Strange Cordeyceps-looking Mushroom in Australia
You found a member of the stinkhorn family, The Phallales (in the family Phallacea), probably a Veiled Lady (Phallus indusiatus) or a Phallus multicolor (they have other names as well.) They are common in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. Don't eat them; they're attractive to dogs (lovely aroma!) and there have been dog deaths.



These fungi produce a spore slime which has an intense smell of rotting meat or sewage, which is why flies are attracted to them.

They are commonly found in rotted woody material.