The federal government is launching a new MyGov app, promising it will be easier to use and won't send users bouncing between services.

Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten made the announcement this morning, saying the upgraded system has been years in the making.

"No more annoying MyGov Inbox messages which then send you somewhere else to go somewhere else and you're chasing your tail all day long," he said.

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The mobile app will use the phone's security infrastructure rather than the government's own authentication, making it safer.

It will also include a digital wallet and eventually will be able to be used as a form of ID for companies or services that require multiple points of identification.

"This shouldn't be revolutionary news, but for government services in this country we have just taken a quantum leap forward," Shorten said.

"We're just going to save people time."

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The new MyGov app links government services such as Medicare, the ATO, Centrelink and allows people to apply for things like disaster payments.

It is available to be downloaded from the Apple or Google Play stores now.

Digital coaching will be available for those who need help navigating the technology.

An Australian driver found her car had become a haven for an unwanted hitchhiker, when a snake popped out of the bonnet of her car on a major highway.

Kerry Jenkins was driving with her partner and child when the snake started to slither over the hood of the car.

A now viral video, originally shared to TikTok, reveals the pair's reaction to the encounter.

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After a short and sharp swear word, Jenkins identified the animal as a green tree snake, a species harmless to humans.

"Babe you need to pull over," she said, as the animal struggled to find purchase on the car.

Her partner was less sure of the identification and refused.

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"It's so f******ng scary," he said.

"I'm not getting out.

"Do they bite?".

Eventually the car slowed to turn off the highway and the snake disappeared from view.

"I don't think it came out. It wasn't on the road," Jenkins said hopefully.

The video has attracted many comments on social media.

One user wrote: "I'd have definitely pulled over. There's an emergency slip at roadside".

While another said, "this is literally my worst nightmare".

Green tree snakes can reach 1.8 metres in length and can be found throughout the northern tropics and eastern Australia.

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Government bonds are considered one of the safest investments out there, but one Sydney woman says her attempts to create a retirement nest egg with them turned into a nightmare.

It all started for 61-year-old mum Paula* back in September when she began looking into government investment bonds online.

"With the cost of living going up, I was thinking anything I can do to earn a little bit of extra money will help," she said.

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Government bonds are a way for investors to lend money to the government, usually at a slightly higher interest rate than a term deposit at a bank would offer. 

The interest is paid at regular intervals until the bonds reach their maturity date and the initial investment is returned.

Eager to get started, Paula did a search online and clicked on a link for what appeared to be a Commonwealth Bank advertisement selling government Treasury bonds.

Paula filled out an enquiry form with her details and waited for someone to get back to her with more information.

Not long after, a man claiming to be a Commonwealth Bank account manager phoned Paula.

"He said, 'My name is Tom Harrison, I'm from the Commonwealth Bank and this call is being recorded,'" Paula said. 

"He sounded very convincing and official.

"Straight away, I believed him – and that's what got me into trouble. I went along with it and it turned into a nightmare."

At Paula's request, the man sent her some more information about the government bonds via email.

All of the documents had prominent Commonwealth Bank branding.

The interest rate being offered was 5.5 per cent, which was a per cent or two higher than what Paula had seen offered elsewhere.

Paula decided to use $75,000 of her savings – which she had sitting in a Qudos Bank account – to buy the bonds.

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She said she initially transferred $1000 to the account the man nominated as a way to test she had the right account number.

"It went through but then the man said to me, 'I'll have to refund you that $1000 because the process is we have to do (the purchasing) in bulk,'" Paula said.

"I think this was a strategy to make me trust him more, and it worked, because what kind of scammer would refund money?"

Paula then transferred the $75,000 over three instalments and was sent a digital certificate confirming her purchase.

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at What to do if you have been hacked

This unassuming home in one of Sydney's richer suburbs has sold for a whopping $16.3 million.

Indonesia's highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava on Sunday in its latest eruption.

Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3676-metre Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.

Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported.

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Several hundred residents, their faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.

Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1500 metres into the sky while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru's slopes toward a nearby river.

Increased activities of the volcano on Sunday afternoon prompted authorities to widen the danger zone to eight kilometres from the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

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He said scientists raised the volcano's alert level to the highest and people were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.

Semeru's last major eruption was in December last year, when it blew up with fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud.

Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.

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The government moved about 2970 houses out of the danger zone.

Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the last 200 years.

Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Each week, BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackle a different money problem. Today, it’s the opportunities for your money in a high interest rate environment. Hosted by Frances Cook. Talk about interest…

About 1700 seals have been found dead on the Caspian Sea coast in southern Russia, officials said on Sunday.

The authorities in the Russian province of Dagestan said that it's still unclear what caused the animals' deaths, but they likely died of natural reasons.

