Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will release a consultation paper today to update Australia's cyber security strategy as hacking threats increase from foreign states with key sectors under threat from hackers.

Mr Dutton says the government and private sector should co-operate better to fend off cyber threats, which cost businesses $29 billion per year.

"As quickly as we advance, threats evolve and those who wish to do us harm adapt and change," he said.

Helium is used in a variety of equipment including MRI scanners, optical-fibre cables, and space ships.

Mr Quader of the Australian Centre for LNG Futures says the world is experiencing a helium shortage

An international rescue effort has begun for thousands of victims of hurricane Dorian on the northern Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.

Residents of the Carolinas are preparing for the now Category 2 storm.

More than 76,000 people could be in need of food and other aid in the Bahamas after the Caribbean nation was ravaged by Hurricane Dorian, the UN's World Food Programme said on Thursday, with eight tonnes of supplies ready to arrive.

South Africa has temporarily closes its embassy in Nigeria following xenophobic violence attacks by Nigerians in South Africa.

South Africa's Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, called the violence an embarrassment for her country.

"Our government regrets all violence against foreign-owned stores or Africans from other countries who are resident in South Africa," she was quoted as saying by national broadcaster SABC.

It is not known when the embassy will re-open.

The number of permanent Australian visas granted to migrants is reaching its lowest level in a decade.

Just over 160,300 individuals have received a permanent visa in the 2018-19 financial year, compared to 162,417 in the year prior.

About 70 percent of this intake has been filled by skilled workers.

Migration agents and applicants are blaming long processing times rather than a lack of demand for the reduction in visas.

The Australian Federal Government is proposing mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients.

Under a two-year trial, 5,000 recipients of Newstart and Youth Allowance benefits would be tested for substances including ice, marijuana and cocaine in three locations - Logan, Queensland, Canterbury-Bankstown, NSW, and Mandurah, Victoria.

Under the proposal, any welfare recipients who fail a drug test would be placed on income management and referred to a rehabilitation program.

Severe fire danger warnings are in place for the central highlands and coalfields district, Wide Bay and Burnett, and the southeast coast.

Water-bombing aircraft are on standby with severe to extreme fire warnings issued for southern, southeast and central Queensland on Friday.

Authorities have warned conditions could reach the highest catastrophic rating in some inland areas in the state's south.

Queenslanders will now be able to compare  and publish comparative information about public and private health facilities online under plans by the Palaszczuk government. 

Health Minister Steven Miles said that the review website would publish information such as  the surgery procedures, the average time spent in hospital and patient outcomes. 

"It's like TripAdvisor, but for hospitals," he said.