A teenage boy was watching television on his iPad when a cattle truck slammed into his parents' caravan, killing both of them, on a Western Australian outback highway two years ago, a court is told.

Now that Western Australia's moratorium on fracking has been lifted, can gas from the Kimberley prove that it is economically viable?

For many families in remote parts of Australia, virtual classrooms provide a vital education but low enrolment numbers in some parts could spell trouble for schools of the air.

When Jack Baker pulled down a 116-year-old, 250kg bronze bell from a simple church in a remote, dusty town, he discovered a connection to one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.

The number of cattle allowed onboard live export ships is about to be reduced. Industry says the new rule makes no sense and will cause financial pain.

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.

A Federal Government investigation has found no evidence a whistleblower onboard the livestock carrier Awassi Express fabricated conditions on the boat by switching off fans and ventilation.

A West Australian man has captured on camera what may be one of the first documented cases of a redback spider capturing a mouse.

The "extinction pit" is the name used by scientists for a place no animal wants to go, and just five years ago the numbat Western Australia's animal emblem found itself on the edge thanks to the rise of a new predator.

The Catholic Church says it will not follow new Tasmanian laws that require priests to break the seal of confession to report suspicion of child sex abuse.

DAILY BRIEFING: A Tasmanian shark attack victim commemorates a year since the incident, cattle deaths hearing delayed and basketball stars arrive in the state.

Three-year-old Chase has come ahead in leaps and bounds in this past year, his family credits a program giving kids like him free access to early learning.

DAILY BRIEFING: Treasury modelling warns of net debt of more than $4 billion by 2033-34, and a plan to accommodate a bumper Sydney-to-Hobart fleet this year at Constitution Dock hits a snag.

In just one month, Donna went from thinking she was "too young" to have breast cancer to having a mastectomy. Now she's decided to have her other breast removed.

These farmers have an unusual complaint. As drought takes its toll on the rest of the nation, they just cannot keep water off their land and it's forcing them to halve their stock numbers.

Betty Pilgrim is 71, but she's studying law online and just got back from two months of backpacking in Europe. She's hoping if she can stay active, it will help stave off dementia.

Port Lincoln, on South Australia's west coast, celebrates four decades of a tuna-tossing competition that commemorates the city's fishing history and is proving popular with hammer throwers.

Some posts and memes on social media want foreign aid cut until Australians get back on their feet after natural disasters. But is this too simplistic?

Charities are turning to technology as they struggle to source enough food to feed a growing number of people going hungry in rural and remote communities.

A police officer helps save a worker who jumped into the ocean for his own safety when the Whyalla jetty caught fire on Wednesday afternoon.

A Victorian water authority bows to pressure and abandons plans to pump more groundwater from an area where it caused major environmental degradation.

Violent standover man Hizir Ferman may have "progressively suffocated" to death when Victorian prison officers used their body weight to pin him to the ground after forcibly removing him from his cell, an inquest has been told.

Hateful language in parliament filters to the street, advocates say, and it can lead to disaffection so deep in some Australians that they choose not to vote at all.

Former Fairfax Media executive Antony 'The Cat' Catalano strikes a $115 million deal to buy his old employer's regional newspaper group.

Prison officers and nurses could have done more to prevent the death of underworld figure Hizir Ferman, who suffocated to death inside a Victorian prison after a stand-off with guards, a coroner finds.

The lawyer for the family of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day tells a public inquest into her death it was police "neglect" that led to her suffering catastrophic brain injuries alone in a cell.

From sky-high water costs to prohibitively expensive livestock feed, new forecasts show how drought will impact Australia's exports and agricultural production.

An Indian Catholic priest who claims parents' adultery and masturbation causes autism in children, and who claims to have "cured" autism through prayer, cancels a series of religious retreats in Australia.

Teachers will be offered up to $50,000 to relocate from Melbourne to rural and regional schools desperate for qualified teachers, as part of a new Victorian Government plan to tackle flagging results.

In regional Victoria, palliative care patients are waiting hours and sometimes days for much-needed medications to help with pain and quality of life.

Crucial cattle herd genetics have been lost in a fire that destroyed 100 cryogenic cylinders of cattle semen in south-east Victoria overnight.

If the 'Star of the South' wind farm is approved, you will see the turbines off the pier

Researchers at the Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab have created Aguahoja, a collection of natural artifacts that were digitally designed and robotically fabricated from the molecular components found in trees, insect exoskeletons, apples and bones.

BCN3D, a Barcelona-based desktop 3D printing OEM, announced today that it has raised $3 million through seed funding.

A newspaper photo saved by a trusted stenographer shows the behind-the-scenes drama of Edward VIII's abdication unfolding in his dominion Down Under.

Johannes Frerck was a friendly man who sold sausages and sauerkraut from his Darlinghurst shop he was also a staunch supporter of Adolf Hitler and branded a spy who threatened Australia's security.

Farms across North Queensland have suffered stock and crop losses of up to 50 per cent in the wake of unprecedented flooding.

How long will cattle producers have to wait for sorely-needed bitumen? ABC Rural takes a look at the Federal Government's significant budget for Territory roads.