Samantha Knight's killer Michael Guider has spent his first night outside of prison, & more in News in 5.

-With AAP.

1. Samantha Knight’s killer Michael Guider has spent his first night outside of prison.

Paedophile Michael Guider, who killed schoolgirl Samantha Knight more than 30 years ago, has spent his first night outside of a Sydney prison in 17 years.

Bedraggled, bearded and with a large tumour below his midriff, notorious paedophile Michael Guider slowly walked out of Sydney’s Long Bay jail after serving a 17 year sentence on Thursday.

The 68-year-old was released after the Supreme Court rejected the NSW government’s bid to keep him locked up.

He will be subject to a five-year extended supervision order with 56 strict conditions, including constant electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet.

Corrective Services NSW says Guider will remain at the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre adjacent to Long Bail jail until suitable halfway house accommodation is found.

“He will be escorted by staff if any essential appointments outside of the centre need to be made,” a spokeswoman told AAP.

Guider carried two black garbage bags containing his possessions as he left the jail. He made no comment to reporters and was heckled by two women.

"You filthy piece of sh*t," one yelled at the car ferrying him away from the prison.

As the car made its way to Blacktown Community Corrections Office - where Guider's supervision order was processed - a man on a scooter pulled alongside the vehicle and screamed: "You filthy animal".

Guider pleaded guilty in 2002 to the manslaughter of nine-year-old Samantha, who disappeared from Bondi in August 1986. Her body has never been found and he has never revealed its location.

Guider served 17 years for her killing before being placed on an interim detention order which expired on Thursday.

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman had sought legal advice about challenging Tuesday's Supreme Court decision that rejected his application to keep Guider behind bars for another year.

But, late on Wednesday, Mr Speakman concluded any appeal would fail.

Samantha's mother, Tess Knight, told reporters on Tuesday she was angry and "shaking inside" at the prospect of his release.

"I see the effect that this has had on the people he abused as children, who are now young adults,” she said. "They have to live with the thought of him walking around having the freedom they don’t have."

Guider will not be allowed near places where children gather including schools, pools and cinemas, his internet usage will be monitored, and he won't be allowed to change his personal appearance without permission.

A large growth seen underneath Guider's pants - which swayed as he walked - is a tumour, AAP understands. But it's unclear whether the tumour is benign.

Mr Speakman on Thursday described Guider as "one of the most despicable individuals to come before our justice system".

"I'm sorry we have failed to get a continuing detention order, but I can guarantee the community's safety is the number one priority," he told reporters.

"This offender will not enjoy freedom the same way (as) ordinary citizens.

"He is a high risk of reoffending which is why we have sought this order to watch him like a hawk."

When sentenced for Samantha's death, Guider was already serving time for sex offences against more than a dozen other children between 1980 and 1996.

2. "So much fear and distress." Friend tells of Tamil family's torment amid deportation limbo.

A Tamil couple and their two young daughters are under enormous mental strain as they await the outcome of their desperate battle against deportation, a friend says.

The family's supporters are also worried they could be hit with an "impossibly heavy debt" if their bid to stay in Australia falls short.

Angela Fredericks has gone to Christmas Island to support her friends, who will be sent back to Sri Lanka as early as Friday if they lose a last-ditch legal bid to remain here.

She says she had to fight for permission to spend time with Priya, her husband Nadesalingam and their Australian-born children Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2.

When finally allowed inside the Christmas Island facility where they are being held, she said the family's mental torment was very difficult to watch.

"The weight of Priya in my arms, just sobbing ... there's just so much heart-break, and so much fear and distress," she told AAP from the island on Thursday.

"The girls ran up to me and held onto my legs. Kopika, she was always such a cheeky, bright little girl. I see so much frustration in her now.

"Yesterday she was just playing with sticks. Her actions, you can see it, she was just hitting the ground with the stick. I feel like her innocence has gone."

Ms Fredericks said a plane was waiting on the tarmac at the island's airport, waiting to take the family away if they lose a court hearing on Friday relating to the youngest child's case for Australia's protection.

Despite widespread support for the family to be allowed to remain in Australia, the Morrison government has refused to intervene.

