AAP

A woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been electrocuted on a rural property in North Queensland, possibly while fixing a cable to a semi-trailer.

Hundreds of lives continue to be lost on Australia's roads but two states posted record low tolls in 2018 as deaths dipped across the country.

Sydney was one of the first major cities to ring in 2019 but when "Happy New Year 2018" was projected on to the iconic Harbour Bridge, revellers were left feeling behind the times.

Tourists in the Northern Territory are dicing with death by failing to take sufficient water on hikes during the severe heat, authorities warn.

Tampons and pads sold in Australia will no longer be subjected to a 10% tax from New Year's Day.

A man has died and two people are in hospital after taking drugs at a music festival on the NSW Central Coast.

Forensic officers continue to scour the scene where a woman was killed in her Perth home, while police say a man they have arrested has no known history with her.

Residents of a Sydney apartment tower that began cracking on Christmas Eve will spend at least another 10 days away from home as engineers work to survey the building.

A New Zealand man has drowned at a Victorian waterfall, the fifth drowning death in Australia in three days, with authorities urging people trying to escape the country's heatwave to stay safe.

Extreme, record-breaking heatwave conditions are forecast to sweep across four states over coming days, sparking health and fire warnings.

They might be at the opposite end of the globe to Santa's workshop, but those spending Christmas at the South Pole will have plenty of festive cheer to keep them warm in frosty conditions.

The repair bill for damage caused by the "catastrophic" hailstorm that struck Sydney and other parts of New South Wales last night is now expected to exceed $A80 million.

The people allegedly responsible for fatally giving a newborn baby nitrous oxide at a Sydney hospital two years ago will face criminal charges.

New Zealand won't be joining Australia in refusing to sign a non-binding United Nations migration agreement and has called claims the deal would undermine its national sovereignty "falsehoods".