Millions of Aussies are preparing to head to polls for the Voice to Parliament referendum on Saturday – but don't expect to find out the result of the national question on the night.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) confirmed approximately four million ballots have already been cast at early voting centres across the country. 

Despite the rush of early votes, ballots won't be counted before polls close and an outcome will never be officially declared on the night of a referendum, in line with federal elections, according to the AEC.

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While electoral analysts and commentators are able to provide an indication of the results depending on how close the margin is, each ballot must undergo a vigorous counting process.

The AEC is required to count each ballot paper more than once in the days after the referendum night in a process called "fresh scrutiny". 

Overseas votes, postal votes and votes made outside of a person's home electorate can also delay the result as they take time to transport to local counting centres.

On top of this, each aspect of the double majority for the referendum has to be mathematically certain before the AEC can officially make a declaration or the return of the writ.

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To succeed, a referendum needs the majority of people and the majority of states (what's known as a double majority) to vote in favour of a Yes-No proposal.

"The AEC conducts a referendum count very similarly to the House of Representatives count at a federal election," the electoral authority says on its website.

"Like in a federal election, if the overall result is close it may require up to 13 days after polling night for a result to be known.

"This is the timeframe allowed under referendum legislation for postal votes to come back to the AEC for inclusion in the count."

A rare and aggressive cancer has been revealed as the cause of death for popular stand-up comedian Cal Wilson.

The 53-year-old died yesterday morning at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

She was a familiar face on television screens with appearances on Spicks and Specks, Good News Week, Would I Lie To You and in her own stand-up specials.

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Her management, Token Artists told The Sydney Morning Herald that Wilson had been in hospital for four weeks before her death.

Tributes to the colourful TV personality, who moved from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne in 2003, have been paid by many in the entertainment industry.

Rove McManus said he was "utterly devastated" and described Wilson as a "shining soul".

While, The Block's Shayna Blaze said she couldn't comprehend the news.

"The most divine, radiant person who I have watched, admired and worked alongside. This is heartbreaking," she said.

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Actress Rebel Wilson reflected on her time with the comedian and said she was "very, very lucky" to work with Wilson on many projects.

"She was amazingly talented and amazingly kind," Wilson said.

Wilson performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival for 14 years and was a member of its board.

She was most recently co-host of Foxtel's Great Australian Bake Off, which was in production when she was first admitted to hospital.

Voters have been cautioned against wearing Yes- and No-branded clothing into polling places during the Voice to parliament referendum.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said there's a risk of people falling foul of the law if they bring what could be considered campaign material into a voting centre.

"The rules surrounding what people can or cannot wear into a polling place in a referendum are the same as for elections," it said.

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"Campaigning is not allowed inside the polling place or within six metres of the entrance.

"If a voter wears a pin, shirt or hat with a campaign slogan into the polling place, casts their vote and leaves then it may not be considered as campaigning.

"However, when inside a polling venue a problem could arise if a voter is seen talking about the material or gesturing towards it."

The AEC has encouraged people to avoid any potential issues by wearing neutral clothing while voting.

"AEC advice is to simply avoid any potential issue by not wearing campaign material into a polling place, or to at least bring along a piece of clothing that allows a voter to cover up," it said.

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"The AEC understands that passions are often high around referendum events, and people want to proudly display their voting intentions – either way – when coming to vote.

"Please don't fall foul of the law. Simply wear or display campaign material outside the polling place instead."

It said its temporary workforce of 100,000 staff will take a "commonsense" approach to ensuring laws are followed on referendum day.

A parking expert has weighed in on a bid which could potentially increase the size of parking spaces as sales for newer, larger vehicles boom across Australia.

Standards Australia is seeking public comment on a draft proposal to extend the length of off-street car parks in response to an influx of dual cab utes and US-style pick-up trucks on Australian roads.

The review would aim to expand off-street parking bays, which include private and public parking lots, from 5.4 metres to 5.6 metres to accommodate the vehicles.

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But Neale McCracken, a principal consultant for Stantec in Melbourne, has argued against the proposed changes.

"If you've bought these large trucks you're not really going to expect to park it conveniently in Australia," he told 9news.com.au.

