Australia's coronavirus booster shot program is being rolled out.

Here's everything you need to know about getting your third vaccination.

Covid booster eligibility

You are eligible for a booster if you are 18 or over – if you are under that age you do not yet require a booster.

LIVE UPDATES: Sweeping changes to COVID-19 rules in Victoria

You need to have had your second dose of any vaccine at least five months ago.

Amid the emergence of the new Omicron variant, that has been brought forward from six months.

You can check when you had your last shot on your vaccine certificate.

Booster doses are not mandatory, but are recommended by the Australian government,

Can you get a Moderna booster shot if you've had Pfizer or AstraZeneca jab?

Australia is using three COVID-19 vaccines- Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca- although the latter is being phased out.

READ MORE: State by state guide to Australia's latest vaccination rates and COVID-19 case numbers

You can have the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as a booster dose regardless of which vaccine you had for your first two doses.

The government says you can have AstraZeneca if you can't have the others for medical reasons, or if you had that for your first two.

It doesn't matter which brand you have.

Do you need two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to get a booster shot?

Yes, your booster shot is also known as a third vaccination.

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Where/how to book booster shots

You can book via the government site here.

Doctors surgeries, pharmacies and also state vaccination hubs are all now giving out booster shots.

Boosters remain free of charge.

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Omicron severity against booster shots

Studies are still under way into how vaccines protect against the new Omicron variant, which was first reported in southern Africa.

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Chief Medical Officer, Dr Brendan Murphy, said boosters have been made more important by Omicron.

"We do believe that as one gets towards six months, their waning immunity of the primary vaccination means that a booster will be very important to continue that protection against this variant," he said.

"We're still learning about Omicron, but that evidence seems to be coming out of the lab."

Why get a booster

Two doses of COVID-19 vaccine provide very good protection, especially against severe disease, according to the Australian Government.

A booster dose will make sure the protection from the first dose is even stronger and longer lasting, and should help prevent spread of the virus, it says.

Last week, Health Minister Greg Hunt said almost 700,000 people had already had their boosters in Australia.

By the start of January, 4.1 million Australians will be eligible to have the booster.

For more details visit the official government website

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With $1 million in your bank account you could purchase the median home in Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra – or you could pick up this 50-year-old 'Holy Grail' Australian muscle car.

This 1971 Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III is heading to auction in three days time where it is anticipated to fetch a number with seven figures.

At the time of publishing, the current bid on the vehicle was $715,000 with much of the money expected to come pouring in right before the gavel comes down.

READ MORE: Every NSW COVID-19 restriction that just changed

Sold by Lloyds auctioneers, the Phase III is just one of 12 vehicles that were ordered in the special "Yellow Glo" paint scheme, and features a distinctive Beige Vinyl Roof.

It is being re-offered to the market again after a non-settlement from a previous buyer.

"This car won outright Classic Grand Tourer at the Bathurst 2003 GT Nationals after a major restoration and runner up best restored Phase 3 at Adelaide GT Nationals in 2019.

"Running a fresh specification and period correct phase 3 solid engine with no mileage added in the last 18 years."

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The Phase III has just 30,875 miles (49,688 kilometres) on the odometer and features the legendary 5.8 litre 351 V8 mated to a four-speed manual gearbox.

In its heyday, the Phase III was widely regarded to be one of the best cars in the world.

Allan Moffat drove one example to win the Bathurst 500 in 1971 and the vehicle boasted a top speed of 228 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of 6.9 seconds.

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It's estimated there are fewer than 100 remaining examples of the 300 examples that were produced.

In 2018 the Phase III attracted worldwide attention after Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson sold his example for a then-record-breaking $1.03 million.

Do you have a vehicle gathering dust in the shed which might be worth a fortune? We'd love to hear your stories. Email Stuart at sm****@******om.au

This particular vehicle is set be sold this weekend and an online listing of the car can be viewed here.

The Federal Government has limped out of 2021 in bad shape.

So says the 9News political team in Parliament House, handing down a tough verdict in their year in review.

"The government's had a bad year," political editor Chris Uhlmann said.

"There's no way to look at it other than that."

READ MORE: Greg Hunt gives tearful farewell address to Parliament after 20 years

There were scandals at the start of the year and the end, with a difficult vaccine rollout and stoushes between Scott Morrison and the state governments.

"What he needs is for everyone to have a great Christmas," Uhlmann said.

"For the economy to bounce back in the New Year, and for him to bring down a budget that then pushes the government into an election campaign."

For Anthony Albanese, the challenge in the coming election will be matching Mr Morrison's campaign pace.

"It's going to be a test of how much can he campaign on the ground?" political reporter Jonathan Kearsley said.

"The Prime Minister proved last time he was a formidable campaigner."

