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A mother of five who helped a man escape detection after he murdered a teenage girl and hid her body in a barrel claims she had fallen under the killer's "thrall".

On Wednesday, Tracy Ann Thomson, 43, walked free from the Brisbane Supreme Court after being granted immediate parole on a three-year sentence.

Thomson admitted being an accessory after the manslaughter of Larissa Beilby, 16, by Zlatko Sikorsky, between June 22 and 28, at Buccan.

Knowing that Sikorsky had killed the teen, Thomson acted as his driver to help him flee detection between June 26 and 30, 2018.

Sikorsky died last year being assaulted in a Brisbane jail while waiting to face trial.

Larissa died a "brutal and violent death" with her remains wrapped in a sheet and hidden in a barrel, crown prosecutor Jodie Wooldridge told the court.

Her remains were found still in a barrel on the tray of a ute found abandoned at Stapylton on the Gold Coast.

Sikorsky then sent a text message to Thomson, begging for help.

"Hey mate, I need to speak to you asap, because I was just in a hectic chase. They found a heavy thing in the car," the text read.

The "heavy thing" was his girlfriend's decomposing body.

Thomson was anxious to help, agreeing when Sikorsky complained "s*** had gone wrong" and agreed to collect him from a Brisbane hotel.

"The defendant told police that when she was driving to meet Sikorsky, she heard on the radio that he was wanted and that police found the body in the barrel," Ms Wooldridge said.

"She expressly admitted to police that she drove to meet Sikorsky to assist him, knowing he was wanted by police for murder.

"She said she did because she felt a sense of loyalty - even though she did not consider the two of them to be in a relationship, but referred to the feelings that she had for him."

Thomson told police she knew Sikorsky was wanted for murder - she didn't care.

"She did not want to know what had occurred - she just did not want to know the details."

The pair fled to the Sunshine Coast, where police would ultimately corner the murderer days later.

"They stopped for petrol, bought food, and additionally pulled on to the side of the road where they engaged in sexual intercourse before continuing," Ms Wooldridge said.

Charges of accessory after the fact to murder were dropped at an earlier hearing.

"The charge is not to suggest that Sikorsky's offending was anything less than murder. Rather it is a recognition that at the time of her actions .... the defendant must have known that Sikorsky had unlawfully killed the deceased in circumstances that at least amounted to manslaughter. "

Defence counsel Laura Reece said Thomson still struggled to cope with her role in Larissa's murder.

"Her conduct and her account of her relationship with Mr Zikorsky demonstrate she was really in his thrall," Ms Reece said.

"Her motivation in assisting him was her misguided loyalty to someone she hoped to be in a relationship with, that she wanted to accept and love her.

"It is a dreadful thing for her now to contemplate that she had feelings for someone capable of such terrible violence."

Justice David Boddice sentenced Thomson to three years' imprisonment but granted immediate parole.

© AAP 2021

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Australia's medical regulator has given provisional approval for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be used as a booster shot.

The decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration will allow for Australians to have access to two different brands of COVID-19 booster shots.

The administration said people 18 and over would be eligible to receive the Moderna booster six months after their initial vaccine course.

People eligible for the booster shot will be able to get the Moderna booster, regardless of which vaccine brand they received for their first two doses.

The final decision to approve the booster will come from Australia's leading vaccination body, which is expected to make the announcement next week.

It comes after the Pfizer vaccine was approved earlier this year to be used as a booster, with more than 580,000 Australians already receiving their third dose.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the approval was a significant step forward, with the booster program well ahead of schedule.

"When we see the variants such as Omicron, and inevitably there will be more variants, we know the boosters will help keep us safe," Mr Hunt told reporters in Melbourne.

"The booster program is fundamentally important."

Mr Hunt also said a final decision on whether the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will give the green light to vaccines for children will likely be known by the end of the week.

Such a decision would allow for five to 11-year-olds to get the Pfizer vaccine.

"Hopefully we'll have a positive announcement in the course of this week," Mr Hunt said.

The announcement was made in the wake of more cases of the Omicron variant being detected in Australia.

Victoria recorded its first case of the new strain, with a further two cases under investigation by state health authorities.

