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A rare tornado has ripped through the NSW Central West, destroying property and causing multiple injuries.

The tornado hit Clear Creek, north-east of Bathurst, this afternoon, whipping up debris and damaging homes.

Photos and videos show a huge dark cloud covering the sky with the base of the tornado creating a flurry of damage in its wake.

READ MORE: 'Triple threat' storm system to hit Australia's east today, 'ideal for thunderstorm asthma'

The tornado left a trail of destruction for kilometres, smashing windows, tearing roofs off and completely flattening some properties.

Cathy Jones and her family could only watch as the destructive force hit her home, smashing windows and flinging furniture into the garden.

"It took the house, the roof, took everything," Ms Jones said.

"Trampoline we seen fly down into the next door neighbour's paddock, it's up a tree, probably 60 feet high.

"Everything was just swirling around, the house, there isn't much left."

The village of Meadow Flat was also smashed, with corrugated iron roofs ripped away and more homes destroyed.

At least three people in the region were injured, NSW Ambulance said.

A 47-year-old man suffered cuts to his arm at the property destroyed by the tornado at Curly Dick Rd Meadow Flat east of Bathurst. He was taken to Orange Hospital for observation.

A woman suffered neck and back injuries at a property on Limekilns Road Clear Creek north of Bathurst, and she was taken to Bathurst Hospital.

A man at the same location suffered cuts to his face but didn't need to go to hospital.

"It's not every day you get called out to a tornado and this one packed quite a punch," NSW Ambulance Inspector Meah Ferguson said.

"When we arrived on scene we found extensive damage to the patient's dwelling and surrounding areas."

"When you look at the kind of damage the tornado caused, it's lucky the patient escaped with relatively minor injuries."

The NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) confirmed the system is in fact a tornado, and said there are severe storm warnings in place for much of the state.

Severe thunderstorms are sweeping across parts of south-eastern Australia this afternoon, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

A large low-pressure system and trough are extending north of the Victorian border, through New South Wales and southern Queensland.

The system is bringing damaging and destructive weather to parts of the country, such as the NSW Central West.

READ MORE: Three injured as tornado tears through Central West NSW

In NSW, a tornado ripped through Clear Creek, north-east of Bathurst, this afternoon.

There are reports of damage to houses, trees and powerlines in the area.

Fresh storms are moving along the inland trough, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, bringing widespread rain over Victoria and southern NSW.

READ MORE: Victoria records staggering 1438 new COVID-19 cases

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Storms and heavy rain are also lashing parts of Brisbane, with two centimetres of hail in Sherwood and power outages reported in the Samford Valley.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also reported up to six centimetres of hail in the southern Darling Downs.

A severe thunderstorm warning is in place, with storms continuing to develop over central and southeastern parts of Queensland.

Those who suffer from asthma have been told to take care, as thunderstorms move across parts of the country.

"The weather predictions for the next week are ideal for thunderstorm asthma," Victoria's AMA president Dr Roderick McRae told Today.

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"Anybody with a known diagnosis of asthma, please take your preventative medications."

His comments come as Victoria's hospital system is facing a surge in admissions, due to the coronavirus pandemic with one paramedic describing the emergency department conditions as "already apocalyptic".

In 2016, a thunderstorm that hit Melbourne left thousands gasping for air, killing 10.

"It's only a prediction," Dr McRae said.

"But it's certainly stressing the system. The ambulances are already queued outside. So certainly I hope there's plenty of oxygen and adrenaline available in all of the emergency departments."

The wet and stormy weather will also spread to the ACT and across the Bass Strait and affect parts of northern and eastern Tasmania.

Toddler drowning deaths have surged to a four-year high prompting an urgent warning from child safety advocates.

Olympic swimmer and father-of-six Matt Welsh has thrown his support behind the campaign to save lives.

The Kidsafe ambassador has two kids aged under five and knows how quickly toddlers can get into trouble.

READ MORE: Illegal parties partly blamed for Victoria's huge spike in COVID-19 cases

"Kids see things from a very different perspective than we do, we see the gate and think that's probably all that's needed," he said.

"But they will find any opportunity to get in there because they don't see the dangers."

Last financial year, Victoria recorded the highest number of childhood drownings in more than two decades.

