Koala populations will be checked across the country as part of an $18 million plan to help protect the troubled native animal.

The NSW-Victoria border is fully open for the first time in more than four months and both states have again recorded no new local COVID-19 cases, setting the scene for a further easing of restrictions.

Patrick Quinn, whose personal battle with ALS helped power the Ice Bucket Challenge fundraising campaign, has died at age 37, seven years after his diagnosis.

Australian researchers have discovered that patients who've been infected with COVID-19 retain immunity against the virus and the disease for at least eight months.

Victorians are breathing a welcome sigh of relief, with months of compulsory face mask-wearing coming to an end as part of a further lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

A new nasal spray with the potential to fight COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections will be tested in the hopes of manufacturing it in Australia.

Senior federal cabinet minister Simon Birmingham says it's not impossible that international travel could be back on the cards next year, but to do it in the first half of 2021 would be challenging.

NSW's three-month border checkpoint operation with Victoria will come to an end, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian championing her state as the only Australian territory "which welcomes everyone".

SA's strict lockdown ends at midnight on Saturday, although a range of measures will remain to limit crowds and a permit will be required to enter Victoria.

Police in Wisconsin say that eight people were injured in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall and that they are still seeking the suspect.