirus, versus the lives that would be lost from the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Other experts have also argued that by releasing the reasoning behind the Government's disease control strategies, people will be more inclined to follow the strict measures that have been implemented, and less likely to hold secret house parties with 11 friends.

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Why hasn't the Government released all of its data to date?

Mr Morrison on Friday said it simply "was not yet complete" but would be released next week.

A few days earlier, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said he was concerned the data would be misinterpreted, and the Government needed to ensure it was presented in a way that was useful.

Darren Gray, head of the Department of Global Health at the Australian National University, said while he could not speak for the Government, there could also be concern about scaring or misinforming the public.

"Just to release all of [the modelling] could be information overload, and then people not having the expertise to interpret these things could latch onto particular things that could not be the right thing to latch on to," he said.

"People might go into a panic. We need to have caution around this."

Professor Blakely said people would of course be frightened if the Government dropped the worst-case scenario models without any explanation — but policymakers had the tools to properly explain what the figures meant.

"I don't accept that reason. We need to contextualise and explain it," he said.

"They've got the media people, they've got the spin doctors, they've got fantastic modellers good at communication."

Professor Blakely also said he also didn't accept the Prime Minister's argument the models weren't yet ready.

"This is rubbish," he said.

"It's a bit like your wine connoisseur who has a cellar with a whole lot of pinot noir and shiraz. And he keeps saying 'oh it'll be better next month, better next year' and they never get around to opening it and it all goes off.

"They are useful enough for them to make the decisions, they are therefore useful enough for citizens to look at."

What are we expecting to see in the modelling?

The Government has not given any specifics of what will be released next week.

Professor Blakely said he expected to see the worst-case and best-case scenarios, the timing of the case presentations and what the death toll might look for a "general scenario", which was the scenario that was modelled without putting in specific inputs like school closures or physical-distancing measures.

But he said he would also like to see modelling for specific parameters. For example, what happens if we shut down half of the schools compared to all of the schools? Or what happens if Australia goes into full lockdown? Or how does the rate of change spread when public gatherings have to be kept to 100 people compared to just two people?

Professor Blakely said we might also see figures showing how the spread of the virus could change if a new drug entered the market, or how intensive care unit beds should be configured.