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Every week, a million Australians use pathology services for everything from a simple blood test to cancer screening.

But the industry's peak body is warning that more of the bill for tests could be passed on to patients unless the government restarts increases in funding.

"We don't want to see mums with kids, or cancer patients, have to choose whether they get their pathology test or not," Australian Pathology's chief executive Liesel Wett told 9news.com.au.

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By bulk-billing Medicare for the costs of most tests, pathology services have stayed largely free for patients in Australia when they have a doctor's referral.

But these days, no industry is immune from financial pressures.

Australian Pathology claims that while the cost of performing services has risen, the level of funding pathology companies get from the federal government has remained frozen for the last 24 years.

Between January 2020 and the beginning of 2024, the government's yearly investment in pathology services increased by $333 million, not including COVID-19-related pathology funding.

But labour costs for the tens of thousands of staff employed in the industry are rising.

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Researchers at the Pragmatic Policy Group said that without increased funding, the consequences could be especially dire for regional Australia.

"This immense cost burden threatens the viability of the Australian pathology industry", they wrote in a report commissioned by Healius and shared with 9news.com.au.

"We expect many unprofitable collection centres will close, particularly in remote, rural, regional, and Indigenous communities.

"Critical services will be lost and many workers will lose their jobs." 

They say Australian Pathology's funding figure may not be high enough, estimating the cost to maintain bulk billing at its current level at $890 million.

Some of the largest pathology companies including Healius, Australian Clinical Labs, and Sonic Healthcare have seen their earnings slumping in recent years, especially after the reduction in revenue from the pandemic.

Over the last four years, the federal government's total annual investment in pathology services increased by $333 million in benefits.

The government has indicated it is open to exploring changes to indexation and said it would work with the pathology sector to consider how best to ensure the high bulk-billing rates continue.

"From July 2022 to December 2023, the government invested a total of $5.4 billion in Medicare benefits to subsidise more than 244 million pathology services for patients," a spokesperson from the Department of Health said.

"During this period, almost 100 per cent of pathology tests provided to patients out-of-hospital were bulk-billed.

"Out-of-hospital services accounted for almost 90 per cent of all pathology services.

‌"The government also routinely invests in updating the Pathology Services Table (PST) to ensure that the services available under Medicare align with contemporary clinical best practice in response to recommendations from the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC).

"From 1 January 2020 to 31 January 2024, the government introduced 71 new pathology items on the PST (excluding COVID-19 pathology items), such that Medicare now provides rebates for more than 500 pathology tests.

"Over this period, the government's total annual investment in non-COVID-19 pathology services has increased by approximately $333 million in benefits, totalling $3.4 billion in 2023.

"The government will continue to consider MSAC recommendations for public funding of pathology services and will work with the pathology sector to consider how best to ensure the high bulk-billing rates continue, including by exploring indexation changes."

Both the government and industry are hoping the public-private partnership will continue successfully but the future of pathology bulk-billing likely won't become clearer until after the federal budget in May.

"Mum has a boyfriend."

Kylee Dennis' ears pricked up when her friend revealed her 78-year-old mother had met a man named Donald online and things seemed to be getting serious.

"Being a little nosy, I called her to ask her about her new love," she said.

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Ann was twice-divorced, lived in a retirement village and had been "dating" Donald in secret for about six months.

The 69-year-old Australian businessman had been working on a gas pipeline contract in Turkey and was due to return home, where he intended to retire.

Dennis asked her mother to show her a few photos of her new love interest and the images immediately raised some red flags.

"Ann supplied me with some photos, and at that stage knowing that Ann had a few health issues, I looked at the photos and became very suspicious," she said.

The photos showed an "extremely fit" man who was about 55 years old.

"There were some discrepancies in the photos – two different people used to create this faux profile of 'Donald'," she said.

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Dennis tracked down the owner of the photo – a happily married American real estate agent.

