The government's backflip on a 30-minute time limit for haircuts while keeping the four-square-metre social distancing rule amid the coronavirus crisis is "outrageous", says hairdresser Phillip Galbraith, co-owner of Noddys on King in Sydney.

On Thursday the federal government backpedalled on its rule that hairdressers cut hair in under 30 minutes per customer after the short-lived rule came into force hours before.