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Australia have delivered a dominant display to win the netball World Cup for the 12th time, regaining the crown with a clinical and classy 61-45 victory over England in the final in Cape Town.

The Diamonds were far more ruthless and precise than in their one-goal loss to England on Thursday in the group stages and Sunday's final was effectively over at three-quarter time once Australia had surged into a 10-goal lead.

Australia converted more turnovers into goals than England, with circle defenders Courtney Bruce and Jo Weston particularly outstanding.

Inspired by some of the comments emanating from the England camp after their group defeat, the Diamonds delivered one of their best performances, according to their retiring star Ash Brazill after her final match.

"For the last 10 minutes, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face," said Brazill.

"England beat us in the rounds and everyone loved targeting us. Helen (Housby, the England star) said they were fitter and more energetic than us and that just got everyone fighting.

"We really wanted to beat Jamaica (in the semi-final) so we could play against these guys again, and we've done it the way we wanted to. The last two games were some of the best netball we've played in a long time.

"I'm so proud of these girls. The fact we're standing here as world champions, I just couldn't wish for a better ending. I'll never play netball again - how can I top this?"

Coach Stacey Marinkovich named the same starting seven for the third straight game, but replaced both shooters in the second quarter.

"That's the class of this group that I can turn to anybody and they will come out and play their role and they've done it all across the tournament," Marinkovich said.

The score was tied 13-13 at quarter time, but Australia pulled away either side of halftime, outscoring England 14-10 In the second and 19-13 in the third.

They maintained their intensity to the end, winning the final quarter 15-9.

"It's unbelievable just to come back the way we did (after losing to England)," Diamonds captain and wing attack Liz Watson said.

"This group, I'm so proud to lead them, they are an amazing group of athletes."

With South African president Cyril Ramaphosa among those enjoying the action in the crowd, England's best moments came when they twice edged ahead by one early in the second quarter.

Marinkovich rejigged her shooting combination with Sophie Garbin (27/32) and player of the match Kiera Austin (15/17) coming on for starters Cara Koenen (10/10) and Steph Wood (9/10).

Weston and Bruce forced turnovers with Australia then scoring four unanswered goals to set up a 27-23 halftime lead.

Goal attack Austin said: "We promised to write our own script and we did."

Bruce was named the defender of the tournament, New Zealand's Kate Heffernan the premier mid-courter and Housby both the player and shooter of the competition.

"I'm just so proud of the girls they all came out, that was like a collective effort," Marinkovich said.

"England were classy they were hard, we had to be at our best.".

Earlier, Jamaica had earned their fourth World Cup bronze medal with a 52-45 win over 2019 champions New Zealand in third-place play-off.

Jhaniele Fowler shot 43 off 44 for Jamaica to seal New Zealand's worst-ever World Cup result, the first time they haven't won a medal.

© AAP 2023

A 28-year-old woman has lost her husband and five young sons in a devastating blaze after fire crews found six bodies inside the wreckage of their home on Queensland's Russell Island.

Emergency services were called to a home on Todman Street just after 6am on Sunday to find the two-storey house fully engulfed, with two neighbouring properties also alight.

Queensland Police confirmed late on Sunday five brothers - aged 11, 10, four-year-old twins and a three-year-old - and their 34-year-old father died in the blaze and their bodies had been recovered.

A 21-year-old woman thought to have been inside the house when the fire broke out also managed to escape.

The 28-year-old woman believed to be the children's mother was treated for smoke inhalation but was otherwise physically unharmed.

"This poor lady has lost her entire family," Queensland Police Superintendent Mat Kelly told reporters.

"She's terribly emotionally distressed at the moment but doesn't have any actual injuries."

He said many in the small community would be affected by the fire, including emergency services on scene who knew the victims well.

"(It) is truly tragic as these young boys could have become men into the future," Mr Kelly said.

At least 30 fire personnel remained at the site on Sunday afternoon as investigations began, with drones sent overhead to assess the wreckage.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner John Cawcutt said the whole structure was unstable, with embers still smouldering within the debris.