"I then had to inform Ann as to the scam and this was heartbreaking," she said.

"In a blink of an eye, I broke her heart."

Determined to protect those looking for a partner, Dennis started Two Face Investigations, a business which draws on her 14-year career as a NSW Police officer.

"Watching Ann take time to recover, I felt that there were many more victims that need help to navigate through this landscape," she said.

Tall, dark, handsome – and may scam you out of thousands

Through her work, Dennis has noticed several patterns in the way romance scammers approach their victims.

The suitors most commonly claim to be doctors, pilots, engineers, overseas contractors, oil rig workers and professionals.

Romance scams are not a new phenomenon but they continue to con Australians out of their hard-earned cash every year.

According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, scammers have stolen more than $4 million this year, with more than 550 reports made to the watchdog.

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"The biggest red flag is they are currently overseas working or at the very least on their last couple of days and are unable to meet you," she said.

"They will indicate that there are issues as to why they can't return home at this very moment but they will be with you very soon to start this magical life together.

"They will also offer up at a very early stage within the conversation a devastating incident that has occurred (such as their) husband and daughter died in a car accident (or their) wife died of cancer.

"They will remove you from the dating platform onto email and then a messaging service like WhatsApp."

Dennis said romance scammers tend to profess their love for their targets very early on, despite never meeting them in person.

"Love bombing – a tactic that would not be used in a face-to-face meeting but one that is a surefire indication that they are commencing their manipulative behaviours," she said.

"Throughout the email you will be told that you are the most important person in their life and they have no one else in the world but you.

"The profile photo that is depicted is model-like and for them, age is just a number."

Losing a potential love interest or funds from a scam can result in feelings of shame for some people – but Dennis said it doesn't have to be that way.

In fact, she is encouraging people to talk about their experiences to eliminate the stigma.

"A romance scam victim did not venture into this world to be financially ruined and heartbroken at the same time," she said.

Dennis said in the past fortnight alone, she has spoken with five victims who have lost a total of $500,000 who have not reported the crime as they "don't wish to tell people".

"They are ashamed that they will be judged by society and their friends," she said.

"Love is powerful and romance scamming is a crime and should not have a negative tag attached to it.

"This is one of my personal challenges to change that."

Visit the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to report a scam and find out more information about how to keep yourself safe.

A suspect is in custody after a commercial vehicle crashed into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in a rural town west of Houston on Friday, seriously injuring several people, according the agency.

Texas DPS officials said in a social media post on X that the crash happened at the agency's office in Brenham, Texas, located about 120 kilometres west of Houston.

"We believe this was a criminal act," Washington County Sheriff Otto Hanak told CNN affiliate KHOU on Friday.

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The DPS announced the arrest on X and said: "There is no further threat to the community."

The agency said "there are reports of multiple serious injuries," but has not provided more details on what led to the crash.

Officials did not specify how many people were affected or the extent of the injuries.

They also requested people avoid the area to clear the way for responding medical personnel.

The Brenham DPS office is a facility where driver's licenses are issued and the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.

Multiple news outlets showed images of a large, red tractor-trailer hauling material on a flatbed in the parking lot of the building.

The front end of the 18-wheeler was damaged and covered with debris from the front doors of the office. Debris was also scattered out front near a gaping hole in the entrance.

DPS officials did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.

City of Brenham officials did not immediately respond to calls seeking further information.

Police investigating after incident in Auckland suburb.

Perth's dry spell has ended in spectacular fashion as a major rain event smashed the city's northern suburbs with up to 100 millimetres falling in under an hour.

Cars ended up underwater as flash flooding trapped some drivers.

A spokesperson from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services confirmed several people had been rescued from their cars, with the State Emergency Service responding to more than 45 requests for assistance.

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Paul Jenkyn was among the residents who were at work when the downpour started.

"So I just raced home, raced home to save the dogs really because the dogs were actually half under water," Jenkyn said.

