AUSTRAC has accused Westpac of failing to report more than 19.5 million international funds transfer instructions to it over a period of five years, for money moving into and out of Australia.

The bank is alleged to have breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act on more than 23 million occasions.

Three more homes have been destroyed in southeast Queensland's bushfire crisis, as fire crews brace for a heatwave and tricky winds today

Authorities confirmed this morning that the three homes had been burnt at Ravensbourne near Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, taking the total number of homes lost in the recent fires to 19.

Fire crews spent Monday and Tuesday strengthening containment lines ahead of today's heatwave, which will see temperatures soar up to the mid-to-high 30s near some of the major fires.

A 17-year-old girl from Brisbane could be charged after she was filmed posing for photographs outside the balcony of a Gold Coast high-rise building amid schoolies week, according to police. 

The footage was captured on Monday and shows the young woman walking along the balcony ledge before posing for photographs. 

Gold Coast Police District Acting Chief Superintendent, Craig Hanlon, said the police are aware of who the person is and management has evicted her, the incident is currently investigated.

Swedish prosecutors have dropped a rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, ending the near decade-long case that had sent the anti-secrecy campaigner into hiding in London's Ecuadorian embassy.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said the corroborating evidence had weakened considerably "due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question".

The Taliban has released Australian academic Timothy Weeks and American colleague Kevin King, who have been held captive for more than three years, as part of a hostage swap deal.

The two academics were abducted outside the American University in Kabul where they worked as teachers, in August 2016.

Australian National University has reported that widespread illegal logging near water catchment areas used for drinking and agriculture is putting Melbourne’s drinking water at risk.

ANU scientist Chris Taylor noticed that the increase in illegal logging in steep slope areas has been prompted by a shortage of wood in Victoria.

A 23-year old Indigenous man is in a serious condition after being hit by a police vehicle in Alice Springs last night.

Northern Territory Police said that police had collided with the man in the course of attempting to apprehend him, after receiving reports of an armed man at a business.

The man suffered head injuries in the collision, and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia, where he is in a serious but stable condition.

The State and Federal government have finally reached an agreement to spend $1.9 billion on supporting a raft of major infrastructure projects across Queensland.

The agreement not only allows projects including major road upgrades to go ahead, but it also includes an agreement on a proposed inland rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the next challenge for the government is to sustain jobs and underpin confidence in the economy.