Australia's unemployment rate has risen to 4.5 per cent in April, surprising market watchers who largely expected the jobless rate to remain steady.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the number of employed people fell by 19,000 in April, while the number of unemployed people rose by 33,000.

The ASX200 rallied strongly soon after the result, as many suspect a weakening labour market would urge the RBA to hold or delay any further interest rate hikes.

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The figure of 4.5 per cent is the highest the unemployment rate has been since late 2021.

Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said the falls in employment were similar across both full-time and part-time roles.

"Compared to what we usually see in April, more people remained unemployed this month," he said.

"Both full-time and part-time employment fell, by 11,000 and 8000 people respectively."

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Harry McAuley, economist for Oxford Economics Australia, said while the war in Iran would be a factor, it would have to be a "lightning-fast response" from employers to be the primary contributor.

"It more likely reflects pre-war economic sentiment, compounded by the expected impacts of the oil crisis," McAuley said.

"We expect the unemployment rate to peak at 4.8 per cent in late 2027. A slowdown in private consumption and a tougher business environment should slow hiring.

"Business confidence has cratered under higher inputs and borrowing costs, which will flow through their hiring decisions."

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Jobless rate to influence RBA

After delivering three consecutive interest rate hikes this calendar year, today's unemployment figures will likely lessen the sentiment the central bank will deliver a fourth.

Wee Khoon Chong, APAC macro strategist at BNY, said today's surprise result will make the RBA move slower in hiking rates.

"The recent uptrend in the unemployment rate points to further weakness ahead," he said.

"This, along with easing in May PMI manufacturing and services confidence, is likely to imply a more cautious pace of RBA tightening ahead. The market has pared back rate-hike expectations, pricing in around one additional 25bp hike by the end of the year.

"That said, overall labour market conditions remain relatively tight. In our view, today's jobs data is not sufficient to counter the upside inflationary impact."

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A couple's marriage disintegrated after an empty hole was left in their backyard by a former AFL player-turned-fraudster.

Ex-Carlton and Port Adelaide footballer Nick Stevens, 46, faced a pre-sentence hearing at Melbourne's County Court today, where his victims aired the impact of his crimes.

A jury found him guilty of 12 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of using a false document, for stealing about $157,000 from six regional families with his pool business in 2017.

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While he installed six legally compliant pools under the supervision of a registered builder, Stevens went out on his own without the required licence, registration, permits or insurance.

Stevens had taken money from the families, but left them with non-compliant pools or failed to install a pool at all with giant holes left behind.

Many victims were retirees or close to retirement with "little fat" in their budgets, trying to install pools for their children or grandchildren in the sweltering regional town of Mildura, the court was told.

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"An exhausting and relentless nightmare that I was reminded of every day, seeing the hole in my yard," Ben Knight said, in a statement read to court by prosecutor Toni Stokes.

The offending took a toll on his family, who had been excited about getting a pool, but were left with an empty hole for years.

"The pressure led to fighting between me and my wife over financial loss … a rollercoaster that eventually led to the breakdown in our marriage," he said.

Rod Charman said Stevens' constant lies, empty promises and blaming of others had drained him emotionally and financially.

"Each time I was told an untruth I got increasingly anxious over the pool being supplied, to be duped by Stevens and his lies," he said.

"The build-up of these lies infuriated me. The impact on our children and grandchildren of not having a pool for Christmas, as we had been promised, was profound and affected me deeply."

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Stevens, who played 231 games in the AFL until retiring in 2009 due to injury, watched via videolink from Hopkins Prison in Ararat, where his lawyer said he will likely stay for the rest of his sentence.

Barrister Jim Stavris urged the judge to spare Stevens a longer prison term, as he had already spent 52 days behind bars since the verdict in March and there had been lengthy delays to finalising the matter.

Stevens' profile as a former footballer meant he was a vulnerable prisoner who had to be held in protection, he said as he asked for Stevens to receive a community work order.

"He's going to do his time a bit harder than most," Stavris said.

"The benefit to community is for him to get out and keep working … under a strict community corrections order, so he can look at ways that he can better himself."

Judge Fiona Todd ordered Stevens be assessed for a community corrections order, but noted that she was unlikely to hand him a sentence other than a term of imprisonment.

"The role of punishment, denunciation, is powerful in this," she said.

Stokes said Stevens had shown no remorse as he continued to maintain his innocence, and – coupled with the impact of his offending on victims – prison with a non-parole period was warranted.

Stevens was remanded in custody and will return to the court for his sentence on June 15.