"You need to expect you're trying to park a six-metre truck in a 5.4-metre space.

"They know that their vehicle is big, they know that it's going to be hard to park."

McCracken leads a consulting firm that assesses the impact of development and infrastructure on the transport system.

He said changing the national design standard to make parking spaces bigger was a solution to a non-existent problem.

"The analysis done just looks back at the overall Australian car fleet and says, 'This is the biggest car we've got and this is the space they need'," he said.

"They're not really considering anything beyond that and why people are buying those cars.

"If you look at it geographically, those living in regional areas would probably need a 4WD to accommodate, but why are you applying the same standard to urban areas?

"We don't need to provide 100 per cent of parking to all but one 1 per cent of vehicles using them."  

McCracken said popular vehicles sold in Australia such as Ford Rangers and Toyota Hiluxes had no problem fitting into bays at places like supermarket parking lots.

"They can park – but the car just sticks out of the space a bit," he said.

The national dimension requirements for on-street and off-street parking spaces are set by Standards Australia, currently 2.4m by 5.4m.

The standards organisation uses a generic design vehicle to determine the sizing and manoeuvrability of a car park.

As part of the review, it found the dimensions of design vehicles had changed over the last 18 years, prompting a proposal to expand parking bays.

But McCracken said what sounded like a minor change could have knock-on effects for development, planning and affordability.

"If your parking spaces suddenly get bigger then either you've got to do two things – reduce the number of spaces you've provided or increase the size of your car park," he said.

"If you're making it bigger you're basically increasing the amount of money people are paying to access these car parks, and increasing costs for those who rent office spaces and apartments above them.

"Another possibility is less parking might be built, forcing the choice on the people who would otherwise need car access to opt-out.

"It also ties up developers arguing over the planning process.

"By adding more red tape for developers, there becomes a longer wait for development approvals."

Standards Australia is accepting public comment on the draft proposal until November 9, with the sizing increase set to be finalised in about six months.

A family whose "adored" son and brother was found dead aged just 33 after suffering from a toothache have finally been told how he died.

Bradley Tucek from Sydney had undiagnosed diabetes the family said, and his tooth infection also contributed to his death.

His sister Ally Valentine, who lives in Perth with the rest of his family, said they could never have guessed what the coroner's report would reveal.

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"There's not a single person who thought diabetes," she said.

"I'm pleased that they could find out what happened to him."

As reported by 9news.com.au last July, Tucek's dentist had given him antibiotics and Panadol to treat an infected tooth and booked him in to have it taken out a week later.

Tucek told his sister and parents Greg and Rose in messages on July 13, a Wednesday, that he had a toothache.

During their final conversation on the Saturday, he said he was too sick to talk.

"He had said to Mum, 'This is the worst pain I've ever been in,'" Valentine told 9news.com.au at the time.

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He then stopped responding to his family's messages, which was unusual, Valentine said.

He didn't turn up for work as as usual on the Monday, July 18.

Some of his worried colleagues went to Tucek's apartment in Naremburn in the city's north and found him dead on the kitchen floor.

Despite calling an ambulance, it was too late.

Police estimated that he had died on the Saturday night.

Now it has finally been confirmed Tucek died from a complication related to diabetes called diabetic ketoacidosis, the coroner's report, seen by 9news.com.au, said.

He had never been diagnosed with the common condition, where the body cannot produce enough insulin.

His tooth infection was also a "significant condition contributing to the death", the coroner's report notes.

Valentine said it's sad to know his death probably could have been prevented.

She said her brother had brushed off recent weight loss as being due to the pandemic, but this could have been the key to a diabetes diagnosis.

She said she believed he had the type 2 form of the condition.

Now she's urging other young men to get their health checked if they notice any changes.

"All he needed was insulin. What he had was completely manageable," Valentine said.

"Don't ever think you're silly for having a seemingly minor ailment checked out.

"To think his health issue could have been so easily picked up with a simple blood test.

"The consequences are devastating."

After his death, the family flew Bradley's body back to Perth and had a "really special" funeral, Valentine said.

She has given her new baby Joseph the middle name Bradley in his memory.

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Valentine is now planning a diabetes fundraiser to help raise awareness of the common condition.

"This can't have happened for nothing," she said.

