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The High Court has rejected a request to hear the case of a four-year-old Tamil asylum seeker from Biloela who is seeking to apply for a visa to stay in Australia.

Lawyers for Tharnicaa Murugappan started the legal action after the child and her family were taken from their home in Biloela, in regional Queensland, in 2018 and placed into immigration detention on Christmas Island.

The rest of her family – including mother Priya, father Nades and sister Kopika – have exhausted their legal options to challenge the government's refusal to let them stay in the country.

READ MORE: Biloela family granted three-month bridging visa to stay in Perth

Both children were born in Australia but their parents do not have citizenship because they were deemed illegal arrivals.

In June, Tharnicaa was discharged from a Perth hospital after being medically evacuated from Christmas Island immigration detention centre.

They were held there for three years as they fought deportation to Sri Lanka.

The family has since been living in home detention in Perth.

READ MORE: Youngest daughter of Biloela family discharged from WA hospital

But a court order prevented them from being kicked out of the country.

Tharnicaa's lawyers had been fighting a law that states she can not even apply for a visa, unless Immigration Minister Alex Hawke exercises his discretion to allow it.

Her lawyers had been trying to convince the High Court that she does have a valid visa application already in play.

Tharnicaa's last chance now rests with the minister, who holds the power to overturn the decision.

"The matter is now in the hands of the Immigration Minister and he or she is able at any point in time to grant a visa including a visa that would allow the family to return to and live in Biloela where they would receive community support, stability, care and a sense of belonging," the family's lawyer Carina Ford said.

"The Australian people's support in this case has been overwhelming as they have related to the families hardship and the fact both children were born in Australia."

Tharnicaa's mother Priya has thanked Australia for the "love and support".

"Tharni and Kopi are still having to see doctors, but this could happen back in my community of Biloela," she said.

"Biloela is where the girls will get better and be safe. Please Minister Hawke, let us return to our community in Biloela."

But in a statement issued a short time ago, Mr Hawke said it would be "inappropriate" to comment further on the case.

"Today the High Court declined to grant the Sri Lankan family formerly resident on Christmas Island special leave to appeal," Mr Hawke said.

"I note the High Court's decision follows a series of previous decisions by the Department of Home Affairs, Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Federal Circuit Court, Federal Court, Full Federal Court and High Court in relation to the family.

"The family has a number of other ongoing legal matters. It is therefore inappropriate for me to comment further."

NSW has recorded 345 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday, with two more people dying after being diagnosed.

A record 151,000 tests were conducted.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said from 5pm, the local government areas of Bayside, Strathfield and Burwood would be included in the "areas of concern", with residents going into a tighter lockdown. 

READ MORE: Victoria records 21 new cases as businesses fear 'yo-yo' lockdown

"In relation to Bayside, the suburbs of particular concern are Bexley, Banksia and Rockdale where additional cases have been identified overnight so if you live in those suburbs in particular, please come forward and get tested," she said. 

"Also of course in Strathfield and Burwood, which are geographically smaller areas, but we are noticing relative to the population an increasing number of cases, and as a precaution those additional council areas have been brought into those areas of concern.  

"We are asking also people who live in the Inner West and Camden to be on extra watch and alert, and health authorities are watching the cases in those areas very closely." 

READ MORE: Three major changes to NSW lockdown orders amid COVID-19 crisis

Lockdown in the Hunter and Upper Hunter areas will be extended for another week, with new cases recorded overnight. 

They had been set to leave lockdown tomorrow. 

Armidale, Tamworth and the Northern Rivers areas recorded zero cases. 

In Dubbo, five cases were identified overnight, with a further case in western NSW. 

Two men in their 90s died from the disease yesterday.

One had received a single shot of AstraZeneca, while the second had had both shots of Pfizer.

The partially vaccinated man caught the disease as part of the Liverpool Hospital outbreak.

The fully vaccinated man contracted the disease at a nursing home in Summer Hill.

READ MORE: Three more Sydney LGAs under tougher lockdown measures

Ms Berejiklian has warned that the guilt of passing on the Delta variant to a loved one lasted "a lifetime". 

"I think we have seen a turnaround in some communities because people are realising, you might think you are okay with the virus, but your loved ones will not be," she said.  

"You could then go home and give it to those you care about the most and it has been horrific seeing those families, when people are at home and they have lost somebody closest to them, and the guilt that people have, knowing that they have infected their loved ones, it lasts a lifetime.  

"So not only do people have to live with the consequence of losing a loved one but living with the guilt of the rest of their lives. That is not something I would wish on anybody and people are starting to get that message. 

"We have seen some families having more than one death. We have seen somebody bring it home and unfortunately more than one person has died." 

Delay in support payments

Earlier, Ms Berejiklian "apologised profusely" to those still waiting on business support payments as the state nears two months in lockdown.

Speaking to 2GB radio host Ben Fordham, Ms Berejiklian said Service NSW had upgraded its capacity to deal with the demand.

"Hopefully by the end of the week or next week, the backlog will be cleared," she said.

