He said the government was ensuring that all people from Ebola-affected nations who had entered Australia through the humanitarian program before the suspension had undergone three separate health checks before their departure, and were being subject to on-arrival screening and post-arrival monitoring. Other permanent visa holders from these nations were being required to submit to a 21-day quarantine period before their departure for Australia, Mr Morrison said. "The government's systems and processes are working to protect Australians," Mr Morrison said. Nineteen people from four west African families are in home isolation in Queensland after travelling to the state under a humanitarian program this month. One of them, an 18-year-old woman, came down with a fever, but tested negative to Ebola on Monday and will be retested on Wednesday.

New checks introduced at Australian airports in August have identified 946 people whose journeys originated in Ebola-affected countries. To date 24 travellers, including health care workers have undergone the full screening process, including being referred to human quarantine officers. No travellers referred to human quarantine officers have needed to be referred to hospital, a spokeswoman for the federal health department said, but each had been released with information and advice on what to do should they begin to feel ill. Since April the 11 people tested for Ebola in Australia have returned negative results. In parliament on Monday, Labor continued to apply pressure to the government to send personnel to west Africa to help combat the outbreak, which has already claimed almost 5000 lives. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his priority was the nation's preparedness to tackle any cases which might reach Australia, or any cases which might appear in neighbouring countries with less robust health systems, such as Papua New Guinea. "Nevertheless, we are continuing to talk to our friends and partners about what more might be done to address the situation in West Africa. I certainly do not rule out Australia doing more," Mr Abbott told parliament. Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade revealed last week the US and UK had asked Australia to deploy personnel to West Africa three weeks ago.

Health Minister Peter Dutton insisted on Monday the government had not reached any decision on sending health workers to west Africa, but said a precondition of any deployment would be that any Australian who might contract the virus would receive adequate treatment. "We are not going to send health workers into harm's way if we don't have appropriate medical assistance for them on the ground," Mr Dutton said. About 30 Australians are thought to be working in west Africa for organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Red Cross. with AAP