He said the two damaged properties on either side of the destroyed house had been checked but crews would remain on site to secure the smouldering home so more fires did not break out.

"So that's one of the reasons we will be there for the next few days," he said.

"As you start to lift the roof off the structure, then small fires often crop up again.

"There's still quite a lot of smoke, and there is fire still burning in parts of the property."

Mr Cawcutt said the blaze was "one of the worst fires we've had for a long time".

"When you get a tragedy like this, it touches many people," he said.

Nine people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and minor injuries and two were taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Eight-kilometre-long Russell Island lies between the Queensland mainland and North Stradbroke Island and has a population of about 3700.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll thanked the "brave" first responders for their efforts at what could only be described as a devastating scene.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and others shared sympathies for those involved in the tragedy.

"My thoughts are with the whole Russell Island community at this very sad and tragic time," she tweeted.

"The early reports are heartbreaking and this tight-knit community will need our support in the days ahead," Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli posted on social media.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams described the fire as a dreadful tragedy.

"We are aware the impact of this incident will have deep and lasting ramifications," she told AAP in a statement.

"The Southern Moreton Bay Islands are an isolated community and will need all our support as the community moves through and heals from this terrible situation."

She said the council was working closely with the responding agencies, including Community Champions and Red Cross, to help find accommodation for a family from one of the homes.

Police are not treating the fire as suspicious.

Local authorities are in the process of setting up a fundraising account through the local registered charitable trust, The Redland Foundation.

© AAP 2023

The ACT's chief prosecutor has resigned following the findings of an inquiry into how the justice system handled Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial.

Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold initially took leave after he faced a grilling about his actions as the lead prosecutor in the former Liberal staffer's trial, but will retire permanently from the role as of September 1.

The board of inquiry - chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff - provided its final report to the ACT government last week.

But the inquiry also provided select media outlets with the report without the permission or knowledge of the territory government.

In his first statement since the report was leaked, Mr Drumgold disputed many of the inquiry findings.

"While I acknowledge I made mistakes, I strongly dispute that I engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct in the trial or that I was dishonest," he said.

"Although I accept my conduct was less than perfect, my decisions were all made in good faith, under intense and sometimes crippling pressure, conducted within increasingly unmanageable workloads."

Mr Drumgold criticised the pre-emptive release of the report to select media outlets and said he was only provided with a copy after it was released to journalists.

He said the leak denied him procedural fairness and deprived the government of the opportunity to consider his conduct objectively.

Mr Drumgold acknowledged the premature publicity meant his office, the courts and the public could not have faith in his functions as director and as such he would retire from the role.

"My career has been driven by a fire burning within, lit by an early life spent surrounded by the pain of chronic inter-generational social injustice," he said.

"This fire has fuelled a life that took me from a disadvantaged housing commission estate to an esteemed leadership role within the legal profession.

"Unfortunately, I find the fire has been extinguished, and try as I might, I cannot reignite it."

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her inside a ministerial office at Parliament House after a night out in 2019.

Mr Lerhmann has always denied the allegation.

In October 2022, he faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court but juror misconduct derailed the proceedings.

Mr Drumgold ultimately dropped the charge against Mr Lehrmann because of his fears about the impact of a second trial on Ms Higgins' mental health.

He also called for an inquiry because of his concerns about how the investigation and trial had been handled, a decision that ultimately cost him his job as director.

He said he'd hoped a post-mortem of the case would allow the ACT to gain a better understanding of why 87 out 100 women did not report sexual assault, what the experiences were of those who did and why so few reports resulted in charges.

Instead, Mr Drumgold said the report findings focused mainly on himself.

"In my mind, the handling of the case was reflective of the chronic problem in Australia with the way our legal institutions deal with allegations of sexual violence," he said.

"Systems do not miraculously self-repair. If people in key roles such as a DPP do not call out failings, the system becomes a self-protecting cycle of systemic failure.

"I hope everyone involved in this matter finds peace - and I wish you all well."

© AAP 2023