NSW has two new cases of Omicron that were detected on Wednesday linked to a COVID-19 outbreak on a Sydney Harbour boat cruise.

A new Omicron sub-lineage has also been identified in an overseas arrival to Queensland.

Mr Hunt said Australia was well placed to deal with the Omicron variant.

"It is likely the Omicron variant will be more transmissible," Mr Hunt said.

"But there is emerging evidence that the vaccines are likely to provide strong, clear protection against serious illness and death... and this may well be a milder form of COVID-19."

The arrival of Omicron forced the government to delay the return of visa holders to Australia, placing a two-week pause on the measure, which was set to begin earlier this month.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was likely visa holders would be able to enter Australia without the need for a travel exemption when the pause ends on December 15.

"All of the information we're receiving points to that, it was a pause," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

"The Australian government will keep moving forward and I think that's really important."

NSW has recorded a spike in the number of COVID cases, with 403 infections and one death.

In Victoria, there were 1312 cases while there were five deaths reported, while the ACT had eight new infections and one death.

© AAP 2021

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Novak Djokovic has been named in the Serbian line-up for next January's ATP Cup team event, raising firm hopes the world No.1 will play in the Australian Open.

Organisers have trumpeted that 18 of the world's top 20 players will take part in the 16-nation tournament in Sydney from January 1-9, with Djokovic leading the top-seeded Serbians.

Djokovic hadn't publicly committed to defending his Australian Open title at Melbourne Park or revealed his vaccination status, with a mandate that he be double-jabbed to play.

While the ATP Cup doesn't have the same entry criteria, his inclusion for the Open warm-up tournament means he now appears likely to chase a 10th crown.

To play without being vaccinated in Sydney, the NSW government would have to apply for an exemption for Djokovic and the 34-year-old would have to undergo 14 days quarantine upon arrival.

Australia has been included in pool B alongside defending champions Russia, and strong squads from Italy and Austria.

The Australians will be led by Alex de Minaur, along with James Duckworth, Max Purcell, John Peers and Luke Saville.

The Russians will be spearheaded by world No.2 Daniil Medvedev as well as Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev, Roman Safiullin and Evgeny Donskoy.

Serbia will start favourites in Group A, which will also feature Norway, Chile and Spain, although world No.6 Rafael Nadal hasn't been included in the latter's line-up.

A winner of 20 grand slam titles alongside Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal is still expected to contest the Australian Open, starting on January 17.

The nine-day event will be played in Sydney at Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena.

© AAP 2021

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A Gold Coast man who beat his partner's drug-dealing ex-boyfriend to death during a bungled robbery has been convicted of murder a second time and sentenced to life in prison.

Mark Vincent Dayney denied murdering Mark "Zeb" Spencer, whose body was found on the patio of a Gold Coast home in October 2014.

Dayney's partner, Peta Lorang-Goubran, advertised sex services online, and the pair planned to rob Mr Spencer after he unwittingly responded to her pseudonym without realising it was his ex.

The pair planned for her to distract him while Dayney searched for drugs and cash, but things escalated and Mr Spencer was attacked.

His "bloody and battered" body was found by his housemate, who called emergency services, but Mr Spencer was dead.

A broken wooden tennis racquet and part of a baseball bat were found at the Coomera home.

Ms Lorang-Goubran told the court she met Mr Spencer when he began working for her as a driver to and from work and between jobs with clients.

The pair began a "casual, intimate" relationship for five weeks before she broke things off.

Ms Lorang-Goubran later started a relationship with Dayney and the pair moved in together.

She said she was honest about her history with Mr Spencer and had mentioned that he sold drugs from his house.

On the night before Mr Spencer's death, she said she had a job lined up in Brisbane and had hoped to buy drugs for Dayney with the proceeds before it fell through.

He had used ice earlier that day and was "very eager" to obtain more, she said.

After returning home and going to bed, Ms Lorang-Goubran said she was woken by Dayney who had her phone and was asking if a message in response to her online advertisement was from Mr Spencer.

She said Dayney "demanded" he take her to Mr Spencer's house, where the victim was later attacked and killed.

Dayney won an appeal of his 2018 murder conviction only to be found guilty for a second time and handed a life sentence on Tuesday.

© AAP 2021