Trevor Whybrow will spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars for the "extremely violent" assault which resulted in the death of his friend, Barry Moffat, after he "touched him up" in bed.

After six weeks in lockdown and quarantine, a couple who contracted COVID-19 while on an Antarctic expedition have finally made it home.

The findings are expected to reveal what the royal commission made of the evidence put before it about whether Cardinal Pell could or should have done more to prevent children from being abused by priests in the 1970s and 80s.

The new coronavirus has brought an increase in racism towards Australia's Asian community, but experts feel the current laws are not strong enough to deter offenders.

Cardinal George Pell accuses the child sexual abuse royal commission of making findings "not supported by evidence" in its unredacted report, which found he was explicitly told in 1982 of the reason paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes.

Another "quite fat" king penguin is spotted on the Tasmanian mainland, with one wildlife officer calling the sighting especially rare "unless you're on a tourist ship going to Antarctica", although no cause for concern.

Kaley Chu knew she needed to do something to change her life — her shyness was holding her back at work, and she felt like the world's most boring person. She decided to attack the problem head on.

A man who assaulted a South Australian paramedic while she attempted to help him while he was having a mental episode has avoided jail time.

Two Labor MPs are still waiting to get offices within their electorates more than a year after the state election, with one labelling the delay as a "clamp down on democracy".

Part of the Port Augusta Prison has been evacuated after a letter containing a mystery white powder was opened by staff.

Horse sanctuaries close and horse owners are forced to consider putting their horses down amid an "unprecedented shortage of hay".

Koala chlamydia has had devastating effects in Queensland and New South Wales, but a population believed to entirely free of the disease on Kangaroo Island is being heralded as a potential lifeline.

Former Queensland police officer Rachel Whitford, who died in a plane crash in outback South Australia on Saturday, posted to social media shortly before that she was "grateful for another safe landing".

A man who turned up to court in Adelaide on charges of illegally using a motor vehicle is arrested for allegedly driving there in another stolen car.

Police are preparing an operation to recover the bodies of two men who are believed to have fallen while rock climbing in a remote part of South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

A South Australian man is reported for allegedly selling alcohol without a licence after police uncovered about 800 litres of homemade alcohol at his property.

The actor, who became an Australian household name through shows such as The Sullivans and Matlock Police, won five silver Logies and also helped set up Brisbane's first AFL team.

A popular roadside attraction featuring about 2,000 teddy bears and other soft toys could secure a reprieve after an intervention from the SA Premier but two local councils remain concerned about the risk it poses to drivers.

A South Australian woman who posted "vile, vicious and vitriolic" comments about sexual impropriety, incest and drunkenness that were directed at another user of an online political forum is convicted of stalking.

A controversial teddy bear fence, which stretches for more than a kilometre on South Australia's Copper Coast Highway, is being deliberately hacked apart by knife-wielding "haters", its creator claims.

A controversial teddy bear fence featuring thousands of teddy bears alongside one of SA's major highways has been destroyed, with many condemning the actions of vandals.

Regulations aimed at ensuring the safety of remote nurses in South Australia are struck down in Parliament after being criticised by nurses and the family of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford.

In the rocky ranges of central Australia, a group of rangers are fending-off feral cats and foxes to save an increasing population of endangered wallabies.

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 small town team harnesses sewing power to create more than 4,000 reusable alternatives to single-use plastic bags in a bid to save the planet.

Former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne is committed to stand trial on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a woman in the NSW Hunter region.

The death in custody of Wiradjuri woman Rebecca Maher is ruled accidental but the inquest finds police failed to conduct a proper body search over unfounded concerns of HIV.

Former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence is convicted over the aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy, after a judge found his evidence was not credible.

The drought is dragging on but this Walgett cafe is bucking the trend and expanding and is the shot in the arm this little town needs.

The United Wambo coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley gets the go-ahead, but on the condition that its coal can only be exported to countries that have ratified the Paris climate agreement.

Homicide detectives say 29-year-old Danielle Easey, whose body was discovered wrapped in plastic in a creek near Lake Macquarie at the weekend, had become involved in drugs and was likely killed in mid-August.

Australian Jock Palfreeman is a step closer to returning home after being granted parole by a panel of three judges at the Sofia Appellate Court in Bulgaria.

Wildlife carers say they no longer have to euthanase kangaroos at a New South Wales hospital, after access was cut to thousands of tourists who were flocking to feed them.

A leading surgeon fears a gravely-ill convicted murderer could die within a year if he is deported to Papua New Guinea.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police have arrested 38 people following a climate change protest on Monday, and there have been more than 240 major crashes on the roads over the long weekend.

The NSW Parole Authority is set to grant parole to convicted paedophile and disgraced former government minister Milton Orkopoulos.

The NSW Education Department investigates after a video emerges online of a teacher telling her class that if a woman is raped, her clothing should be held partly accountable.

A monitoring program to survey bleaching is underway at Lord Howe Island Marine Park with researchers performing underwater assessments and aerial mapping.

The forestry industry believes the Coalition's pledge of planting 1 billion trees by 2030 is unrealistic, unless it removes barriers preventing the sector's growth.

A police taskforce is set up to investigate the alleged misconduct of gynaecologist Emil Gayed, following complaints made by almost 200 women to a NSW public inquiry about health care including the unnecessary removal of organs.

Following the recent Hendra virus outbreak, an equine vet is encouraging horse owners to vaccinate their animals against the deadly bat-borne disease.

It is an endangered 'living fossil' and foxes and wild pigs love to eat it, but there is a glimmer of hope for one of Australia's most striking and mysterious creatures.

A NSW court hears 81-year-old David Allen Esling, charged with the attempted stabbing murder of his wife of 54 years in April, had formed a suicide pact with her.

Recent whale entanglements on the NSW coast highlight the man-made threats marine life face at an increasing rate, and experts say we can expect to see more.

Residents at a retirement village in New South Wales say life is becoming more like science fiction as an automated vehicle changes the way they stay connected.