The fourth person charged over the alleged mistaken-identity kidnapping and murder of elderly grandfather Chris Baghsarian is also accused of arson.

Moustafa Ohrok, 19, did not apply for bail in Mt Druitt Local Court today after being charged with the murder of the 85-year-old in February.

Ohrok was arrested yesterday, after Baghsarian was taken from his home in Sydney's north in the early hours of February 13.

READ MORE: Actor accused of breaking 'girl code' in breast assault

Three others have already been charged and remain before the courts.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the young man arrested yesterday was involved in the initial abduction of Baghsarian.

"We're alleging this 19-year-old actually provided a firearm that was used in his initial kidnapping," Lanyon told 2GB radio.

Investigators are continuing to look into other possible suspects, he said.

Ohrok faced two separate charges in court yesterday of damaging property by fire and participating in a criminal group.

He will next face Parramatta Local Court on the arson matter on May 21.

The 19-year-old will appear in Penrith Local Court on the murder and kidnap charges on June 12.

READ MORE: UK to introduce lifelong smoking ban for anyone born after 2008

The widower was not the intended target and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity, police have said.

They made several public appeals, urging the kidnappers to release the 85-year-old and return him to his family.

But on February 24, his body was found near a golf club in Pitt Town in Sydney's northwest.

Police suspect the perpetrators aimed to abduct a relative of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, who lived on the same street as Baghsarian, with the hope of receiving a $50 million ransom.

Investigators believe Baghsarian was killed on the night of February 14 at a makeshift stronghold in Dural, about a half-hour drive from where his remains were found.

READ MORE: Over 200 million litres of extra diesel coming to Australia

A growing number of underworld attacks have permeated Sydney streets, with Lanyon saying the city is dealing with a very different organised crime environment.

"We are seeing young people predominantly being contracted online to conduct very serious criminal activity," he said.

"There are a lot of young people who are seeing what they believe to be an easy dollar but not understanding the ramifications … the crime of murder carries life."

Five others, including a 15-year-old boy, were charged today over a separate kidnapping in south-west Sydney.

The group are accused of beating up a bodyguard with a baseball bat and abducting him in his own car before being freed by police an hour later.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

Possible exposure sites include Warbirds Over Wānaka and a music festival in the capital.

Victim of killing stabbed through the voice box and left with a shoe print on her face.

A man who carried out a series of unprovoked stabbing attacks on strangers in broad daylight will remain behind bars for at least half a decade.

Daniel Clavell failed to appear before the Victorian County Court today, where he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for random attacks including on four strangers on a busy shopping strip in Melbourne's north-west in 2023.

Judge Sandra Davis described his conduct as extremely serious, noting the victims were left traumatised, some with lifelong scars from the random attacks.

READ MORE: Five men including teenager charged after botched Sydney abduction

Clavell pleaded guilty to charges of affray, intentionally causing injury and making threats to kill, and had waived his right to be present at his previous court proceedings.

Despite his admissions, Judge Davis said he appeared to show little to no remorse for his actions.

Clavell was on bail when he committed the first offence in what was described as a six-week period of offending involving 13 victims.

He was walking at Moonee Ponds Train Station on June 17, 2023, when he struck a stranger in the face, causing him to jolt backwards. The victim fled to a nearby home, before Clavell also left the scene.

About 10am on June 28, the following week, Clavell was walking in Brunswick when he punched another man twice, leaving the victim with a fractured nose.

On June 29, Clavell had crossed paths with a man and woman on a ramp at Broadmeadows Train Station where he punched the woman in the face twice, before later producing a knife, causing the pair to retreat.

READ MORE: Where double demerits won't apply over the Anzac Day weekend

He also stabbed a woman nearby after placing his hand around her throat.

Clavell was later arrested that day and was released with intent to summons.

Another two incidents involving two assaults on strangers in Dallas and Coburg also unfolded between July 26 and July 29.

Clavell went on a stabbing spree on August 2 after he was caught shoplifting by the owner of Amazing Bargains on Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds about 12.50pm.

After being confronted, he produced a sharp object and stabbed the owner on the left side of her neck, knocking her to the ground.

Clavell threatened a bystander who tried to photograph him as he fled, saying "I will f—-ing kill you".

He then stabbed another man in a nearby shop before assaulting two others on his way to the train station, about 200 metres from the initial attack.

