Fire season is officially over in southern Australia, but the work is only just beginning for the royal commission into the deadly crisis.

A north-east Victorian alpine village says it will welcome visitors when restrictions allow despite uncertainty whether the ski season will go ahead at all.

A comet discovered by a man in regional Victoria is becoming brighter in Australian skies and is being closely watched by amateur astronomers around the world.

Shane Fitzsimmons was nicknamed the "nation's father" for his leadership during the catastrophic bushfire season. As he departs his post as NSW RFS chief, he explains how he went from a troubled teenager to a celebrated leader, earning respect and saving lives along the way.

There have been 22 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Victoria overnight bringing the states total to 1406

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the state's total has been brought up to 1,454 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 106,000 tests conducted over the past week and a half.

A world-leading agriculture business that uses sunlight and seawater to grow tomatoes has been sold but the final price is a closely-guarded secret.

Australian creatives who have lived through devastating natural disasters turn their trauma into beautiful pieces of art.

A diver reveals footage of the final resting place of Nyora, a beloved steam tug that sank in treacherous seas off South Australia 102 years ago.

As the drought drives Australia's sheep flock to historic lows, a South Australian sheep sale has been called off three times due to a lack of animals.

A man pleads guilty to killing a relative whose bones were found in a fireplace of a home in South Australia's Mid North eight years after the man went missing.

Two men have died in a head-on truck crash on the Sturt Highway near South Australia's Barossa Valley region, as wild weather continues to hit the state.

Allegations a female firefighter was grabbed by the neck by a male colleague, and another suffered burns after being "blocked" from leaving a house fire, spark an investigation at a regional SA fire station but the findings will not be made public.

After allegations of misconduct and violent behaviour at a South Australian fire station were revealed by the ABC, some staff are now facing fresh claims of a serious conflict of interest as calls for a public inquiry intensify.

The wooden jetty and Whyalla catches fire, sending black smoke into the sky.

A young child has been transferred to hospital in Adelaide with serious burns from a house fire that has also injured two other children and several adults at Port Augusta in South Australia's north.

A toddler has died in an Adelaide hospital after suffering horrific burns in a house fire in Port Augusta in South Australia's Mid-North last week.

Children of post-war European migrants call for permanent monument at Greta Migrant Camp in the NSW Hunter Valley.

NSW Police say four residents helped rescue a 31-year-old woman and a child from a house fire in Singleton in which three other children died.

Neighbours say they were woken by "screaming" in their quiet cul-de-sac as an intense fire took hold of a house in Singleton on the NSW Hunter Valley, leaving the local community "distraught".

Residents of a quiet suburban street in NSW's Hunter Valley say they watched on helplessly with a young mother whose house burnt down in front of her with three of her children inside.

A champion surf lifesaver who was paralysed in a surfing accident while on holidays with friends last year has taken her first steps with the aid of a sci-fi-like robotic suit.

A mothballedNSWHunterValley coal-firedpowerstationis to be re-commissioned and the new owners say it willbecleaner andgreenerthanitwas beforeitshutdownfive yearsago.

Firefighters are protecting properties in Belmont, south of Newcastle, as a bushfire fanned by strong winds continues to burn near homes.

A man pleads guilty to burning another man alive after dousing him with petrol on a deserted road south of Newcastle last year.

A NSW firefighter who hatched a plan to start bushfires "so he could fight them" will serve more time in jail than the man who lit them his younger brother.

The family of volunteer firefighter from New Zealand who was killed in a hit-and-run in the NSW Hunter Valley has issued an emotional plea for someone to come forward.

When women at this regional fire station complained male colleagues were harassing them, management's response was to make them work from a dilapidated garage and things got worse after that.

Welcome to fire spotting the job where you get to look into the distance and get paid for it.

Crescent Head is currently experiencing wind gusts of up to 40kph.

Emergency services are keeping a close watch on large blazes at Middle Creek Road, Kangaroo Creek north of Coffs Harbour, and at Verges Creek north of Crescent Head in northern NSW, after residents were warned to seek shelter.

A woman whose house burnt down in bushfires affecting the NSW North Coast said that she and her husband now plan on leaving the bush due to the hazard.

MORNING BRIEFING: A guest is taken to hospital after fire guts a backpacker hostel in Coogee, while Mert Ney is due back in court over the alleged murder of Michaela Dunn and stabbing of Linda Bo.

Experts say bushfires coupled with decreasing habitat in an urbanised landscape is taking its toll on wildlife and improved land management is crucial.

Three girls aged 12, 13 and 14, are before the courts over 13 grassfires police allege were deliberately lit on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

An innovative plan to flood a fireground is being employed on the NSW mid-north coast to extinguish a fire that has been burning for more than six weeks.

The winds are not giving firefighters any breaks as a fire in the Clarence Valley moves in on properties and blazes near Armidale and Tenterfield remain "absolutely enormous", according to the Rural Fire Service.

The number of homes lost to three fires in northern NSW rises to nine as strong winds continue to hamper the efforts of firefighters to bring them under control.

Much-needed support is rolling in for drought-affected farmers hit by a massive bushfire burning in northern New South Wales.

MORNING BRIEFING: A woman has been charged with murder after a man was found with multiple stab wounds in a Sydney apartment complex, while easing weather conditions have helped firefighters in Tenterfield gain the upper hand on a bushfire.

The NSW Rural Fire Service downgrades an emergency warning for a fire at Backwater near Armidale, as hot and dry conditions continue to fuel bushfires in the area.

There are reports of property damage in the town of Darawank, north of Forster-Tuncurry on the NSW north coast where a bushfire is burning at emergency level.

Social media vision of three bushfires burning on the NSW north coast. An emergency declaration has been issued by the NSW RFS with homes under threat.

Emergency crews gain the upper hand in fighting 85 fires across NSW but two blazes near Forster-Tuncurry escalate again.

High temperatures and strong winds fuel blazes across the state, with at least two homes being destroyed near the town of Darawank on the NSW mid-north coast.

The Port Macquarie koala hospital fears more than 350 koalas may have died in a bushfire south of the town, with staff frustrated they cannot yet access the site.