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The Matildas' history-making clash against England has smashed Australian viewing records.

The team's Women's World Cup semi-final against the Lionesses reached 11.15 million viewers nationally on Wednesday night, drawing an average audience of 7.13 million on Seven and 7Plus.

The numbers mean it's the most-watched TV program in Australian homes in more than 20 years and the country's biggest-ever streaming event, with 957,000 online viewers included in the tally.

The game peaked at 6.9 million viewers on broadcast, with an 89.8 per cent commercial audience share in total people.

7plus dominated bring-your-own-device viewing with a 76.2 per cent share. In live streaming, it had an 84.4 per cent share.

Seven's coverage of the cup has reached 14.04 million broadcast viewers so far, plus another 3.4 million on 7plus.

Hoards of fans flocked to live sites across the country to watch the game, which the Matildas lost 3-1.

Thousands packed into Melbourne's Federation Square to cheer on the women in green and gold, but the exuberance was dampened by unruly young men in the crowd.

Police were constantly trying to ensure fans' safety, but spectators breached temporary fences multiple times.

More than 50 flares were set off, with some thrown into the crowd.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of anyone being injured but detectives are investigating.

"Overall, it was a challenging night for our members out at Federation Square, where we saw a large, rowdy group of mainly male youths, part of the active supporter groups, discharge and throw a significant number of flares," she said.

Police fined four males, aged between 16 and 23, more than $960 each for possessing flares and cautioned another 16-year-old male for throwing a flare.

Fans were expected to gather at Federation Square again on Saturday to watch the Matildas take on Sweden in a bid to secure third place in the World Cup.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp suggested the event might not go ahead, or different crowd control measures might have to be used.

"It's often the actions of a few, unfortunately, that end up ruining the experience for others ... (and) that becomes the headline," Ms Capp said.

"I lament at the idiocy of people that come with flares."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said anyone who used flares at Federation Square should have the book thrown at them and Victoria Police would assess whether it was safe to host Saturday night's screening there.

However, a few bad apples wouldn't lead to the site no longer being used to screen major events, he said.

"(Flares) are dangerous and I don't think those people represent the vast majority of soccer fans, football fans who want to enjoy what is an absolutely spectacular game, the beautiful game," Mr Andrews said.

Swinburne University of Technology postdoctoral research fellow Kasey Symons said there were concerns within women's sport about what its success would look like.

Men's sport was seen as the benchmark, but toxic elements of it and the fan culture surrounding it could be damaging and exclusionary, Dr Symons said.

"Women's football, through this Women's World Cup, has become so visible and the culture has been expanded so much that those who might not have been part of that culture are coming in and bringing some of those elements with them that they expect at a sporting space," she told AAP.

The community wanted men's sport to take on the good cultural elements of women's sport, Dr Symons said.

"There's a lot to be learned about the culture of sport for women's sport that can have a positive impact on men's sport because this behaviour (at Federation Square) is unacceptable," she said.

In NSW, fans endured long delays getting home from Sydney's Olympic Park on Wednesday night after a suspected act of vandalism threw the rail network into disarray.

Two men aged 47 and 33 have been charged by police.

The Matildas will take on Sweden in the play-off for third place at 5.30pm on Saturday.

© AAP 2023

Fans have showered more love onto the Matildas after their history-making clash against England smashed Australian viewing records.

The team was welcomed to Brisbane on Thursday with cheers and a guard of honour, a day after their Women's World Cup semi-final reached 11.15 million viewers nationally.

The numbers mean it's the most-watched TV program in Australian homes in more than 20 years and the country's biggest streaming event, with 957,000 online viewers included in the tally.

Drawing an average audience of 7.13 million on Seven and 7Plus, the game peaked at 6.9 million viewers on broadcast, with an 89.8 per cent commercial audience share in total people.

Hoards of fans flocked to live sites across the country to watch the game, which the Matildas lost to the Lionesses 3-1.

Thousands packed into Melbourne's Federation Square to cheer the women in green and gold, but the exuberance was dampened by unruly young men in the crowd.

Police were constantly trying to ensure fans' safety, but spectators breached temporary fences multiple times.

More than 50 flares were set off, with some thrown into the crowd.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of anyone being injured but detectives were investigating.

Police fined four males, aged between 16 and 23, more than $960 each for possessing flares and cautioned another 16-year-old male for throwing one.