READ MORE: Fresh Ivan Milat link explored in murder highway mystery after two hitchhiking friends disappeared 54 years ago

The court was told that Clavell had been diagnosed as having schizophrenia and a history of substance abuse relating to steroids.

Judge Davis acknowledged Clavell's troubled upbringing, which involved domestic violence and the loss of his father, who had been heavily involved in criminal activities during his youth.

His father Rodney Clavell killed himself inside an Adelaide brothel in 2014 during a 12-hour standoff with police.

Judge Davis today said the victims had suffered emotional, physical, financial and social impacts from the offending.

Clavell will be eligible for parole in six years and has already served more than two years into his sentence.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Beyond Blue  1300 22 4636.

National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline 1800 250 015

Nicola Willis highlighted recent runs with overseas finance chiefs to rebut the remark.

The government is set to slash the cost of running the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) under sweeping new changes.

Health Minister Mark Butler told the National Press Club today that the scheme would be redesigned with "hard but unavoidable" changes.

Butler also handed down decisions to trim aged care spending ahead of the federal budget.

So what does this mean for NDIS participants and older Australians?

READ MORE: Government flags crackdown, cost-cutting in NDIS

Average plan spend to drop from $31,000 to $26,000

The total cost of social and community spending will be "reset" under the changes.

This section of the NDIS provides opportunities for connection and community participation.

According to Butler, the average plan spend this year is about $31,000, which is up from about $14,000 five years ago.

"Over the next two years our changes will bring that figure back down to about $26,000, back to where it was in 2023," he said.

"Without our changes, that figure will have been more like $33,000."

Mandatory registration for some providers

The government will expand the categories of mandatory registration to include "higher risk activities" such as personal care, daily living supports and supports provided in closed settings.

However Butler said not every provider needs to be fully registered.

"We don't need to monitor retail purchases from a chemist the same way we monitor close personal care of vulnerable people," he said.

Showering, continence management and dressing to become free of charge

The government plans to invest around $1 billion to change the treatment of showering, continence management and dressing under the Support at Home program for older Australians.

The investment will make this care free of charge alongside clinical care.

"Dignity in older age, through a world class aged care system, is the least our parents and grandparents deserve," Butler said.

Private health cover subsidy for Australians over 65 to be scrapped

Private health cover for Australians over 65 is currently subsidised at a higher rate than other Australians.

The government plans to remove this subsidy and divert it into aged care.

"It's simply not the best way to spend precious taxpayers' dollars on behalf of older Australians when we need to do so much heavy lifting in aged care," Butler said.

"So, this budget will return the rebate for older Australians back to the level paid for everyone else and divert the money back into aged care.

"I understand this won't be a welcome decision for many, but it's the right thing to do."

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

The government will drastically slash the cost of running the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by billions of dollars over the next four years after the program became inundated by "fraudsters".

Health Minister Mark Butler delivered the sweeping changes in a National Press Club Address today ahead of the federal budget and said the $15 billion blow to the NDIS will ensure it is no longer "an ATM for shonks, grifters, fraudsters and crooks".

Describing the changes as "hard but unavoidable" decisions, Butler said the scheme will be redesigned to stop providers from rorting the system and reassess eligibility to reduce the spiralling number of people on the scheme.

LIVE UPDATES: Trump says he will extend ceasefire

READ MORE: Neil wants pokies machines to play 'losing sounds'. Here's why

"The NDIS was originally intended to support around 410,000 people with a disability. Today, there are 760,000 people on the scheme," Butler said.

"While new eligibility rules need to be worked through, our initial modelling will see the number of people on the scheme reduce to around 600,000 by the end of the decade, instead of growing to well over 900,000."

Butler warned that if the NDIS continued to balloon at its current rate, it simply would not exist for future generations.

"It costs too much and is growing too fast,' Butler said.

"We can't afford for the NDIS to continue growing at its current rate."

The government flagged eight "recurring design failures" in the NDIS that will be addressed by the overhaul.

Butler said taxpayer dollars spent on the NDIS will be reduced from a forecasted $70 billion to around $55 billion by 2030.

The cost-cutting measures will see NDIS funds per participant wound back from an average $31,000 per person to around $26,000.

The government will also reduce spending on third-parties who manage the majority of NDIS plans and claims by around 30 per cent.

NDIS providers will be more heavily vetted under the changes.

READ MORE: Where double demerits won't apply over the Anzac Day weekend

"Too often in the NDIS, we see that competition play out with third parties cutting costs and cutting corners to get as many plans on the books as possible rather than trying to win clients based on the quality of their service," Butler added.