Regional officials initially said Saturday that 700 dead seals were found on the coast, but on Sunday Zaur Gapizov, head of the Caspian Environmental Protection Centre, said according to the state RIA Novosti news agency that after a broader inspection of the coast the number of dead animals was 1700.

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Gapizov said the seals likely died a couple of weeks ago.

He added that there was no sign that they were killed by poachers.

Experts of the Federal Fisheries Agency and prosecutors inspected the coastline and collected data for laboratory research, which didn't immediately spot any pollutants.

Several previous incidents of mass deaths of seals were attributed to natural causes.

The data about the number of seals in the Caspian varies widely.

The fisheries agency has said the overall number of Caspian seals is 270,000-300,000, while Gapizov's centre put the number at 70,000.

A man has been bitten on the leg by a saltwater crocodile near a popular remote campsite in the WA Kimberley.

Kyle Hutchinson had been walking with friends when he faced the predator.

He was left with six deep gashes near his knee, which he says was from a 1.5-metre saltwater crocodile.

READ MORE: Mother-of-three killed in home as daughter pleaded for help

https://twitter.com/9NewsPerth/status/1599334886053384195

He was walking with friends near Buttons Crossing – north of Kununurra close to the Northern Territory border and eight hours south-west of Darwin – when he stepped in a deep puddle and felt a searing pain.

A car boot was turned into a makeshift hospital bed while onlookers performed first aid.

Hutchison was rushed to Kununurra District Hospital.

Doctors were amazed all of the gashes missed tendons and vital arteries.

Just two hours after his ordeal, the Kimberley local made his way to the pub with friends.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife is investigating and encourages all attacks to be reported.

A man has been charged with murder after a mother-of-three was stabbed to death in her home at Sandhurst in Melbourne's south-east.

The 44-year-old woman's daughter rushed to her neighbours for help, but her mother could not be saved.

In CCTV footage, the daughter can be heard knocking on her neighbours' door and pleading for assistance.

WARNING: Some people may find the content in this article distressing.

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"Please, please, please," the daughter says, before adding horrifying details of the alleged attack.

"I'm pretty sure she's dead."

"We're coming, we're coming, we're coming," a neighbour can be heard yelling out.

But it was too late, her mother, Nelomie Perera, had been killed.

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"She was just saying, 'My mum's dead, my mum's dead'," neighbour Paul Vavitis told 9News.

Police said in a statement a 45-year-old Sandhurst man had been charged with murder.

9News understands the man charged was the mother-of-three's husband, Dinush Kurera.

Kurera is alleged to have also attacked their teenage son, who managed to escape with a non-life-threatening head injury and was taken to hospital for treatment.

The horrifying ordeal unfolded in Perera's Sandurst home just before midnight.

9News understands Perera recently separated from her husband.

Neighbours said she had just changed the locks on the family home.

Those who knew Perera say she was a kind and sweet woman and an excellent mother.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 13 11 14.

A Melbourne man accused of being an Islamic State terrorist has been extradited to Victoria and charged with six terrorism offences.

Neil Prakash, 31, allegedly joined and supported Islamic State in 2014, and is also accused of travelling to Syria and undertaking hostile acts in 2016.

The former rapper was deported from Turkey last week and could face a life sentence if found guilty.

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Prakash originally flew into Darwin where he was arrested by Australian Federal Police.

Northern Territory Local Court Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris granted an extradition order on Friday to transfer Prakash from the NT to Victoria.

Among the charges Prakash will face in Melbourne Magistrate's Court are: engaging in hostile activity in a foreign state and country, being a member of a terrorist organisation, supporting and advocating for terrorism.

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His arrest comes after a seven-year joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police as part of a counter terrorism operation.

An arrest warrant was originally issued for Prakash six years ago in 2016.

"The AFP Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) has worked tirelessly on this investigation since March 2015 to ensure this man could be brought before the courts," AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Sandra Booth said.

"The AFP and our partners are committed to keeping Australians safe."

Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Assistant Commissioner Michael Hermans said today's result came from a "tireless and collaborative effort" from Victoria Police and the AFP as part of the JCTT.

"The safety of the Victorian community is Victoria Police's number one priority and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure this," Assistant Commissioner Hermans said.

Prakash has been described as allegedly being the "most important and the most dangerous" Australian member of Islamic State.

He was arrested in Turkey in 2016 for allegedly fighting for the terrorist group in Syria and later moved to an immigration detention centre.

The jihadist appeared in several videos trying to recruit fellow Australians to the IS fight, as well as fighting himself for the terrorist organisation overseas.

Prakash has also been implicated in at least two terror plots on Australian soil, including the Anzac Day plot to behead a Melbourne police officer.

The former Coalition government tried to have Prakash's Australian citizenship cancelled, but that was effectively overturned by the High Court.

He landed in Darwin on the same flight as Tony Haddad, an alleged crime figure extradited from Turkey after a major manhunt.