Firefighters across south-east Australia are trying to bring bushfires under control ahead of the expected return of hot conditions later this week.
Homes were destroyed in Victoria on Tuesday, but concerns over the number of people still unaccounted for in the Tasmanian bushfires have eased.
The heatwave is shifting north to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, with temperatures reaching almost 40 degrees Celsius near Brisbane on Wednesday.
The number of bushfires burning in New South Wales has reduced to 135, although 30 of those blazes are still out of control.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service downgraded the ratings of all major bushfires around the state following a favourable change in conditions overnight.
One house had been destroyed in New South Wales, but there was no major threat to other houses on Wednesday evening.
Early figures show that more than 10,000 head of stock have died or will have to be destroyed as a result of the bushfires in New South Wales.
Victoria
An ABC reporter says that people in Victoria have criticised authorities over what they say was a lack of communication during blazing grassfires which burnt through 1200 hectares and destroyed eight homes and 13 other buildings.
The blaze also killed 1000 livestock.
At a public meeting on Wednesday some residents said they did not receive emergency alert text messages and believed they were not kept well-informed when they lost electricity.
