Health insurer apologises for failing to respond to a young man left fighting an aggressive leukaemia in Brisbane, who is unable to return to his home country of Colombia during the coronavirus pandemic.

A central Queensland farmer's sunflower crop has become a social media sensation, with surprise crowds of thousands flocking to his property to admire the bright fields.

Authorities say a "perfect storm" has caused a disturbing rise in domestic violence cases, as the parents of murdered woman Hannah Clarke ask Queenslanders to support a vigil to remember victims.

The Templeton family, fourth-generation farmers who almost lost everything to a pest called pythium, turn to extreme cleaning — with the help of a $250,000 washing machine from Italy — and are recognised for their efforts.

Forty experts from the Asia-Pacific will train animal workers to spot virus outbreaks before they even begin, in a new government-funded scheme to reduce the risk of another virus crisis.

MORNING BRIEFING: The NSW Premier's leadership through the coronavirus crisis receives a 70 per cent approval rating, while Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches reopen for exercise only.

MORNING BRIEFING: Relatives are insisting they be allowed to see loved ones at an aged care home where 11 people have died of COVID-19, while the Waverley Council applauds people for abiding by rules at reopened beaches.

The Holmes family will continue staying home even after COVID-19 lockdown rules are relaxed — with good reason.

NSW's total number of new COVID-19 cases increases by only two people, one day before some social-distancing restrictions in Australia's worst-affected virus state are eased.

Another resident dies from coronavirus at Newmarch House in Western Sydney, bringing the aged care facility's death toll to 16.

Scores of crew members on the Ruby Princess celebrated with a party on the day it docked in Sydney unaware of the public health disaster that was about to happen.

A court hears the NSW Rural Fire Service may ask the state's Attorney-General to relax restrictions so it can distribute the $51.3 million raised by comedian Celeste Barber to help victims of the Black Summer bushfires.

The marketing body representing businesses in Surfers Paradise says clubs could "reinvent themselves"' to stay competitive after coronavirus restrictions ease.

Three years after shutting down and shedding more than 30 local jobs, Binnaway's abattoir is reopening, offering a much-needed boost.

If you are hoping to be buried in Launceston's main cemetery, you'll need deep pockets, with the cost of a single plot "skyrocketing" more than 225 per cent in recent years, and it's set to go up again. Why does it cost so much?

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

As Tasmanian health authorities say they are yet to learn how two people in the state's north-west contracted coronavirus, four new cases are confirmed.

For the first time in about a fortnight Tasmania has had no new positive coronavirus tests, but the Premier says that's no reason to relax while warning parents to supervise children not at school.

A new coronavirus case diagnosed overnight takes Tasmania's tally to 72, as authorities release a list of destinations visited by two interstate travellers who later tested positive for COVID-19.

A 91-year-old woman becomes the sixth Tasmanian to die from coronavirus, as the state's overall tally jumps to 165 cases — with all of the new cases known to be from the disease hotspot of the north-west.

Hotel Bruny owner Dave Gunton is helping to feed the island's residents during the coronavirus crisis, as many welcome a return to quieter times of growing vegetables and producing salt from seawater.

Ryan Chambers disappeared 13 years ago. Today his face, frozen in time, adorns the side of a shop in South Australia's Riverland, imploring people not to forget the young man who hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Amber Brea Rover was suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia when she stabbed her friend Zoe Fenn in July last year.

The famous Dog on the Tuckerbox statue near Gundagai in the NSW Riverina has been knocked from its sandstone pedestal in an attack the local mayor has called a "senseless bit of vandalism".

Controversial environmental water flows are thought to be the driving force behind the revival of the native southern bell frog, despite the drought.

Conservationists are alarmed about the amount of vegetation to be cleared for Snowy 2.0, but Snowy Hydro says the benefits outweigh their concerns.

Climate protesters who brought the streets of Melbourne to a standstill are vowing to make a comeback in autumn as police reveal the cost of overtime for controlling the protests would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An investigation is launched after relatives were told their loved one had been discharged, prompting a search for the missing man whose body was actually in a Melbourne morgue all along.

One of three peregrine falcon chicks that hatched, in front of thousands of online fans, has died in a nest perched high on a Melbourne skyscraper, marking the third year in a row the nest has suffered such a loss.

High-density developments are cropping up in almost every Melbourne suburb and local resident groups have had enough.

Spring and summer are the busiest times of year for dog attacks, so what should you do to avoid your pup becoming a victim, and who's to blame if it's attacked?

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast the coldest morning of the year today, but that didn't stop Toowoomba exercisers from rugging up and getting on with it.

About 300 people took part in Saturday's Reclaim the Night rally, where women and girls marched through the town to Victory Park, sang and carried banners.

The saddlery and produce business is a fixture of Bunbury. It has sat opposite the old railway station for 120 years and hardly seems to have changed at all.

In Maffra's memorial hall almost a million Lego pieces are being constructed into dragons, landmarks and streetscapes in an exhibition to raise money for the Central Gippsland Health Service.

Humans get exercise in many ways, including training and competing with their dogs in agility trials. So is it time the competition is officially recognised as a sport?

Burketown, a town in north-west Queensland, can be cut off from the world for months at a time during the wet season, but it's got better internet than in Sydney according to a textile designer.

Bats have been migrating earlier than usual this year due to inland drought and a lack of food in Queensland's south-east, with red flying foxes seen covering Mount Isa's sky.

Annastacia Palaszczuk is forced to apologise to Parliament over her threats to strip Katter's Australian Party MPs of resources when they refused to denounce former colleague Fraser Anning's speech calling for a Muslim immigration ban.

Twenty years ago, cats and dogs in RSPCA animal shelters had a good chance of being put down. Today, it's a different story.

Twelve years ago Paul Preusker was disqualified for possessing an electronic jigger. Now he's back, training the Melbourne Cup favourite and insisting he's a changed man.

A group of wool makers launches a new trademark to recognise textile producers whose homegrown fibre is 100 per cent Australian from the farm right through to the finished product.

A jury hears of the moment the woman accused of causing a crash that killed four people in western Victoria realised the deceased were "probably grandmothers" as well.

Kari Gislason concedes it would have been very easy to write a sad memoir about his relationship with his dad - but he made a concerted effort not to go down that track.

Fine-dining chefs Tom Chiumento and Simon Evans usually serve seven-course degustations, but recently they've been using their talents to provide quality meals from food destined for the bin.

Do you suffer from an indescribable feeling of vertigo, constant dizziness and motion sickness? Chances are you could have Mal de Debarquement Syndrome.

High-profile members of the surf lifesaving movement have described a continual wrestle for resources between spending on sport and spending on rescue equipment.