Australians are warned not to trust dodgy 'do-it-yourself' coronavirus testing kits - as hundreds are imported into the country from China

• Australians have been imported illegal at-home COVID-19 test kits from China
• The first shipment of kits - over 200 - first came into the country on March 16 
• Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said these kits are a serious health risk 

Australians have been warned not to trust dodgy 'do-it-yourself' coronavirus testing kits from China after hundreds were imported into the country.

The first shipment of 200 kits from China, bound for Perth via Singapore, was found by Australian Border Force officers on March 16. 

An additional 50 kits were found on March 23 in Perth after they arrived from Hong Kong, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The majority of those kits were bound for Sydney. 

More of the at-hoome testing kits are expected to arrive in the country in cities such as Melbourne. 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said these kits are a serious risk to the public health.

'Inaccurate results could prevent people frm seeking the medical help they need, or alternatively, discourage people who should be self-isolating from doing so,' he said. 

He said this wasn't a risk Australia could take at this time. 

'Our ABF officers at the border are on alert for any unauthorised or homemade COVID-19 products and they will continue working day and night to ensure these dangerous goods don't make it into Australian households and communities,' Mr Dutton, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, said.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed the testing kits were 'unapproved' and they weren't allowed to be imported into the country.  

Only those who recently travelled overseas or had come into contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus were initially being tested for COVID-19.

The Federal Government expanded the range of people who can be tested for the deadly pandemic on March 26.

More of the at-home testing kits are expected to arrive in the country in cities such as Melbourne

Anyone with pneumonia or people with a fever and acute respiratory infection who work in health or aged care now qualify for the test.

Anyone who has been in an 'high-risk location' where two or more cases have been diagnosed - such as a school or military base - can also be tested.

The Federal Government also allowed states to introduce their own laws regarding who can be tested.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Thursday the free testing regime complemented the 'ring of steel' created around Australia through limiting those entering the country and forcing travellers into quarantine and isolation.

Mr Hunt said the tests conducted were an 'extraordinary effort by our medical professionals, by our supply chain management, by our pathologists, who are very courageous leaders doing all of this work to save lives and protect lives'.