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A group of men have been sent to offshore immigration detention on Nauru after arriving by boat last week in remote Western Australia.
The government has not yet confirmed reports of arrivals being sent offshore.
But a statement from Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil says the government's commitment to Operation Sovereign Borders is "absolute".
In Western Australia, the state's Premier Roger Cook says he's not concerned by the boat arrival, but is worried about how to protect the region.
"This is fundamentally a matter for the federal government to resolve, but it does emphasise just how exposed our vast north-west coast is, and that's why we need to continue to make sure we have the resources to protect that coast, not only just in terms of unlawful arrivals, if you want to call them that or asylum seekers, but also make sure we can protect our fisheries, our defence facilities and other infrastructure."
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Meanwhile, advocates for asylum seekers say politicians should not use the issue for political gain.
Jana Favero from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says doing so ignores the humanity of those fleeing to Australia.
"We are really appealing to politicians to not politicise this issue, to focus on people - this is about people, it's not about politics. There are policies and laws in place to ensure that people can be safe when they are fleeing. So it's not 'new' news and people will always leave by whatever methods they can if their lives are in danger."
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Asbestos has been confirmed at more school sites across Sydney.
There are now five schools who have detected asbestos in their mulch.
Results are still to be confirmed at three other southwest Sydney schools.
The Olympic Park Stadium precinct however - where Taylor Swift and Blink 182 will soon play - has been cleared.
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New opinion polling indicates Australians broadly support changes to the planned stage three tax cuts.
A new Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy poll shows 44 per cent support the changes.
The new cuts will mean Australians earning under $150,000 receive a larger tax cut.
The legislation passed the House of Representatives with Coalition support last week.
Independent Senator Jackie Lambie says the tax cuts will help.
But she says the government needs to do more to address the financial pain many Australians are facing.
"I just think that people are feeling it really tough. It's not just about the tax cuts, it's about the lack of housing out there. It's about the supermarket prices that are going on, the fuel prices. And God forbid there'll be electricity bills starting to come in after that Christmas period. So I think it needs to go a lot further. This isn't just a one move thing. You're going to have to make multiple moves here. And I think one of the biggest things is those goddamn electricity prices."
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A new council will meet for the first time today to talk about improving disability support services.
The council is made up of people with disabilities, federal, state and territory representatives, and data experts.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the government wants to make things more accessible and inclusive for people with disability.
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For the first time in recorded history, a famous red crab migration on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean has happened two months late.
Every year in December female red crabs cross the remote Australian territory to release up to 100,000 eggs each in the ocean, triggered by the first rainfall of the wet season.
But Brendan Tiernan from Parks Australia says they were late this year.
"The false start that we had in December, they got going with a couple of millimetres and the ones that started to migrate in December quickly realised that they'd made a mistake and turned back."