One person at AAMI Park was also fined for possessing a flare.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said anyone who used flares at Federation Square should have the book thrown at them.

"(Flares) are dangerous and I don't think those people represent the vast majority of soccer fans, football fans who want to enjoy what is an absolutely spectacular game, the beautiful game," Mr Andrews said.

Fans had hoped to gather again at Federation Square on Saturday to watch the Matildas take on Sweden in a bid to secure third place in the World Cup.

But the site's management pulled the pin on Thursday night, citing safety concerns.

"It is clear that if there was a repeat of last night's behaviour it would be unsafe for families, fans and staff," a Victorian government spokesman told AAP.

AAMI Park will be Melbourne's only public live site, but NSW fans will have an additional view point at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Swinburne University of Technology postdoctoral research fellow Kasey Symons said there were concerns within women's sport about what its success would look like.

Men's sport was seen as the benchmark, but toxic elements of it and the fan culture surrounding it could be damaging and exclusionary, Dr Symons said.

"Women's football, through this Women's World Cup, has become so visible and the culture has been expanded so much that those who might not have been part of that culture are coming in and bringing some of those elements with them that they expect at a sporting space," she said.

The community wanted men's sport to take on the good cultural elements of women's sport, Dr Symons said.

"There's a lot to be learned about the culture of sport for women's sport that can have a positive impact on men's sport because this behaviour (at Federation Square) is unacceptable," she said.

In NSW, fans endured long delays getting home from Sydney's Olympic Park on Wednesday night after a suspected act of vandalism threw the rail network into disarray.

Two men aged 47 and 33 were charged by police and faced Burwood Local Court on Thursday where they pleaded not guilty to a slew of offences.

Both men were refused bail.

The Matildas will take on Sweden in the play-off for third place at 5.30pm on Saturday.

© AAP 2023

Australia's jobless rate has risen 0.2 percentage points to 3.7 per cent in July.

Economists largely expected the figure to hold steady over the month.

But the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported employment dropped by around 15,000 people and the number of unemployed increased by 36,000 people.

"The fall in employment follows an average monthly increase of around 42,000 people during the first half of this year. Employment is still around 387,000 people higher than last July," ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

The participation rate also decreased 0.1 percentage point to 66.7 per cent.

Mr Jarvis noted July included the school holidays - a time where people take leave and start or exit jobs.

"It's important to consider this when looking at month-to-month changes, compared with the usual seasonal pattern," he said.

Monthly hours worked increased 0.2 per cent in July, while employment decreased 0.1 per cent.

The underemployment rate remained at 6.4 per cent in July, around 2.4 percentage points lower than before the pandemic.

Across the states, unemployment was highest in Tasmania (4.7 per cent), followed by Queensland (4.5 per cent), SA (4.0 per cent), NT (3.9 per cent), ACT (3.8 per cent), Victoria (3.6 per cent), WA (3.4 per cent) and NSW (3.3 per cent).

It will give further weight to the Reserve Bank keeping the cash rate on hold at 4.1 per cent.

"Today's data are likely to be the final nail in the coffin for any lingering expectations of a rate hike in September," said Ben Udy, lead economist for Oxford Economics Australia.

He expected the unemployment rate to rise to around 4.5 per cent by the end of next year.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ALP national conference in Brisbane on Thursday it was a "difficult time for many Australians", as global factors intensified cost-of-living pressures.

But he said inflation was moderating, wages were rising and the government was seeking to take the edge off rent, power, child care and health costs as well as permanently boosting welfare support.

"Our responsible economic management is working for Australia and already seeing progress made, but there's much more to do," he said, moving a more tightly worded party economic platform than that approved in 2021.

The government is expected to hand down the first surplus in 15 years when the final budget outcome is released in late September.

However, the economy is expected to weaken in the coming months, with a new survey showing high levels of concern among managers about the potential for a recession.

The KordaMentha TMA Australia turnaround survey found 70 per cent of respondents anticipated a recession in the next 12 months, including 19 per cent who felt it would occur within six months.

Sectors facing the most stress included construction, consumer discretionary and commercial real estate, on the back of a rising cost base, higher wages and cashflow problems.

A recession is defined by two consecutive quarters where gross domestic product (GDP) falls.

The last official quarterly growth figure was 0.2 per cent, with the June quarter figure due to be reported on September 6.

© AAP 2023