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Australia's wages are going up across the board, but with inflation continuing its upwards spiral, it's still effectively a pay cut.

Prices have gone up 6.1 per cent in the past 12 month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

But according to data from March, average wages in Australia have only gone up 3.4 per cent.

EXPLAINED: What is inflation? And how a record-high CPI might affect you

Fair Work Australia raised the minimum wage in recent weeks to keep in line with inflation.

But University of Melbourne sociology professor Irma Mooi-Reci said most people not on the minimum wage were not getting pay increases in line with inflation.

"It is fair to say that the average pay increases in the private sector are lower than the recent increases in the minimum wages," she said.

She noted the data did not include extra earnings from bonuses or promotions.

And yet, the unemployment rate is at a 48-year-low of 3.5 per cent.

With countless job vacancies in nearly every industry, it would be expected to see wages go up to compete for workers.

But that hasn't happened.

READ MORE: Australia records fastest rise in inflation since introduction of GST

"One of the reasons for this could be attributed to the expectation of firms that labour immigrants will soon return and will fill the current skill shortages," Mooi-Reci said.

"Another reason may be related to the fact that Australians are not massively changing jobs or resigning to bargain for higher wages, thus different from trends we have seen in the US. 

"Such trends indicate that there are fewer forces of demand for wage increases from workers' side."

While America saw what was described as a "great resignation" post-pandemic, a similar trend hasn't happened here.

Instead most Australians are staying in their jobs and hoping for a raise.

READ MORE: How inflation is impacting your shopping trolley

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the cost-of-living crisis was happening at the same time as record corporate profits and CEO bonuses.

"Profits have skyrocketed and working people are really feeling cost of living pressures with inflation spiking," she said.

"Employers can afford pay increases and workers need and deserve them, but too many employers are trying to keep wage increases low to protect their profits.

"Our bargaining system is no longer generating wage growth which keeps pace with the cost of living and is not fit for purpose – it's time for change."

So is there any hope for a solution to the inflation crisis soon?

READ MORE: Federal Reserve makes history with second massive rate hike in as many months

"If 'soon' means as of this year, then the answer will probably be no," Mooi-Reci said.

"However, if 'soon' means in the next couple of years, then the answer is 'of course' we will certainly see wage growth match inflation."

In between now and then, it is almost certain Australian mortgage holders will see more interest rate rises to cool the economy.

You can read our full explainer on what inflation is – and how it affects you – here.

A woman allegedly jumped into an elderly woman's car, then threatened and attacked the 80-year-old, pulling her hair and holding a carving fork to her neck.

The shocking attack occurred in St Kilda, in Melbourne's inner south-east, about 1.40pm on July 6.

The elderly woman was getting into her car on St Kilda Road when the stranger opened the passenger door and climbed into the passenger seat.

READ MORE: 'I felt so dumb': Scammers posing as Telstra steal $12k from single mum

The woman allegedly then threatened the victim with what police believe was a large carving fork, holding it to the victim's neck.

The woman also pulled the victim's hair as she demanded money.

The woman then ordered the victim drive her to the airport.

However, the victim only drove her attacker to Carlisle Street, St Kilda where woman got out of the car.

The victim then drove home and contacted police.

Police are calling for the public's help to track down the woman.

She was wearing a white-coloured long sleeve shirt, light coloured pants, a black jacket wrapped around her shoulders and black shoes, and was carrying a backpack.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

Police classify the incident as an aggravating carjacking and kidnapping.

READ MORE: Victorian school collapses into administration, leaving families two days to find new schools for students

Tamara Watkins was in her late twenties when she started to get severe back pain and headaches.

The young mother-of-three went to her GP, who ordered an x-ray, but the image showed nothing unusual.

Unsure what was wrong, her GP referred her to an osteopath in the hope that regular massage sessions would help her get on top of the chronic pain.

READ MORE: The unsuspecting borrowers now facing a mortgage cliff

But Watkins' symptoms just kept getting worse.  

"I remember going to the osteo and being on her table and just vomiting uncontrollably," Watkins told 9news.com.au.

"I was getting extreme headaches and tingling down my arm and into my leg."

Just turning her neck could induce sudden feelings of nausea, Watkins said.

Concerned, Watkins' osteopath pushed her to get more tests done.

An MRI revealed the cause of her debilitating pain – a bone spur on her spine brought on by osteoarthritis.

"It looked like a bird's beak and it was growing into my spine," she said.

"If it hadn't been picked up it could have resulted in more permanent damage."

READ MORE: Dashcam captures road rage incident with Rex Hunt

Watkins needed high-risk surgery to remove the spur and replace a crushed disc.

"It took three years to find a surgeon that would operate," she said.

Doctors also gave Watkins some confronting news.

"The saddest part was when the doctors advised me against having any more children because of my condition," she said.

Watkins said she was also shocked to be diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 28.

"I didn't actually think of it as arthritis, because when you think of arthritis you think of 80 year-old-men who are crippled with it. 

"I didn't really put myself into that category."

Watkins, who is now 46, went on to have a successful surgery.

She also defied the odds by having another healthy child, who is now six years old.

While she still experiences some pain due to her osteoarthritis, Watkins said the symptoms had become manageable with the help of regular treatments with her osteopath.

Data from the 2021 Census shows that about 2.2 million Australians are now living with arthritis.

READ MORE: Robodebt victims still waiting for $112 million in settlement payments

This makes arthritis the second-most common long-term health condition, after issues relating to mental health.

