Defence Force troops are being sent to western NSW today to try and stop the spread of COVID-19 through vulnerable communities.

About 60 per cent of the 116 cases recorded in the region are Indigenous, with just nine per cent of Indigenous residents there fully vaccinated.

Five ADF vaccination teams will arrive in Dubbo this morning to assist with the vaccine rollout in rural areas.

Australian health authorities are confident that 80% of Australians will be fully vaccinated by mid-November. 

It comes after world health authorities expressed their concern about Australia’s low vaccination rates. 

Results reveal that more than one-fifth of eligible Australians have been fully vaccinated so far, and the national cabinet predicts 70 per cent will be fully vaccinated by November 1, climbing to 80 per cent on November 22.

A Tweed-Heads local has been fined after laying down on the Gold Coast border and taunting police officers who denied him entry into Queensland for exercise purposes. 

The man protested with police for over an hour claiming he was allowed to cross the border to “go for a swim”.

He pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon and received a $1378 fine for failing to comply with a COVID-19 direction.

Queensland-based Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be given a welcome home parade through Brisbane's Queen Street Mall on October 8, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

The celebration, will mark one of Australia's most successful Olympic campaigns, with athletes bringing home 17 gold, seven silver and 22 bronze medals.

The parade will be followed with a reception at city hall

Queensland's council misconduct watchdog has denied a conflict of interest after demanding a voice recording from a journalist. 

This comes after Brisbane City Council Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, told reporters that he calls on the Queensland Premier to undertake an investigation into the Office of the Independent Assessors powers.

Two new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Queensland, but neither were infectious in the community.

One case was acquired locally. The other was acquired overseas.

As cases remain low, authorities are worried about the situation in New South Wales.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuck said that police have turned back one thousand cars on the southern border in the last 24 hours.

Prosecutors have dropped environmental offence charges against former executives of Linc Energy.

The charges were relating to contaminating the area around the company’s coal gasification site near Chinchilla.

Environmental group Lock the Gate said the decision to drop charges is devastating.

Spokesperson Ellie Smith said they hope the legislation is tightened after this incident.

A new public holiday long weekend has been set in October for the Ekka after being cancelled due to lockdowns in September. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the reinstatement of the Ekka holiday would encourage people to support local tourism businesses during holiday break. 

Ms Palaszczuk said ‘If you’re at home and you’re thinking about taking the family away, come and support the Gold Coast.”

The new date is set for Friday, October 29.

Members of an Afghan refugee advocacy service in Adelaide called on Australia to take in 20,000 refugees who were seeking protection as the Taliban further encroaches the region as the US exit continues. 

The Australian government told ABC News it was considering increasing the number of Afghans into Australia as refugees, but sources suggested that it will not increase the cap of thirteen and a half thousand for humanitarian arrivals. Australia’s humanitarian intake was reduced by 5000 places in 2020 following the coronavirus pandemic.