The Federal Court has ordered the government not to deport the family until 4pm on Friday so it can continue hearing Tharunicaa's case for protection, with other courts previously finding her older sister and parents do not qualify.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday that he would accept the court's decision, but again pointed to previous court rulings that found "there is no asylum claim here".

Priya and Nades settled in Biloela, where they had their two children, after arriving separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 following Sri Lanka's civil war.

Nades fears his links to Hindu Tamil Tigers insurgents, who battled Sri Lanka's majority Buddhist government during the war, means he could face persecution if he goes back.

But the federal government says Nades has been back to Sri Lanka several times and that undermines his claim he faces a dangerous situation.

The government is fighting Tharunicaa's claim for protection, saying it's "futile".

3. Police appeal for information, after woman's body found in Queensland park.

The death of a talented sketch artist is being treated as a possible homicide after her body was found in a garden bed at a Brisbane park.

It appears attempts were made to hide the body of Ioli Hadjilyra, 26, and her clothing may have been interfered with before she was discovered by a council worker on Wednesday.

The Australian-Cypriot dual citizen was found at Kalinga Park on Brisbane's northside with bruises and some bleeding, which police say is yet to be explained.

Some of the woman's sketches were also found with her body.

"We're not sure whether they were in her possession or if they've been dropped," Detective Inspector Tim Trezise told media on Thursday.

He said Ms Hadjilyra lived in South Brisbane - on the opposite side of the city to where she was found.

"That's one of the mysteries at the moment, how she got to Kalinga Park and why she was on that side of town," Det Insp Trezise said.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious at Toombul, Eagle Junction or Kalinga Park train station from Tuesday night to midday Wednesday to contact them with any information.

Det Insp Trezise said a post-mortem examination investigation of Ms Hadjilyra is ongoing.

He said no personal items like a wallet or phone were found with Ms Hadjilyra which delayed attempts to identify her body.

"We are of the view that she quite likely died where she was found," he said.

Police have traced the woman's movements to the inner city suburb of Spring Hill about a day before her death.

Det Insp Trezise described Ms Hadjilyra as a popular young lady from a good family with a number of friends.

4. Date set for appeal in Geoffrey Rush defamation case.

A date has been set for The Daily Telegraph's appeal against a Federal Court ruling that the newspaper defamed actor Geoffrey Rush.

Justice Michael Wigney in April found The Daily Telegraph's publisher and journalist Jonathon Moran were reckless regarding the truth when they reported Rush had been accused of inappropriate behaviour during a Sydney theatre production of King Lear.

The judge ruled a poster and two articles contained several defamatory meanings - including that Rush was a pervert and a sexual predator - and the publisher hadn't proved they were true.

Rush was subsequently awarded $2.9 million in damages plus interest to account for his past and future economic loss.

The court on Thursday announced Nationwide News' appeal will be heard on November 4 and 5, before Federal Court judges Anthony Besanko, Richard White and Michael Wheelahan.

The Daily Telegraph and Moran are arguing Justice Wigney's conduct "gave rise to an apprehension of bias".

5. UK TV channel approves Neighbours spinoff.

Britain's Channel 5 has greenlit a spinoff of the iconic Aussie soap Neighbours, which has been on the air in the UK since the mid-1980s.

The show launched the careers of Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

Neighbours: Erinsborough High will be a five-episode series that will play on My5, Channel 5's on-demand service. The platform has been stocking up on Australian drama in recent times, buying shows such as Bloom from Sony and Pulse from ABC Commercial.

Fremantle will produce and distribute the Neighbours spinoff series.

The show will follow what goes on behind the school gates of Erinsborough High during exam period, with the disappearance of one of the Year 12 students sparking revelations.

The storyline will run in parallel to the linear show on Channel 5 and will feature well-known characters from the hit TV show as well as new faces.

RTL-owned producer and distributor Fremantle and Channel 5 sealed a new deal for the Aussie soap in 2017 after lengthy talks that had at one point threatened to see Neighbours taken off British screens after more than three decades.

The new agreement included a larger number of episodes per year as well as specials.