A seven-year-old boy has suffered a serious head injury after he was allegedly punched by another student while playing at a school in Melbourne's south-east earlier this month.

Jayden Pham was placed in an induced coma following the alleged attack, which unfolded between another Grade One student at St John Vianney's Primary School in Mulgrave on October 17.

While the school contacted his parents disclosing the initial fight, his parents have said there should have been more staff supervision on school grounds.

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"He started hitting me in the head and that hurt (me) quite a lot," Jayden told 9News.

"When the bell rang, I stood up and he punched me in the chin and my tooth fell out. It hurt a bit."

After the alleged attack, Jayden sought help from staff, who contacted his parents, saying he suffered a broken tooth and had been punched once.

"My friend told the teacher when the bell rang," he said.

Four days later, the seven-year-old told his parents he was suffering from a painful headache.

"He (was in) really bad pain, crying the whole night and vomiting," his mother Julie Pham said.

Jayden was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery, having suffered internal bleeding.

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His parents allege the school has failed them telling 9News that no adult or teacher witnessed the attack.

"The teacher has a duty of protection because we trust the school to protect our children," his father Paul Pham said.

St John Vianney's Primary School Principal Andrew Mullaly said the safety of students was their number one priority.

"We take our responsibilities extremely seriously," he said in a statement.

"In accordance with our clear policies and procedures, no form of bullying or violence is ever acceptable. One of our student's health has unfortunately deteriorated significantly in the days following an incident between two Year 1 students in the playground.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with this student and family."

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Mullaly said the incident was investigated by staff and found the student had been struck by another student following a dispute in relation to a soccer match.

"The student was assessed by a first-aid qualified staff member," he said.

"Parents of both students were advised of the incident.

"The student returned to class, and to school in subsequent days, with no obvious signs of the serious and concerning medical issues which have since arisen.

"We will continue to offer full support to the family."

However, his parents, backed by lawyers, allege there should have been better supervision.

Arnold Thomas and Becker Senior Associate Jennifer Lay said they allege the school failed to provide the appropriate supervision for the students.

"These injuries are life-changing and are likely to impact him long term," she said.

"There has been a denial that the current condition of the child is not a result of what happened on the school grounds.

"We understand there were no teachers present at the time of the incident."

Jayden will be discharged from hospital in the coming days but he has a long road to recovery.

"The pain, the suffering that Jayden has been through. I wish that no parents go through what (he has) been through," Mr Pham said.

The search for a man who was taken by a great white shark at a popular surfing spot off the coast in South Australia will be scaled back.

It's believed the 55-year-old was killed by a shark when he was surfing near a group off the coast of Granites Beach in Westall Way Loop near Streaky Bay about 10.20am yesterday.

Locals told 9News the avid surfer had only lived in the area for a short time and it wasn't his usual spot to catch waves.

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The attack was witnessed by people on shore who said the shark attacked the man, which left him floating before he was attacked again.

They believe the shark was up to 4.5 metres in length.

The area off the coast is marked as a great white shark breeding ground.

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"We are in the domain and every surfer knows when he goes for a surf that there's going to be a shark somewhere," a local told 9News.

A scaled-back search will begin in the morning and the attack has now become a case for the state's coroner.

As the cost of living crisis continues to pinch purses across the country, many Aussie families are buying in bulk and online to curb hip-pocket pain at the checkout.

So much so that bulk buy groceries have overtaken clothing and apparel as the number one category on shopping platform Catch.

Popular items include dishwashing tablets, muesli bars, chips and milk powder.

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The modern approach to grocery shopping is becoming increasingly popular for Aussie families looking to slash their shopping bills.

With three hungry children to feed, Alexandra and Zac Cain saw their weekly grocery bill surge from $300 to almost $500.

"A lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, but usually just the snacks, the school lunchboxes is a massive dent," Alexandra said.

"Everyday, making the lunchboxes, we need things on the go to grab out of the cupboard."

Convenience and fast delivery made it an easy decision for the busy family to make the switch to online bulk purchases.

"Just buying everything in bulk, I don't have to worry about dishwashing tablets for a couple of months," Alexandra said.

"I find it a lot easier to compare pricing online … it's harder to do in person," Zac said.

According to Catch managing director Brendan Sweeney, the couple is not alone in their pursuit to save. 

"What we're seeing is a really big swing to people trying to save money on everyday essential items," Sweeney said.

Pantry bargains like pet food, cat litter and coffee pods have seen a large increase in sales on the platform, proving more favourable than traditional top sellers like Birkenstocks and Asics.

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Retail expert Gary Mortimer said not everyone can afford the upfront costs of buying in bulk, but encouraged families to join forces to save at the checkout.

"One of the options around would be to form a co-op, you know, with family and friends, to buy in bulk then simply split the costs when you get home," Mortimer said.

With daily orders at The Catch warehouse expected to increase to 10,000 in the lead-up to the Christmas period, many families are choosing to kickstart their Christmas shopping early.

"That is one of the things we find helpful is to try and start earlier and spread that cost out across the year … it does help going into December," Zac said.

"Just to get ahead and to save money now, because I am going to need that money in December," Alexandra added.

A man has been charged with assault after the woman was found on the road.

The toddler suffered fatal blunt force injuries at the address.

