A "flood" of vulnerable Australians have been walking into Telstra shops looking to buy a cheap flip phone and walking out with contracts worth $250 a month. Now the consumer watchdog is investigating.

The Australian kelpie's origins have long been shrouded in mystery, but new genetics research has found some vital answers to the iconic working dog's ancestry.

At least 80 people were killed in a Japanese attack on Broome in 1942, and now the search is on for the wrecks of the flying boats where they died.

In the Northern Territory, where much of the population is sparse and remote, there are still wide gaps in understanding superannuation.

Australian Indigenous actor Ningali Lawford-Wolf dies at the age of 52 in Edinburgh, Scotland, while touring with the stage production of The Secret River.

Survivor is a word thrown around fairly lightly, but in the case of German migrant Frauke Bolten-Boshammer, you can't help but feel she's earned the title 10 times over.

Indigenous ranger teams have traditionally been dominated by men, but a growing female workforce in the Kimberley is being seen as a vital resource.

Brewing biofuel at a unique international school in Indonesia was just one of the projects taken on by students Britt and Marein Koens in the pursuit of sustainability.

Australia is home to some of the best dairy operations in the world, but an analyst has warned that without a drastic increase in production the country could soon become an "import nation".

Two of Australia's most unique private military collections are tucked away on WA's south coast, not far from Albany where thousands of soldiers departed for WWI.

Two of the world's biggest gold mining companies have merged in a $14 billion deal. What does it mean for the Kalgoorlie Super Pit and other Aussie gold mines?

Australia was built on gold rushes a century ago, but there is a warning it could slip from second to fourth on a list of the world's biggest gold producing nations by 2024.

The weather serves as both a great unifier and obsession for most Australians and now the Bureau of Meteorology is about to bring in the next generation of online forecasting technology.

A crackdown on home loans emerges in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, with borrowers being asked for deposits of up to 30 per cent and banks throwing greater scrutiny on location and living expenses.

Dr Barbara Anne York Main OAM, who died last week, was one of Australia's leading spider researchers and conservationists. She studied the world's oldest spider and championed their home at a time when both the environment and women were given no fighting chance.

An increase in the production of the trendy grains overseas forces a number of pioneering Australian growers to scale down production. What is the future for Australian farmers in the multi-billion-dollar superfood industry?

Killer whales gathering in a newly discovered biodiversity hotspot off the south coast of Western Australia are communicating with Aussie accents, according to a research group studying the ocean's apex predator.

Catching a glimpse of snow at the top of Bluff Knoll is a highly sought after WA bucket-list item, but this history of snowfall in WA spans Geraldton to Southern Cross.

Australian companies are enjoying record high woodchip prices, with overseas demand especially form China pushing the price for premium chips beyond $260 per bone-dry tonne.

This online community is reaching out to asylum seekers, providing friendship and support.

Arm wrestling is often associated with a casual competition at the local pub, but professionals like Ryan 'The Milkman' Scott compete internationally and are working hard to grow the sport in regional communities.

Australian farmers are grappling with the future of wheat exports as Black Sea nations like Russia and Ukraine increase shipments to Indonesia.

Aquaculture has replaced tourism to become the biggest breadwinner in two of WA's picturesque tourism towns once reliant on seasonal work.

With WA moving closer to legalising voluntary assisted dying, the debate is shining a light on the desperate need for better palliative care, particularly in regional areas.

In West Cape Howe National Park on WA's rugged south coast, there is a narrow, twisting track with a fearsome reputation that has become a rite of passage for four-wheel drive enthusiasts.

Australia's $1.4-billion plantation woodchip industry is dragged into the US-China trade war, with a number of shipments to the Asian economic powerhouse cancelled in the fallout from the dispute.

African swine fever has depleted China's pig herd, creating a protein shortage that is benefitting Australian sheep farmers.

An environmentalist says discarding apple cores out the car window creates a major problem as it lures native wildlife to the sides of busy highways.

The WA SES Volunteer Association hits out at department bureaucracy after a decade-long wait for equipment.

Praised for its "sweat characters and nuttiness", a Perth-based distillery and second-generation farmer from Western Australia's far-north have teamed up to create Australia's first red corn whiskey.

Close to the heart of gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome are two flags made from the dresses of drag queens who fought police in the Stonewall riots in New York. They'll now be preserved in a collection of memorabilia documenting the battle to change society's views.

The Launceston City Council becomes the second in Tasmania to scrap its Australia Day celebrations and instead hold its citizenship ceremony on a less contentious day.

South Australia's recent "old mate" tourism campaign may have ended in tears both literally and figuratively but Tasmania is hoping to cash in on that controversy by releasing its own rival ad.

Scientists hope a drill that can plunge 3 kilometres down into an Antarctic ice cap and withstand temperatures of -55 degrees Celsius will help solve one of the last great puzzles in climate science.

Autonomous mining trucks and remote health tools are among key Australian technologies that NASA will need for its 2024 Moon mission, stakeholders say.

In the town of Miena there are just 100 people and human interaction can be scarce, but Kaylee Hattinger has done her bit to bring life to one of the coldest places in the country.

Scuba divers can reach depths of 40 metres, but there's a small group of hardcore divers who venture more than twice as deep. You just need a sense of adventure and the right gear.

Before moving to Tasmania, Malak Abdou was a veterinarian in Egypt. Now working on a farm, he's one of the lucky ones.

Two police officers are bitten and another kicked in the head during a violent arrest in Hobart's northern suburbs.

As Antarctic icebreaker Aurora Australis launches into its last season, there are many stories to tell, including a love story.

The operators of a fast-food pizza shop in Hobart are fined $104,000 after a court finds they "deliberately" adopted a different payment system for foreign employees that saw the workers earn significantly less than their Australian counterparts.

A national fertility business attached to clinics in six Australian states and territories says its email system has been subjected to a "malicious cyber attack", with patients reporting receiving bogus messages that appear to be from the company.

Researchers have used marsupial lion fossils discovered in Naracoorte and the Nullarbor to discover that the Thylacoleo was similar to a tree-climbing Tasmanian devil, ambushing its prey in forests.

A five-member fishing crew is relieved to be back on land after enduring 12 days adrift off South Australia's coast, coming up against personal tragedy, a failed rescue attempt and a shortage of food.