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The identity of the photographer who allegedly stole and pawned the camera gear of a slain Bondi terror victim in the aftermath of the attack has been revealed.

Police allege that Danny James Ridley stole the camera equipment of 61-year-old retired police officer and photographer Peter Meagher during the terror attack, when 15 innocent people – including Meagher – were killed.

Following a raid at Ridley's family home in Sydney's west yesterday, police will allege the 35-year-old, who was also a photographer at the Hanukkah event, stole the equipment and pawned it for $800 just three days later.

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In March, Meagher's widow, Virginia Wynne-Markham, issued a plea on social media for any information about the missing camera after police and his family were unable to find it, and it was deemed stolen shortly after.

Wynne-Markham spent five months searching for her husband's camera so she could look at the images the 61-year-old took in the moments before his tragic death. 

She was overjoyed to know the camera had been retrieved.

"The best news I've had in 159 days," she said.

"To get his card back is amazing. It's the last little piece of him … I'll treasure that forever."

It is now alleged that the SD card inside Meagher's camera was found at Ridley's Marayong home.

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In the raid, heavily armed police seized a camera, handcuffs, and electronic devices, while a car search yielded a "small amount of white crystal powder" and other electronics.

Ridley was arrested and charged with multiple theft, drug, and weapon offences.

He was bailed and will return to court on June 22.

A total of 15 innocent people were killed on the evening of Sunday, December 14, when two men opened fire on the crowd of people attending the outdoor event.

One of the attackers, who police say was 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was killed by police, while his son, Naveed Akram, was injured and arrested, and remains before the courts.

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A school bus carrying more than 40 teenage students has crashed in Sydney's west, leaving the driver in a critical condition and several students injured.

Emergency crews were called to Erskine Park Road at Erskine Park about 1pm today after the bus veered off the road and crashed into a tree.

Police said the bus was carrying a teacher and 41 students in years 11 and 12.

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Paramedics treated a number of students at the scene, with five teenagers aged between 16 and 18 taken to hospital for treatment.

One is believed to have suffered fractures.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the driver, a man believed to be in his 50s, is suspected of having suffered a medical episode before the crash.

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He became trapped inside the vehicle for a short time before emergency crews freed him from the wreckage.

The driver was taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.

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Church Unlimited pastor Helen Verry died in 2022 after a roller door fell on her.

The update comes after Mel Homer announced she was “cancer-free”.

Renata Leaf faces court after destroying the Waikato house, valued at about $160,000.

The federal health minister has thrown millions of dollars at trying to get the worst outbreak of diphtheria in Australia's recorded history under control.

Mark Butler confirmed there have been 230 cases of the rare bacterial disease reported so far this year, with about 60 per cent being in the Northern Territory and the remaining in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Almost half of the cases are occurring in adults aged between 25 and 44. 

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"The number of cases we've reported since the beginning of 2026 is about 30 times the average we've seen over the last five years, and that number continues to increase," Butler said at a press conference today.

"This is a very serious outbreak of a very serious disease."

Diphtheria is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and death.

Even with treatment, one in 10 patients die, according to the Australian Centre for Disease Control.

Butler said the federal government will provide $7.2 million to increase the number of nurses to administer vaccinations and boost culturally safe communications after receiving a request from the Northern Territory government and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector.

"We are throwing everything we can at this to get it under control as quickly as possible," he said.

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Diphtheria is rare in Australia but occurs overseas and could have been brought into the country.

It is also easily spread in communities with low vaccination rates.

Butler said that while there has been a global decline in vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic, it was too early to assign a cause for the recent outbreak.

"There are a whole range of social determinants in remote communities that sometimes drive some of these infectious disease outbreaks as well, but I think we need to examine that closely in time," he said.

Butler added that the focus right now was boosting vaccination rates.

"It's important we control it, but it's also important that people get vaccines into their arms in affected areas as quickly as possible because at the end of the day, that is the most effective way to protect yourself and those around you," he said.

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"The success of childhood vaccination for diphtheria is, I'm told, really the reason why this outbreak is not causing serious issues for very young members of those communities."

Pharmacists have urged all Australians to check their diphtheria vaccination status.

"We know significant numbers of people are not up to date for their boosters," Pharmacy Guild of Australia national vice president Simon Blacker said.

Diphtheria is spread through respiratory droplets (which leave the mouth while talking, coughing or sneezing) or direct contact with the wound.

Symptoms include mild fever, sore throat, loss of appetite, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing and neck swelling. 

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Police say the man had been working up a tree when the fatal accident happened.

‘I reached for the wrong metaphor,’ Willis said of a comment she made earlier today.