The cost of living for Australian workers is climbing faster than inflation as households around the country fall off the fixed-rate mortgage cliff and battle surging petrol prices.

New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today revealed living costs for workers across the country jumped by 2 per cent for the September quarter, and 9 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The quarterly number is higher than June's increase of 1.5 per cent, and almost double the jump in inflation of 1.2 per cent for the same time period, although the annual increase has softened from 9.6 per cent last quarter.

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While interest rates didn't increase at all during the September quarter, mortgage repayments were still responsible for a large proportion of the increase in living costs as homeowners rolled over from fixed to variable rates.

"Mortgage interest charges rose 9.3 per cent following a 9.8 per cent rise in the June 2023 quarter," ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

"While the Reserve Bank of Australia has not increased the cash rate since July 2023, previous interest rate increases and the rollover of some expired fixed-rate to higher-rate variable mortgages resulted in another strong rise this quarter."

Also worsening the cost of living were rising petrol prices and higher insurance premiums.

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Major oil producers Russia and Saudia Arabia announced a significant cut to production in early September, leading to a jump in prices felt in Australia.

The declining value of the Australian dollar since June has also made for more expensive trips to the bowser.

It wasn't just employees hit hard by the rising cost of living, with all other household types (pensioners and beneficiaries, aged care pensioners, self-funded retirees and other government recipients) seeing quarterly increases of between 0.5 and 1.4 per cent.

Their annual jumps were far less than workers, ranging from 5.4 to 6 per cent.

Those increases were largely driven by the same factors of rising mortgage repayments and petrol prices, although housing costs – which includes rents, utilities, rates and maintenance – actually dropped for pensioners and government beneficiaries.

The view would be lovely – but it’s all eyes forward.

He allegedly stabbed the camper five times while trying to steal his car keys.

Queenslanders are meant to be able to access their digital driver's licences on their mobile phones from today, but the rollout has been marred by glitches and delays. 

The Queensland government has urged people to wait until the technical issues are resolved before downloading the new Digital Licence app. 

While 15,000 users have successfully accessed their licence, some have reported receiving error messages.

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The Department of Transport and Main Roads asked Queenslanders "to be patient during this initial busy launch period".

"We know it's very popular right now, almost as popular as tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, and that is causing some delays for customers," said Acting Director General Sally Stannard.

"But the difference between the Digital Licence app and a Taylor Swift concert is that you're not going to miss out on a digital licence.

"We're asking Queenslanders to be patient and take their time to download it, wait until tomorrow or try later in the week.

The app gives motorists access to a digital version of their driver's license, meaning they no longer need to carry around their physical licence.

The app has been in development since 2018 and was trialled in Townsville and on the Fraser Coast.

https://twitter.com/AngusGibbins/status/1719481936672854195

The Townsville trial was originally meant to roll out in late 2022.

However, it was pushed back to April 2023, partly due to increased demand for security testing following last year's Optus data breach and Medibank hack.

Queensland joins NSW, South Australia in offering digital licences while Victoria is set to roll out the technology in 2024.

9News.com.au has contacted the Department of Transport and Main Roads, and Minister Mark Bailey for comment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Australia needs even higher interest rates to bring inflation back to target, although hasn't said how much the cash rate needs to be raised.

In its overview of the Australian economy, the leading global financial body largely painted a positive picture, pointing to strong resilience and high employment, but said inflation remains too high.

"Although inflation is gradually declining, it remains significantly above the RBA's target and output remains above potential," the IMF wrote.

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"Staff therefore recommend further monetary policy tightening to ensure that inflation comes back to the target range by 2025 and minimise the risk of de-anchoring inflation expectations."

That call comes just a week after higher-than-expected inflation data increased the likelihood of a rates rise in November.

New RBA governor Michele Bullock has repeatedly said the bank will increase rates for a 13th time if inflation doesn't ease quickly enough, but refused to be drawn on whether last week's figures were enough to warrant lifting the cash rate to 4.35 per cent next Tuesday.

The IMF added that the RBA shouldn't be lumped with the sole responsibility of reducing inflation, calling on governments to do their bit too.

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"Continued coordination between monetary and fiscal policy is key to securing more equitable burden sharing," it wrote.

"The Commonwealth government and state and territory governments should implement public investment projects at a more measured and coordinated pace, given supply constraints, to alleviate inflationary pressures and support the RBA's disinflation efforts.

"Otherwise, interest rates would have to be even higher, putting the burden of adjustment disproportionately on mortgage holders."

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The IMF also called for a boost to productivity, and improved education to bolster the workforce, and pointed to low housing supply as an issue facing the economy.

"The affordability challenge has not abated, as prices have started increasing again and mortgage payments as a share of disposable income have doubled due to higher interest rates," it said.

"Rents have also increased at a very fast pace."

The depth of that challenge was emphasised by data released later this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing new home approvals dropped 4.6 per cent in September, putting them well below long-term averages.

The last point on the IMF report called for Australia to do more to address climate change, even calling for the reintroduction of a carbon tax.

"An economy-wide carbon price would be the most effective way to achieve net zero," it said, adding that "efforts to ensure the integrity of carbon offsets will be key" to ensure the effectiveness of the federal government's safeguard mechanism to reduce emissions.