With summer still months away, the number of toddler drownings is already up 108 per cent on last year, with 25 deaths.

"It's like a split second – if you take your eyes off your children and you don't have that safety in place, accidents can happen," mother Mel Anderson said.

Ms Anderson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after her then 10-month-old son nearly drowned after he fell into a backyard swimming pool.

His life was saved by a family member who knew CPR.

"I'm one of the lucky ones that he's still here," she said.

READ MORE: Pandemic a key factor behind Australia's drowning deaths spike

Two per cent of the most recent toddler drownings happened in backyard pools and spas, despite tough new regulations around fencing being introduced last year.

The risk is being compounded by lockdown fatigue and swimming school shutdowns.

"Families are spending a lot more time in and around their homes and that's why it's so important we put these checks in place now and make sure our barriers are in proper working order and that we've got that active adult supervision," Kidsafe Victoria general manager Jason Chambers said.

People are also being encouraged to learn CPR as a precaution.

"There have been many cases where something has gone wrong and someone has known what to do, so a huge part of keeping kids safe," Mr Welsh said.

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More Australian employers are offering their staff a four-day working week as a form of flexible conditions, a new study has found.

Those who took part in the shortened week reported feeling "less stressed" and had less of a "risk of burnout".

Organisations offering a four-day week instead of five, at full-time hours, has risen by 29 per cent in the past four years.

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That's according to new data from Mercer's 2021 Australian Benefits Review.

That means more than one in four Australian organisations – 27 per cent – are offering this benefit to their employees.

The shift is being led by businesses "reimagining" their benefits programs to attract and retain employees, Mercer says.

READ MORE: Australians prefer working from home but switching off can be a challenge

"The clear themes emerging from this year's study are increased support for employee wellbeing – across mental, physical and financial – and flexibility is inextricably linked to this," Chi Tran, Head of Market Insights and Data at Mercer's workforce consulting practice, said.

"The pandemic has accelerated the way in which employers respond to the mental health needs of their people. And we know that flexibility can reduce workplace stress, boost mental well-being and encourage productivity.

"It's not surprising that organisations are investing in benefits that prioritise flexible work arrangements. It's integral to the employee experience."

And it appears the shorter working week is actually helping to boost overall productivity.

READ MORE: 'Triple threat' storm system to hit Australia's east

"Trials of a four-day work week in Iceland were an overwhelming success and led to many workers moving to shorter hours," Ms Tran said.

"Workers reported feeling less stressed and at risk of burnout, and said their health and work-life balance had improved."

Mercer says businesses were also looking at ways to expand their employee wellbeing programs with 97 per cent of companies having a program in place.

READ MORE: Victoria records staggering 1438 new COVID-19 cases, five deaths

A formal strategy or policy to support flexible working arrangements has been adopted by 76 per cent of organisations.

Meanwhile, 95 per cent offer an Employee Assistance Program, up from 89 per cent in 2019.

The most commonly provided items in the health and wellness programs include free access to healthy food, flu vaccinations, and health and wellbeing education seminars.

The Australian government's COVIDSafe app cost taxpayers $9.1 million, but has done little to stop the virus from spreading.

As of July, the app identified just 17 close contacts that had not already been identified by contact tracers, and none since October last year.

This is in spite of 7.6 million downloads of the app.

READ MORE: Some NSW restrictions may be lifted early

Speaking to a Senate select committee earlier today, Acting CEO of the Digital Transformation Agency Peter Alexander said they were not keeping track of how many Australians were still using it.

He also said he didn't know if any of the states or territories were currently using it in their contact tracing.

"It is available for the states to use," Mr Alexander said.

"You'd have to talk to the states and territories about their use of it."

LIVE UPDATES: No NSW-Queensland border bubble changes

Crossbench senator Rex Patrick had a droll response.

"I suspect Minister (Stuart) Robert is the only person using COVIDSafe," Senator Patrick said.

When COVIDSafe was released in April last year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison described it as "Australia's ticket to a COVIDSafe Australia".

The app was designed to use Bluetooth technology to detect whether a person had been in close contact with somebody with COVID-19.

But the app would only record a close contact if they had spent 15 minutes in close proximity. It also could not detect if people were on two sides of a wall in neighbouring buildings.

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