"All eligible business will get every dollar they deserve."

READ MORE: High-risk locations across NSW on exposure sites list

She also urged anyone hoping to return to work in the coming months to get vaccinated as health authorities grapple with a plan to get the state back on track.

Ms Berejiklian said she had sought advice from Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on who may be able to return to work in September and October.

"What I've asked for is advice as to if people are fully vaccinated, what can we do safely in September and October and she is in the process of providing that advice, not yet but over the next few weeks," she said.

"If you want to get back to work, please get vaccinated."

The premier said the ban on rental evictions would "absolutely" be extended.

"When a government restricts your right to move freely, we need to support you during that time," she said.

https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/premier-refuses-to-admit-mistakes-in-handling-of-s/embed

Australia's roughly five million unvaccinated children will need to receive the coronavirus jab for the country to stem the Delta variant, according to an infectious diseases expert.

Professor Sanjaya Senanayake is the Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Canberra Health Services.

He told the Today show this morning that increasing numbers of children are becoming sick with the virus.

READ MORE: Vaccine rollout 'no longer a race, it's a bloody sprint' says Jacqui Lambie

"Definitely children do get very sick with Delta. And the reality is this: children cannot only get infected, they can transmit it as well," he said.

"And, therefore, when we think about immunisation going forward, we do have to think about the five million children who aren't eligible in the current vaccination rollout and see if we can get them vaccinated soon."

Federal and state governments' vaccination targets currently only take into account the eligible population, which is those over the age of 16.

READ MORE: Patients receive 'ultra-low dose' of COVID-19 vaccine at Brisbane hub

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged a vaccination target of 80 per cent of adults to see lockdowns end and COVID-19 treated more like a seasonal flu, with some ongoing restrictions to remain.

However, if children are to be included in this target, the state's vaccination push would need to include an additional 1.11 million jabs.

This is because 80 per cent of the state's adult population equates to only around 66 per cent of the total population.

In an Australian first, South Australia today moved to make both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines available to anyone aged over 16.

The two vaccines will be available at state-run clinics in the state from Monday, but younger teenagers and children are still restricted from receiving the jab.

"The studies are actually going on, particularly with those MRNA vaccines like Moderna and Pfizer."

Hackers have stolen some US$600 million in cryptocurrency from the decentralised finance (DeFi) platform Poly Network, in what it says is the largest theft in the industry's history.

A vulnerability in Poly Network allowed the thief to make off with the funds, the platform said begging the attacker to return the money.

"The amount of money you hacked is the biggest one in the DeFi history," Poly Network wrote in a letter to the attacker it posted to Twitter.

READ MORE: Ethereum booms as the 'environmentally friendly' crypto

"The money you stole is from tens of thousands of crypto community members… you should talk to us to work out a solution."

Poly Network urged other members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem to "blacklist" the assets coming from addresses used by the attacker to siphon away the funds — which included a mix of various coins including US$33 million of Tether, according to Tether's CTO.

(In a statement, Tether later said it froze the assets within 20 minutes of learning of the attack.)

READ MORE: Ethereum could overtake Bitcoin after major upgrade draws new buyers in

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it was "coordinating with all our security partners to actively help."

Poly Network links together the blockchains of multiple virtual currencies to create interoperability among them.

Following the hack, Poly Network established several addresses to which it said the attacker could return the money.

READ MORE: Top US official says crypto is ripe with 'fraud, scams and abuses'

And it appears the hacker is cooperating: As of 7:47 am ET Wednesday, Poly Network said, it had received about US$4.7 million back.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the hack.

By noon, much more money, about US$261 million, had been returned, according to the blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.

In notes appended to some of the transactions, Chainalysis said, the attacker claimed to have hacked Poly Network "for fun :)" and that he or she undertook the attack as a challenge.

READ MORE: Amazon posted one crypto job and Bitcoin surged 14 per cent

"I take the responsibility to expose the vulnerability before any insiders hiding and exploiting it!" the attacker wrote.

"I understood the risk of exposing myself even if I don't do evil. So I used temporary email, IP or _so called_ fingerprint, which were untraceable. I prefer to stay in the dark and save the world."

Once the hack had gained the world's attention, there was virtually no way for the hacker to safely withdraw the funds, Chainalysis said, because every transaction is recorded and traceable.

READ MORE: Bitcoin plunges as Delta variant fears spread globally

"With the inherent transparency of blockchains and the eyes of an entire industry on you, how could any cryptocurrency hacker expect to escape with a large cache of stolen funds?" the company wrote in its report.

"In most cases, the best they could hope for would be to evade capture as the funds sit frozen in a blacklisted private wallet."

Regulators have increased their scrutiny of crypto platforms as investors pour billions of dollars into digital currencies.

Senator Elizabeth Warren recently asked SEC Chair Gary Gensler to investigate the SEC's ability to oversee trading on crypto platforms.

In response, last week, Mr Gensler said: "Right now, I believe investors using these platforms are not adequately protected."

