Mr Truss will spend much of the week in his electorate, which is centred on the regional city, which lies on the Mary River about 250 kilometres  north of Brisbane. Mr Truss acted in the top job while Mr Abbott had a holiday last summer.

After staying on deck through Christmas and New Year, Mr Abbott went on leave for a week on Sunday.

He will spend much of the week staying at a caravan park near Sussex Inlet on the south coast of NSW with a group of university friends and their families who he has holidayed with at this time for about two decades.

Mr Abbott's spokesman said the PM planned to do some reading, surfing and bike riding.

While on leave, Mr Abbott will return to Canberra to host the traditional reception for the Prime Minister's XI on Tuesday night, and will attend the match against England at Manuka Oval on Wednesday.

As one of his last duties before going on leave, Mr Abbott spoke by phone with incoming Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena, to congratulate him on his election victory.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said Mr Abbott noted the conduct of the election demonstrated the maturity of Sri Lankan democracy, and he paid tribute to outgoing president Mahinda Rajapaksa "on his positive role in supporting a peaceful transition of power".

"He said he looked forward to our countries' continuing co-operation, including on the Commonwealth, and on people smuggling."

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek also congratulated Sri Lanka on its conduct of the election, which the UN has described as peaceful and credible, and Mr Sirisena on his victory.

Ms Plibersek said Labor welcomed reports that Mr Rajapaksa had "accepted the election result and undertaken to help facilitate a smooth transfer of power."

Labor leader Bill Shorten returned from holidays this weekend, taking over from Tony Burke who had been acting opposition leader in his absence.

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