"We've had a metre of water through the front of our house."

The deluge caused the roof of Ocean Keys Shopping Centre in the suburb of Clarkson to collapse in front of shocked on-lookers.

In the suburb of Ridgewood, hail made backyards resemble a winter wonderland.

The Bureau of Meteorology said 104 millimetres fell in Clarkson, Butler and Ridgewood in an hour.

Exclusive: Life was finally starting to slow down when Mick Murphy's wife was allegedly murdered earlier this year.

Samantha Murphy functioned like "clockwork", so her husband knew something was wrong when she failed to return to her Ballarat East home on the morning of February 4.

After calling her mobile, with no answer, Mick notified police and began searching in nearby bushland.

READ MORE: How the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy unfolded

More than three months on, he told 9News in an exclusive interview that he hasn't stopped searching for his beloved wife.

"On that particular day, I was outside and thought she'll be coming up the road pretty soon," he said.

"Then she didn't.

"I just thought, 'Ah well, she might've gone a bit longer'. I went outside and said to the kids, 'Has mum come home yet?' and they said no. I thought that was a bit odd."

Police almost immediately appealed for any information about Samantha's disappearance, with dozens of searches, including one today finding little to no trace.

It hasn't stopped Mick, who searches daily, either by driving through town or spending two hours walking through a pine plantation.

"Sometimes I go for a drive and it might not be anywhere particular, or I go for a walk for two hours. It varies every day," he said.

"It's very good for my mind and if I sat at home I wouldn't do myself any favours."

Samantha's body has not been found, but 22-year-old tradie Patrick Stephenson has since been arrested and charged with murder.

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'Beautiful mother and incredibly smart woman'

Mick and Samantha met at the pub in Gordon, near Geelong. They hit it off immediately.

"We were friends for a period of time and one thing led to another," Mick said.

"We soon lived together.

"We've always had our own drive to always be successful, we've always worked hard.

"Life was really good and then this came into our lives."

The couple's 27th wedding anniversary was February 21, a milestone that was hard to celebrate.

"[She] is an incredibly smart and wonderful woman … was kind, caring, loyal and would always offer to help anyone at any time," Mick said.

"You won't hear a bad word about her, she was a good mother, caring and always providing for everybody.

"She was always smiling and happy and we want people to remember Sam for who she was. Anyone who knows her knows what she's like."

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Mick stopped briefly after tearing up, saying: "It's hard for someone so good to be gone [from] the community".

He will join the families of two other women who were allegedly murdered at the hands of their partners in a rally in Ballarat tonight.

"The walk shows the respect the community has for Sam and the others who were killed," he said.

"The support will be great and I think it will be a pretty emotional time too.

"Everyone will stick together and the Ballarat community is really good and everyone knows everybody, there will be lots of hugs and cuddles."

Despite the community support, there is no escaping the nightmare for Mick, who will not rest until his beloved wife's body is found.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody," he said.

One person has been stabbed to death and their attacker shot by police at a home west of Gympie in Queensland.

Police blocked off the road leading to the property at Running Creek Road in Kilkivan for officers to investigate.

Police were called to the house about 3pm to respond to reports of someone being wounded.

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9News understands officers found a body when they arrived.

It is also understood that police shot another person at the property, who has been flown to hospital by a helicopter.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting and stabbing are under investigation.

Police were expected to remain at the property overnight to examine the scene.

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly ramming two police cars while driving a stolen Mercedes AMG.

Police attempted to stop the stolen car in Bexley, in Sydney's south, about 11am today.

When the driver didn't stop, police initiated a pursuit through several Sydney subburbs.

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It was brought to a halt when the Mercedes crashed into another car in Concorde.

Two police cars were also rammed.

The driver was arrested and taken to Burwood Police Station.

Paramedics were called to the scene to treat a police officer for a minor hand injury.

Investigations are ongoing, and charges are yet to be laid.