Global tech giant Samsung has revealed a range of new devices which give a glimpse into the future of smartphones and the company's new pricing strategy.

Samsung was the first company to announce a "folding screen smartphone" three years ago, but suffered issues with the screens of the first release as well as a high prices on both the first and second releases of the phones.

But now it appears the folding phone market has matured to a point of both reliability and price with the new models from Samsung launching at dramatically lower prices in 2021.

READ MORE: Samsung launches new more affordable smartphones

The flagship of the entire Samsung smartphone range will be the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, a tall smartphone which folds open like a book to reveal a large 7.6 inch tablet-like screen.

The 2021 model adds support for the famed "S Pen" a stylus used on the popular Samsung Note series of smartphones allowing you to write notes, draw or navigate the screen with the pen.

This addition pushes the previously much-loved Galaxy Note series outside of Samsung's range, with the company putting their high-end customers into the Folding basket, while also offering an "S Pen" compatible version of the Galaxy S21 range for those at what was the entry level Note market.

READ MORE: Samsung launches flagship 2021 smartphones, the Galaxy S21 range

Samsung says the new Z Fold3 5G is constructed from a new aluminium that is 10 per cent stronger, as well as being IPX8 Water resistant – a first for a folding smartphone device of any brand.

While slightly thinner, and lighter, it's not a radical shift from either of the two previous versions. Instead, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is refined, in every way.

Inside, on the larger "tablet" screen is another huge innovation, a first among major smartphone brands – an under-screen camera. There is no more "cut out" of the screen for the front-facing camera.

READ MORE: The $479 watch that can detect heart problems

Instead the lens sits under the LCD display, in what is a barely noticeable position.

The smaller sibling of the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.

This device looks more like a regular smartphone, but it folds in half to make a compact, easily carried device with the main smartphone screen protected.

In its "closed" state, the small front screen has been enlarged (4 times bigger) from previous generations. Acting as a fantastic at-a-glance look at time, notifications and many other widgets.

READ MORE: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 hands-on review

That screen also works as a viewfinder for any selfies using the main rear cameras.

Also slightly thinner and lighter, the Z Flip3 5G is once again utterly refined, better quality edges, materials and overall design, with several colours available and set to attract a very young and female skewed audience to this revolutionary form factor.

The biggest news from these announcements is the price. For the last two years, Galaxy Fold devices have been priced at $2,999 and least year's Z Flip device hit the market at $2,199.

READ MORE: What you need to know about Samsung's latest gadgets

Staggeringly, the 2021 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G will retail in Australia for $2,499, with the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G priced at $1,499.

That $1,499 price will put the stylish, futuristic and very appealing Flip phone smartphone in the price range of millions of Aussies who buy flagship Apple and Samsung smartphones.

Both products go on sale September 10, with pre-orders open from today at Telcos, Major Retailers and Samsung Online.

Disturbing video has been shared on social media of a teen appearing to force a quokka to smoke an e-cigarette on WA's Rottnest Island.

The picturesque location is known worldwide for people sharing selfies with the friendly animal, but the recently uploaded footage has experts slamming the animal cruelty, calling for the culprits to come forward.

"It's completely and utterly irresponsible and unacceptable for this poor defenceless, vulnerable animal to be subjected to that kind of cruelty," RSPCA WA's Hannah Dreaver told 9News.

READ MORE: Quokka filmed drinking from goon bag on Rottnest Island

The quokka seems to think it is being given food as the young girl appears to force the purple vaping pen down its throat in the video.

The footage has outraged experts and prompted an investigation from authorities.

It is the latest in a series of sickening attacks on the Rottnest Island local, a 32-year-old man was fined after he was filmed feeding a quokka alcohol in 2018 and a year earlier, two men were charged after video showed them repeatedly kicking a quokka as it tried to hide from them.

In 2015, another teen faced court for a similar act while that same year a French tourist was filmed lighting a quokka on fire.

READ MORE: Quokkas on Rottnest Island get their very own birthday

"These animals are really very vulnerable. They've become used to human interaction – they aren't running away from us; they aren't avoiding interaction. They are actually seeking it out," Ms Dreaver said.

If caught, the pair behind this latest video could be criminally charged with animal cruelty which carries a maximum penalty of five years jail and a $50,000 thousand dollar fine.

Queensland's newest trainee guide dogs have had their big naming day with the litter adopting the names from the popular children's television show Paw Patrol.

While the likes of Marshal, Chase, Skye, Liberty, Rubble and Zuma are names you'd typically associate with animated rescue dogs – their real-life counterparts are putting the slogan "no job too big, no pup too small" into reality.

Guide Dogs Australia CEO Karen Hayes said the seven-month-old pups have "a big role" ahead of them.

READ MORE: Dingo puppies go on adorable excursion

"They set off of Guide Dogs Australia's training program, which will see them go into make a difference in the lives of people in the community," Ms Hayes said.

You can donate to your favourite Paw Patrol Guide Dog Pup as part of Pawgust, the foundation's annual fundraising event.