Prime Minister John Howard said the best thing Australians could do to help the tsunami relief efforts was to put their hands in their pocket and return home if in the disaster area.
"Give money" was Mr Howard's advice when asked what Australians could do to help.
"I would exhort people to give money, I would also exhort any people who are still in the affected areas, unless they have a need to stay there, they should come home," he told ABC radio.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed 10 Australian deaths from the tsunami disaster which has killed at least 80,000 people from Asian nations ringing the Indian Ocean.
Mr Howard called on people to take advantage of free flights leaving Thailand designed to bring home holidaying Australians.
"There may be some people who are still not making arrangements to come home, I think they should because there is the risk of disease," he said.
"The chaos is so total in some of these areas that staying behind does risk the possibility of being caught up with infectious diseases."
As the death toll from the tragedy continues to climb, Mr Howard said it was crucial to deal with the second phase of the disaster, the spread of communicable disease.
"That is the next real threat following a disaster of this magnitude," Mr Howard said.
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