A recent survey by Osteopathy Australia showed one in six Australians with arthritis live with chronic pain every day.

Almost one in five Aussies said their pain would have to be so bad that they were unable to move before seeking the help of a health professional.

Osteopathy Australia president Dr Michelle Funder said it was a misconception that having arthritis meant you had to suffer through severe pain.

"Although there is no cure for arthritis, osteopathy may help to reduce pain, ease swelling and improve mobility and range of joint movement," Funder said.

"Early diagnosis and improving a person's lifestyle are key to preventing further degeneration, and to help them perform daily activities more easily."

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au.

Police have charged six teens for crashing an allegedly stolen BWN into a Brisbane man's home.

The teens were being tracked by police while "driving erratically" through Blackbutt, in Brisbane yesterday afternoon when the car smashed into a house on Oxley Station Road, Oxley, in Brisbane's south.

"In its efforts to avoid police its come into the backstreets here in Oxley, our investigations at this stage indicate it has lost control, gone into the park through some barricades and gone into the garage of a house and collected a car in that house," Inspector Carl Hahne from Queensland Police said.

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All seven teens were arrested and taken to hospital for assessment.

A resident, a man aged in his 50s, was treated for chest pains and shock at the scene and taken to hospital for assessment.

Inspector Hahne said the man's injuries appeared minor with QAS treating muscular injuries.

"Luckily for that person it appears they were hit by flying debris and not the vehicle itself, very lucky," he said.

READ MORE: The unsuspecting borrowers now facing a mortgage cliff

"This is a very dangerous situation, there seems to be some speed involved due to the damage of the house.

"Thankfully this was in the middle of the day and not around school time when maybe students would have been coming from the station up the road."

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with unlawful and unlicensed driving, dangerous driving, negligent acts causing harm and trying to prevent arrest over his alleged involvement in the crash.

He was also charged with three counts of wilful damage and two counts stealing.

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of unlawful vehicle use and stealing.

A 14-year-old boy and three 13-year-old boys were also charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and stealing.

All six boys appeared in the Richlands Children's Court this morning.

Police allege the BMW was stolen from Paddington July 26.

Two sisters found dead inside a unit in Sydney's south-west have been identified by police as the investigation into their "suspicious" deaths intensify.

The bodies of Asra and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli are believed to have "been there for some time" when they were found in separate rooms of their Canterbury home on June 7, police said.

Their landlord had become concerned about food left in common areas of the complex and contacted police.

"The circumstances are somewhat unusual," Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft from Burwood Police said today.

READ MORE: Toddler dies from COVID-19 in Brisbane

"The girls were 23 and 24 years old and they have died together in their home, its unusual because of their age and the nature of the matter."

Post mortems have been completed on the sisters but their cause of death is not yet known, prompting police to renew their appeal.

"Our investigation is ongoing and in consultation with the coroner we have decided to release their names," Allcroft said.

The duo arrived in Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017, but outside that police said they "don't know a lot about the girls".

"We've spoken to people as part of out investigation but we would like to get further information from the community," Allcroft said.

READ MORE: Sydney man's mystery death days after tooth infection

https://twitter.com/WesternWilson9/status/1552094127143038976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"Any information, no matter how small you think it might be might, will help us work out the circumstances leading up to the deaths."

Police are still waiting on the coroner's report.

The investigation continues.

Police in South Australia said they are "cautiously optimistic" after an Australian researcher claimed to have discovered the identity of Somerton man.

The University of Adelaide's Professor Derek Abbott said on Tuesday that the body of a man found on a beach in 1948 was that of Carl "Charles" Webb.

The identity has not been confirmed by authorities but South Australia Police on Wednesday released a statement welcoming the development.

READ MORE: Australia records fastest rise in inflation since introduction of GST

"South Australia Police are still actively investigating the 'Somerton Man' coronial matter," a police spokesperson said.

"We are heartened of the recent development in that case, and are cautiously optimistic that this may provide a breakthrough.

"We look forward to the outcome of further DNA work to confirm the identification which will ultimately be determined by the Coroner."

Webb was a Melbourne-born electrical engineer and instrument maker who went missing in 1947.

READ MORE: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson storms out of Senate during Acknowledgement of Country

"He was born in 1905 in Footscray, Victoria," Abbott told Today Extra on Wednesday morning.

"In the '40s, he lived in South Yarra and we found his occupation was an instrument maker. And he basically falls off the radar around 1947. We can't find any documentation or information about him at all."

Abbott said he was "99.99 per cent" confident in his identification after looking at several pieces of DNA evidence.

READ MORE: Farming body says border closure would 'increase' foot and mouth disease risk

"We managed to extract enough DNA from one of the Somerton man's hairs and, from that DNA, we were able to then find a distant cousin that is still alive, he said.

"That cousin turned out to be on the paternal side of Charles Webb. And the way we found Charles Webb is to expand that family tree out from that distant cousin and we ended up building this family tree with 4000 people on it… it's like a Sudoku puzzle with 4000 slots on it.

"Charles Webb was right in the middle of it with six siblings in the family, and he was the only one of the six siblings with no date of death. No documentation. We could not find a death certificate."

Abbott said the final proof of the identity "fell into place" on Saturday.

"We then tunnelled down through the maternal line and found a distant cousin on his mother's side that also matched," he said.

"And so that's like that triangulation – they meet at a point and that's Carl Webb. And we've found other matches that also go to that point now."