"Instead of this contest, our government will identify a shortlist of accountable, quality providers which people can choose from."

The government will also make it harder for people to access NDIS funds, with eligibility rules set to change.

A "standardised, evidence-based assessments of a person's functional capacity to determine access" to the NDIS will be introduced, Butler said.

Lists that decide a person's eligibility to access the scheme will be scrapped.

"These so-called access lists were put in place to get the scheme up and running, but they were always supposed to make way for an objective assessment tool," Butler said.

"Instead, the diagnosis gateway has funnelled people onto a scheme that was never designed for them. Now, that's not their fault. They've been told this is the only program available, or that this is the help that their child needs.

"It's our responsibility as governments to make sure that in the future, these Australians are pointed in the right direction."

READ MORE: UK to introduce lifelong smoking ban for anyone born after 2008

Cuts to subsidised health cover Aussies aged over 65

Butler also announced that the government will hand down cuts to subsidised private health cover for older Australians in the May budget.

Residents aged over 65 will receive the same, lower rebate that other Australians are given.

The health minister admitted it would not be a welcome decision, but that it was the "right thing to do".

He said these savings will be diverted into aged care.

"Right now, we subsidise private health cover for Australians over 65 at a higher rate than other Australians," Butler said.

"It means two households on the same income receive different levels of government support based only on their age.

"That's simply not fair between generations. And it's simply not the best way to spend precious taxpayer dollars."

Criticism levelled at NDIS cuts

The opposition claims Butler is attempting to "ram" the NDIS changes through parliament without enough consultation with the Coalition.

Shadow NDIS minister Melissa McIntosh said said not enough detail has been provided over how 160,000 people will be booted from the scheme.

"I have a woman who's told me that she had to prove that she did not have legs to be able to access the NDIS. Does this mean she has to reprove that she no longer has legs so she can get the funding that she desperately needs?" McIntosh told reporters in Canberra.

Greens senator Jordan Steele-John said his reaction to Butler's announcement is one of "shock and deep sadness".

He told the ABC that the disability community is now terrified of what is to come.

"What this means is that thousands of families will live for weeks, months, if not years, in the anguish and uncertainty," Steele-John said.

Chief executive of Spinal Life Australia Mark Townend raised questions about the introduction of stronger eligibility tests.

He said NDIS participants should not be subject to repeated evaluations of their disability.

"For people living with significant, permanent disability, the system must be built on trust," he said.

"Disability does not disappear with age, impairments actually increase, and participants should not be subjected to ongoing, unnecessary reassessments that create stress and uncertainty."

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

An actor accusing Rebel Wilson of damaging her career secured a $430,000 record deal with a publicist representing international superstars amid the feud with Wilson.

Charlotte MacInnes is suing the Pitch Perfect actor over social media posts claiming MacInnes complained about feeling uncomfortable after bathing with Wilson's co-producer on musical film The Deb, Amanda Ghost.

MacInnes also alleges the posts – which could be seen by Wilson's 11 million followers for 24 hours – suggested she had withdrawn the complaint in exchange for plum acting and music opportunities.

READ MORE: 'An act of war': Iran vows revenge as deadline looms

The young actor who plays a lead role in The Deb denies making the complaint to the Bridesmaids actor and says her reputation has been seriously damaged before she could enjoy the benefits of starring in her first feature film.

But Wilson's barrister Dauid Sibtain SC argued MacInnes hadn't suffered any harm to her career at all since the first social media post in September 2024.

MacInnes signed a record deal with Atlantic Records in late 2025, her manager Shoshanna Stone told the Federal Court today.

The deal provided for two EPs and was worth around $US310,000 (around $430,000), she said.

Stone's high-profile clients include Britney Spears, Shakira, Boy George and Alicia Keys.

She told the court she signed MacInnes to her roster after being informed of the young actor's talent by her friend, Ghost.

READ MORE: Fresh Ivan Milat link explored in murder highway mystery

The up-and-coming performer's second single is due to be released tomorrow.

Her manager rejected suggestions it had been timed to coincide with the court battle.

MacInnes was hailed as a talented, enthusiastic and bubbly actor who has been irrevocably "hardened" by the social media posts by Hannah Reilly, the co-writer of The Deb.

In an affidavit tendered to the Federal Court, Reilly wrote MacInnes confided they had taken away some of her innocence and trust in the world.