READ MORE: Jacqui Lambie oblivious to 'rumblings' during speech

9News political reporter Eliza Edwards said the sexual abuse and harassment scandals hurt Mr Morrison in particular.

"A lot of the anger was directed at the Prime Minister's response," she said.

"This has been a weakness for Scott Morrison this year."

The 9News politics team discussed these issues and many others in their Year in Review.

For more on the year in politics, watch the video at the top of this article.

There's usually a sense of excitement about what lies beneath the Christmas tree, but for one festive family the biggest surprise was lurking in the branches up above.

Rob and Marcela Wild wasted no time in calling in a professional after they discovered one of Africa's most venomous snakes hiding between the tinsel and baubles at their home in South Africa on Friday.

Having decorated the tree just hours earlier, they spotted their cats staring at its branches.

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Rob Wild, a British stock market trader who moved with his Costa Rican wife to South Africa 18 years ago, told CNN on Tuesday: "The cats were peering into the tree and my wife said 'there's probably a mouse in there somewhere.'"

They soon discovered a rather different animal staring back, however — a boomslang.

"I didn't know what it was at the time but then I Googled what snakes are in our area and it came up immediately as a boomslang. I thought 'holy Moses, this is the king of all poisonous snakes,'" the 55-year-old said.

The boomslang is known as a shy species, but it is one of the most venomous in Africa.

The animal's venom causes haemorrhages and can be fatal to humans in small amounts.

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Snake catcher Gerrie Heyns confirmed the animal's identity when he arrived at the family's property in Robertson, the Western Cape, soon afterwards. The snake was female and between 1.3 metres and 1.5 metres long, Mr Heyns told CNN on Tuesday.

He said he instructed the family to stay away from the tree, but to "keep their eyes on the snake" until his arrival.

"The snake stayed in the tree for two hours until I got there," Mr Heyns said. He used "snake tongs" to place it on the floor, where it was "easier to handle," he added.

"Once I had it under control the family came right up to see the snake," Mr Heyns said.

"It didn't try to bite or be defensive because I gave it no reason to. A scary moment turned into an exciting moment for the children."

He then held it behind the neck and placed it in a "snake tube."

As it was getting dark, Mr Heyns took the reptile home where he temporarily housed it in a snake enclosure before releasing it back into the wild on Sunday.

READ MORE: Christmas parties could spark Omicron wave

Mr Heyns said the snake would have likely entered the property in search of food, water and shelter.

"Probably when it saw the first movement it tried to escape into the nearest hiding place which was the tree," he said.

Mr Heyns, who has removed hundreds of snakes from South African homes, said that bites from a boomslang are rare.

Mr Heyns said that in his eight years as a professional catcher, he has only been bitten once — and that was because he hadn't realised the animal had been shot and was acting defensively.

"They (snakes) are very reluctant to bite but have just been demonised so much," he added.

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If there had been turnstiles around Blacktown Showground, they would have been ticking over merrily, as an excited crowd gathered in the early morn, to watch the inaugural Feel The Magic Cow Pat Lotto.

For those new to the sport, it presents itself as a large field gridded in squares and randomly numbered, rimmed by a portable cyclone fence, which at one point funnels into a cattle shoot, hinting at the participants and objectives.

Soon a truck reverses to shunt the competitors in, each bovine bedecked in a coloured yoke of fabric, representing its divisional prize worth, the $10,000 dollop to be delivered by the bessy in blue.

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"The blue sash is first prize; that means the cow pooing for that prize," confirms judge Ben Coverdale.

The contentious issue of multiple squares is quickly addressed.

"It'll be the square with the majority pat in it," says Judge Coverdale.

It was now to the action. But there would be no action.

The five would graze heartily for their collective 20 stomachs, but there would be no important movement at the other end of the alimentary canal.

Judge Coverdale had other concerns.

"My biggest issue at the moment, that I'm worried about, is whether they'll eat the numbers off," he said, distracted by more gnawing of numerals.

READ MORE: Christmas parties could spark Omicron wave

There would be an informed audience watching on.

"Could be waiting a while," quipped a fellow observer.

"Well," I say, "that's Cow Pat Lotto, madam. Just waiting for that tell tale tail lift," I add.

She agrees, "once the tail moves, we'll be right."

The reason for today's tournament, to raise money for a small, uniquely homegrown charity, helping kids cope through camping, during what can be the most traumatic and truly awful of times.

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"Feel the Magic is an Australian charity, that helps kids that are seven to 17 who experience the death of a parent," informs Feel The Magic CEO Adam Blatch.

"One in 20 kids will experience this kind of grief."

But sadly for the sport, only two cows would play from the lower prize divisions, the big money drawn from the random laptop barrel.

I confer with the boss post-match, "I spose you've picked up some lesson for next year; maybe five corks?"