A cold case investigation into the death of a baby in a caravan park in WA's Goldfields 24 years ago takes another twist, with a 55-year-old Queensland man charged with historic child sex offences.

The find at a dam in outback Western Australia is even more incredible considering the number of fossickers who camp there while prospecting in the Goldfields.

Global uncertainty has sent gold prices soaring, resulting in a boom for miners. But it has also had the effect of drying up traditional markets where exploration companies raise cash to explore for rich new discoveries.

The Federal Government is ordered to pay $206,000 in legal fees for a two-year-old Tamil girl who has been embroiled in a high-profile legal battle to stay in Australia with her family.

The warm weather is about to end in Victoria, with the state set to be hit by a deluge of rain, hail and snow from today and temperatures set to hang around the low teens all weekend.

The coronavirus pandemic has made life harder for most people, but spare a thought for 66-year-old Isabel McLeary, who is looking after three teenagers with disability who can now only access vital support online.

Victoria's state political reporter Richard Willingham tells of a dramatic week during the COVID-19 pandemic when everything changed, and the particular challenges of reporting a story unlike any other he's covered.

Internet search giant Google is ordered to pay $40,000 in damages to Melbourne lawyer George Defteros after a Supreme Court of Victoria ruling found the internet giant was a publisher, and had defamed the man.

Supreme Court Justice Timothy Ginnane orders a COVID-19 risk assessment be undertaken at Port Phillip Prison after finding there was a prima facie case prison authorities breached their duty of care.

An unusually early cold snap is delivering snow, frost and strong winds, and while temperatures will increase back towards average for a few days as the system moves out to sea, another bout of bad weather will soon move east from WA.

As some states across the country enjoyed their first taste of social freedom in weeks at the weekend, for many living in border towns it was more a case of confusion than celebration.

Police oppose bail for an IT expert accused of directing the importation of more than a billion dollars' worth of drugs into Australia, after prosecutors alleged he was part of a sophisticated plan of cyber coverup and stolen identities.

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.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says Victoria has recorded 17 new cases of coronavirus overnight with 11 of them linked to meat processing plant Cedar Meats in Broolyn, May 5, 2020.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas also announced additional tax relief for families and businesses impacted by pandemic lockdown measures, May 5, 2020.

Police say there is "no reason" a man was shot as he was driving two women home from a church service, and they hope a $250,000 reward will help find answers for him.

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.

Police are appealing for public assistance in the search for Ricardo Barbaro, who is wanted over the death of Ellie Price in South Melbourne.

Nestled in bushland on the side of Canberra's Capital Hill, in the shadow of Parliament House's mighty flagpole, is arguably the most ruthless but cohesive party rooms in federal politics.

A rarely seen Bulwer's petrel, nicknamed Buggerlugs, which lost its way and ended up on a pub balcony in Sydney, is flown north and released back into its natural habitat.

A woman who says she has only been a fan of the iconic rock band Queen for about a year sets the Guinness World Record for clocking up approximately 240 hours, or 10 consecutive days, watching Bohemian Rhapsody in cinemas.

Queensland law enforcement are undergoing a close shave of their own after being directed to shave for potential close-fitting masks to protect against coronavirus.

Alan Clarke thought completing a 500km run across some of Australia's roughest terrain would be his biggest challenge. But that all changed when he spotted something in the shallows.

The Cordillo Downs woolshed is the biggest of its kind in the world and a reminder of when Australia rode on the sheep's back. Now help is being sought to guarantee its future.

Journalist Andrew McGarry covered the trial of one of Australia's most notorious serial killings. Two decades since police made the gruesome discovery in a disused bank vault, he looks at the similarities between the actions of ringleader, John Bunting, and George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

A man is charged with the murder of another man at a home in South Australia's Mid North region in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The husband of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford says new protections for nurses named in her honour are necessary, but is worried healthcare workers could still be at risk.

A Coober Pedy man has been charged with murder following the alleged stabbing of another man in South Australia's far north.

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 young father who "snapped" while trying to settle his five-week-old son, shaking the baby so hard that his development has now "effectively frozen", is sentenced to at least 18 months in prison.

Scottish stonemasons with experience in restoring castles, restore a historic woolshed in South Australia's outback with quite a bit of help from the locals.

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.

South Australian police say they have discovered the bones of murdered man Martin Meffert during a dig at a property in the state's Mid North today.

A Flinders Ranges woman who killed a man after ramming him with her ute as part of a family dispute over a trailer is found guilty of manslaughter, not murder, with an Adelaide judge saying she "cannot be sure" the woman intended to kill.

When new laws were introduced following the murder of remote area nurse Gayle Woodford in outback SA in 2016, her family and friends were strongly supportive but they now believe a crucial loophole remains.

Pelicans and other waterbirds are dying in the outback and disappearing from waterways, as the effects of drought compound an already-concerning long-term decline in populations.

A man who was a teenager when he murdered his relative whose bones were later found in rural SA receives a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, but his non-parole period has not yet been set.

The SA Government has ordered a review into the Environmental Protection Authority's policies over notification of environmental incidents, following an ABC investigation into two chemical spills at Port Pirie's Nyrstar smelter.

Birdwatchers are spotting crimson and rare orange chats in southern Australia, refugees of the drought in the inland.

Police found the baby's body in Newcastle early on Tuesday morning. Police hold "serious and grave concerns" for the safety of the baby's mother, who they say may need to seek urgent medical treatment.

The 18-year-old mother of a newborn baby boy whose body was found in a backyard on Tuesday has been found in Penrith and taken to hospital.

A young mother left with third-degree burns is urging others not to make the same mistake as her, and says to never fill a hot water bottle with boiling water.

The NSW woman's remains were found in bushland two years after her disappearance in 2014. Today a judge has dismissed the jury in the trial of Ms McBride's ex-partner.

MORNING BRIEFING: NSW Police arrest a man in Guildford over the shooting murder of Parramatta FC soccer player John Odisho, while Barnaby Joyce leads an anti-abortion rally in Martin Place.