MacInnes said she was experiencing vivid nightmares and panic attacks, and stopped eating for days at a time.

"She has expressed to me it has been an all-consuming nightmarish force in her life," Reilly wrote.

She said she observed MacInnes become more armoured as a result of Wilson's social media posts, which she reported left her with a constant sense of vigilance and anxiety.

READ MORE: Fourth man charged over alleged kidnapping, murder of Sydney granddad

Before September 2024, she had a reputation as a "bright star in the making", Reilly wrote in her sworn statement.

She thought Wilson's subsequent social media posts suggested MacInnes was a liar who traded sexual favours to secure a role and a record deal.

Wilson denies the posts are defamatory and maintains MacInnes made the complaint before retracting it to ensure her future as a performer by appeasing Ghost.

The Deb was released in Australia earlier in April after legal issues prevented widespread release following its 2024 film festival premiere.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

Two Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) workers have been suspended after a failure to implement proper policies led to two foster children being allowed to live with a serial killer.

NSW Minister for Communities and Families Kate Washington admitted that a tip-off and a report to the department were not properly followed up, allowing two foster children, aged 12 and 14, to live with Reginald Arthurell in out-of-home care in Sydney's west.

Arthurell, also known as Reginal Arthurell, was convicted of bludgeoning fiancee Venet Mulhall, to death at Coonabarabran in 1995 while on parole.

LIVE UPDATES: 'Break the blockade by force': Iran's death vow despite ceasefire

https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/exclusive-minister-reveals-findings-of-foster-care-failure/embed?media=Audio&size=Square

He had earlier killed his stepfather in the 1970s and a sailor in the 1980s, and was paroled in 2020.

Speaking on 2GB's Ben Fordham Live, Washington said the DCJ was first informed of the decision to allow children to live with Arthurell late last year, but she said the report was closed without a proper follow-up.

"It was closed based on unverified information about Arthurell and his possible incapacity, his age, [he's] in a wheelchair, and having a full-time carer," Washington said.

"It just wasn't investigated, and that was contrary to policies and procedures in the department."

She said the decision was made by one individual within the department, who has now been suspended pending a misconduct process.

There was a second instance of the department being made aware of a child entering the house where Arthurell last month, where Washington admitted the previous report from the December incident was not followed up.

"A simple check of DCJ's system would have revealed that Arthurell was in that house. Instead, approval was given, and again, it was against department policies and procedures," she said.

READ MORE: Alarming number of Aussies chasing mates for money, figures reveal

"A simple check on our system would have shown that report from December."

Washington said the person responsible for that decision had also been suspended.

While she admitted the decisions made fell short of the standards expected and of the DCJ's policies and procedures, she insisted it was not the result of institutional issues, and defended the work of her department overall.

"They are working in very difficult, complex environments," she said.

"Our DCJ child protection caseworkers see the worst of the worst in our society. They walk into homes where parents are harming their children.

"There are difficult decisions made daily by our caseworkers, but we do expect them to follow department policies and procedures."

Arthurell is no longer living with the children.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play

• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here

• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

Plenty of Australians will be hitting the roads this Anzac Day weekend but not all of them will be subject to the same double demerit rules.

Some jurisdictions will kick off the public holiday double demerit period from Friday.

Others don't enforce them at all.

READ MORE: Anzac Day is almost here, but not everyone gets a long weekend this year

Here's what you need to know about when and where double demerits apply over Anzac Day 2026.

NSW, WA and the ACT

NSW, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are the only jurisdictions that enforce double demerits around public holidays.

The Anzac Day double demerit period kicks off this Friday, April 24 and will run through to Monday, April 27.

Double demerits apply to offences like speeding, drink or drug driving, and failing to wear a seatbelt properly.

READ MORE: Police hunt inmate wrongly released from NSW prison

Queensland

Unlike the rest of Australia, Queensland enforces double demerits year-round for specific repeat offences within a year.

Those offences include using a phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and driving more than 20km/h over the speed limit.

Double demerits apply if you commit any of the offences more than once in a 12-month period.

READ MORE: 'Looksmaxxing' influencer Clavicular breaks silence after suspected overdose during livestream

Victoria, Tasmania, SA and the NT

Double demerits don't apply at any time of the year in Victoria, Tasmania, SA and the NT but motorists are still urged to drive responsibly over the Anzac Day weekend.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here