News in 5: Woman fights for life after cat scratch; Aussies in need this Xmas; HSC results.

1. 22-year-old woman fighting for life in a Melbourne hospital after she was scratched by a stray cat.

It was meant to be the working holiday experience of a lifetime, but a 22-year-old British woman is now fighting for life in an Australian hospital.

According to The Sun, Scarlet Goodrich was working on a fruit farm when she came in contact with a feral kitten, and doctors now believe the feline may have passed on a rare form of blood poisoning.

Goodrich was taken to a Melbourne hospital on November 24, complaining of severe back pain. Numerous tests and painful lumbar punctures revealed she was suffering from two very rare bacterial infections in her spine and brain.

"The doctors think she might have picked up this very rare and unusual toxin from a stray kitten she came into contact with while fruit picking on a farm," said her uncle, Christian Goodrich.

According to Australia's Department of the Environment and Energy, feral cats are known to carry a number of infectious diseases that can be transmitted to native animals, livestock and humans. It's believed the feral cat population is over 6 million.

Goodrich's uncle said her illness has come as a "shock" to the family.

"It's a very rare and unusual scenario which has baffled the doctors and specialists," he said.

Sharing updates on Facebook, he said her breathing tube has been removed and the swelling at the back of her brain is showing signs of improvement.

"She's acknowledging she's in hospital, nodding, squeezing with her hand and opening her eyes," he wrote.

"Her circumstances are still very serious, and she is very vulnerable to infection."

The woman's mother has flown to Melbourne from the UK to be with her daughter, and her auntie has travelled from Auckland to also provide support.

Friends and family have set up a Just Giving page to raise funds to help with her medical bills and recovery.

"We're raising money to assist with the inevitable every day financial implications that are ahead of Scarlet and the family," the page reads.

Funds raised will be put towards the cost of travel for family members, mobile phone data, accommodation near the Melbourne hospital where Goodrich is being treated and childcare for her youngest sister in the UK.

2. Karen Ristevski's brother releases emotional statement saying he's been "patiently waiting" for husband's arrest.

Karen Ristevski's brother, Steve Williams, has hopes justice may finally be found for his sister after her 53-year-old husband, was arrested and charged with her murder.

Borce Ristevski - who served as one of the pallbearers during his wife's private funeral service in March - was arrested on Wednesday morning, AAP reports.

Hours after news of his arrest, Steve Williams said he had been "patiently waiting" for the day Borce would be charged.

"Today has been a surprisingly emotional day," he said in a statement.

"It is no way a celebration, it's another stage in bringing my beautiful sister Karen the justice she so deserves."

Ristevski is accused of murdering his 47-year-old wife at Avondale Heights on June 29, 2016, according to documents tendered to court.

Ms Ristevski went missing from the couple's Oakley Drive home the same morning.

Her remains were discovered in bushland in the Mount Macedon Regional Park almost eight months later, on February 20.

Prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC on Wednesday said police needed extra time to complete their brief of evidence "because of the nature of the investigation and the ongoing work that needs to be a done".

Mr Ristevski's lawyer, Rob Stary said his client had already been under investigation for a number of months, and said he would be pleadimg not guilty to the murder charges.

"This man doesn't have any history and we want the matter expedited," he told the court.

"He will be pleading not guilty."

Ristevski has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to return to court on April 18.

No one from his family was in court on Wednesday.

3. This year, more than 1.6 million Aussies won't be able to afford to buy Christmas presents for their children.

The Salvation Army says around 1.6 million Australians won't be able to afford to give their young children a present this Christmas, in what the charity claims is an "alarming increase" from previous years.

The numbers come from research commissioned by the Salvation Army, released on Wednesday, and show that around a million more Australians won't be able to give presents this year, compared to 2016.

It reveals a bleak picture for many this Christmas, Major Paul Moulds said.

"People living on marginal incomes and tight budgets are already carefully managing how they spend their money," he said.

"But with power prices escalating, housing affordability getting worse and more Australians struggling to get enough paid work, it's getting harder and harder for many people to keep their head above water."

The figures were revealed as the Salvation Army embarks on its annual Christmas appeal.

