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The NCCC will coordinate advice to the Australian government on actions to anticipate and mitigate the economic and social effects of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Its board includes leaders across the private and not-for-profit sectors: Greg Combet, Jane Halton, Paul Little, Catherine Tanna and David Thodey, who is also deputy chairman.

They will be joined by the secretaries of the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Philip Gaetjens and Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo. 

That board will advise Prime Minister Scott Morrison on all non-health aspects of the pandemic response and work in tandem with chief medical officer Dr Brendan Murphy, who is leading the federal government's health response.

The National Cabinet, made up of state premiers and territory chief ministers, is still leading the national response at a government level.

Morrison said the NCCC was about mobilising a whole-of-society and whole-of-economy effort to help Australia come through the crisis.

"The commission will ensure the government receives the most comprehensive advice to meet the challenges ahead to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus and help build a bridge to recovery," he said.

"This is about working cooperatively across private-to-private and public-to-private networks to unlock resources, break bottlenecks and fix problems so Australian families, businesses and communities are supported through the challenging months ahead.

"The commission will assist the government to ensure all resources are marshalled to this vital task in a coordinated and effective manner."

Morrison said Power had been chosen to chair the commission because he brought both high level business expertise and a strong commitment to social issues.

The NCCC will be based in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. 

Morrison said the existing National Coordination Mechanism based in the Department of Home Affairs, which coordinated the cross jurisdictional response to non-health aspects of the pandemic, would report to the NCCC, as would the Coronavirus Business Liaison Unit based in the Treasury Department.