There are two kinds of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, affecting 1.3 million Australians.

In 2020, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in Australia.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common, according to the ABS.

Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain on ss****@******om.au

A centi-millionaire is defined as someone who holds more than US$100 million in investable assets.

Thousands of people have gathered in Sydney's eastern suburbs for a Jewish vigil in support of Israel.

Close to 10,000 registered for the event in Dover Heights on Wednesday, including NSW Premier Chris Minns, who was introduced as "a true friend of the state of Israel", and federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Melbourne, where he spoke at a synagogue, but he was represented at the Sydney vigil by federal Health Minister Mark Butler.

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Police and guards were a visible presence as security was ramped up to allow people to mourn the more than 1000 victims of Hamas' horrifying attack on a music festival and a host of other Israeli targets at the weekend.

NSW Police said they didn't have any warning of direct threats, and the evening proceeded peacefully.

Minns earlier apologised for not giving the state's Jewish community a space to come together after the terrorist attack.

Jewish residents were urged not to attend a pro-Palestine protest as the Opera House was lit up in Israeli colours on Monday.

No marchers have been arrested but some were seen burning an Israeli flag and chanting anti-Semitic phrases.

"I really want to make it clear to the Jewish community that I want to apologise to them specifically on behalf of the government and myself as the premier of New South Wales," Minns said.

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Mark Spiro, who had an Israeli flag at the protest, wants his own apology after being arrested for what police said was "to prevent a breach of the peace for his safety".

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said he was removed from "what was a very conflictual protest that was happening for his own safety".

"I thought that was a bit of a cop out to be honest, it was very general," Spiro said.

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Police said another pro-Palestine protest planned for Sunday was "unauthorised at this stage" but conceded they could do nothing to stop it.

Palestine Action Group organiser Fahad Ali said it would be going ahead and pledged to do "everything to ensure that it is a peaceful protest".

The Human Rights Law Centre condemned the minister and the police for refusing to authorise the protest.

"The conflict unfolding between Israel and Palestine is a human rights catastrophe," acting legal director Alice Drury said in a statement.

"The NSW government – and governments across the country – must not use this moment to demonise and criminalise pro-Palestine protesters, who are raising awareness of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

"Anti-Semitism must never be tolerated, and nor should the silencing of peaceful protesters who are deeply worried about the potential for full scale war." 

Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed she and husband Will Smith have been living "completely separate lives" since 2016.

In a clip from her forthcoming NBC News primetime special with Hoda Kotb, Pinkett Smith said the couple had not previously gone public with their separation because they were not "ready yet".

They were "still trying to figure out between the two of us, how to be in partnership", she said.

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"How do we present that to people?" she told Kotb.

"We hadn't figured that out."

Pinkett Smith, 52, and Smith, 55, have been married since 1997. Pinkett Smith said they are not legally divorced.

Their marriage has come under scrutiny during the period she says they have been apart.

In July 2020, singer August Alsina revealed that he had been romantically involved with Pinkett Smith, something she confirmed during an episode with her husband on Red Table Talk.

"I got into an entanglement with August," Pinkett Smith said at the time, explaining then that the superstar couple "were going through a very difficult time" when it occurred.

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Then there was the Oscars slap.

During the 2022 Academy Awards, Smith stormed the stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock after he made a joke about Pinkett Smith being bald. She suffers from alopecia, which has caused her hair loss.

In a new interview with People, Pinkett Smith opened up about the incident, which she said, like many other people, she initially thought was a comedic bit between the two men.

"I thought, 'This is a skit.' I was like, 'There's no way that Will hit him,'" she recalled.

"It wasn't until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realised it wasn't a skit."

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She told the publication that as soon as they were alone she asked Smith, "Are you okay?"

Pinkett Smith told Kotb during their interview that the marriage fractured because of "a lot of things.

"I think by the time we got to 2016, we we both just exhausted with trying," Pinkett Smith said.

"I think we were both kind of still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be."

She said she "made a promise" that there would never be a reason for her and Smith to divorce "and I just haven't been able to break that promise", she said.

Pinkett Smith reveals more about her marriage, career and early life in her forthcoming memoir, Worthy. The book releases Oct. 17.

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