Bad weather has brought chaos to parts of Australia once more, this time in the form of giant hailstones that pounded the capital Canberra and the country's second-biggest city, Melbourne.

Hailstones the size of golf balls damaged public buildings, businesses, homes and cars in Canberra.

The storm brought down trees, caused flash flooding and inflicted minor injuries on two residents, emergency services officials said.

Cars were dented and windows were smashed as over 1,000 homes lost power across the suburbs in the Australian Capital Territory, local media reported.

Amateur video showed hailstones pounding a residential neighbourhood.

The woman who filmed the video can be heard exclaiming in astonishment, saying she'd never seen such a thing in her life.

The hail storm - at the height of Australia's summer - was the latest extraordinary weather event to strike the country following devastating wildfires and flash floods.

A teenage Croatian tourist was struck by lightning at the scenic Blue Mountains west of the city, local media reported.

He was treated for burns and taken to a local hospital.