Maj Moulds said the organisation was struggling to help all those in need.

"Over Christmas we will help over 300,000 people, serve over 10,000 meals and distribute more than half a million gifts and toys," he said.

Australians can help by purchasing and placing a gift under the Wishing Tree at any Kmart store nationally, contributing an item on the registry at any Myer store to help women in need, or donating online.

To find out more about fulfilling the Christmas wishes of Australians this holiday season, click here.

4. Female students have 'beaten' their male counterparts in NSW HSC results.

More than 77,000 year 12 students have finally learned the results of their HSC exams, and it turns out female students have beaten their male counterparts.

According to The Daily Telegraph, of the 120 students who topped the state in their subjects, 76 were female and 44 were male.

Female students also topped the state in traditionally male-dominated subjects like Construction, Software Design and Development, Primary Industries and Economics.

Bianca Ritter, 18, took out the top spot in Construction and told The Daily Telegraph she was happy to "break the stereotype" that the course was only for boys.

"I had some comments from people who thought it was a joke but who's laughing now?" she said.

"I can't remember the last time our school had a female student do construction. I went out of my comfort zone but I enjoyed the challenge."

Sixteen-year-old Serena Gao, from Smith's High School in Wollongong, came first in the Software Design and Development course.

"I'm really happy to be able to inspire other girls to pursue the course and show that, yes, girls can do computers and be good at it," she told AAP.

Male students, however, topped the state in English courses, coming first or equal first in every discipline. Public schools also dominated the list, with 73 of the 114 courses being topped by a public school student.

The students were congratulated by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a ceremony yesterday.

5. If you were born on September 17, you officially share your birthday with 8,862 other Australians. Sorry.

Australia's most popular birthday has officially been revealed, with those born on September 17 deemed the ones who have to share their special day with thousands of other people.

The mid-September date has been named by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the most popular day for Aussie babies to be born, and it's all thanks to the festive season, The Age reports.

"More babies are likely to be conceived around the Christmas and New Year holidays," the bureau's director of demography, Beidar Cho, told The Age.

April 8 is the second most common birthdate, with some warming winter snuggles falling nine months earlier.

Four of the top five least popular birthdays are public holidays - Australia Day, New Year's Day, Boxing Day, and Christmas Day - a phenomenon Cho puts down to the fact doctors schedule deliveries for non-public holidays.

February 29 is the least common birthday in the country, not surprisingly because it only falls once every four years.

The statistics also reveal that wealthier areas of the country have fewer kids and start later in life, while disadvantaged communities welcome more children from a younger age.

The number of babies born in NSW dropped by four per cent sparking fears of a "baby drought", while Victoria experienced a 12 per cent surge in fertility rates.

6. The NSW government is offering rewards of up to $1 million to help crack the state's most baffling murders.

Rewards of $1 million will be offered to help solve NSW's worst cold-case murders under a revised offence-based system, AAP reports.

Most serious cases previously attracted a reward of up to $250,000, but Police Minister Troy Grant says the new model aligns NSW with other jurisdictions that offer higher rewards.

"To have it capped at $250,000 was a little perverse and not conducive to the modern age," Mr Grant told 2GB on Wednesday.

He said the new system will target "high-end cases" that "gnaw at the public consciousness and go to our fear of something horrific that has occurred".

The parents of Matthew Leveson had argued the grief of losing their son in 2007 was exacerbated by having to beg NSW Police to issue a reward for information regarding his disappearance.

Mark and Faye Leveson - whose son's remains were discovered in a national park south of Sydney in May - had campaigned for the system to be overhauled.

Mr Grant said he'd consulted with the Levesons while he reviewed the system and they had welcomed the changes.

The new model in NSW will be similar to the Victorian one, where a reward is based on a crime's maximum penalty.

Homicides attract a $1 million reward, for example, with incrementally-smaller amounts offered as the maximum penalty for crimes decrease.

Police will now directly lobby the Minister's office, rather than consulting with a committee that currently oversees the rewards.

The disappearance of William Tyrell triggered the review and resulted in the first, and currently only, $1 million reward offer, Mr Grant said.

He said investigators may now offer rewards that result in cold cases being cracked.