Wombat researchers at the University of Tasmania have won an Ig Nobel Prize for unexpectedly discovering the "quite incredible" reason the animal's scat is cubed.

When Family Planning first came to Tasmania some of its doctors were labelled witches, and it was illegal to advertise contraceptives. Nowadays, a simple text to a number can see condoms delivered to your door.

Until 2012, Maria Island's animal inhabitants were living without any major predators. But when devils were introduced they had to adapt or die.

Daniel Bradshaw experienced his first epileptic seizure aged 8 and was until recently enduring up to 50 seizures a day, until life-changing brain surgery. Now he has joined the push to change public perception of the disorder.

Regional Australians are feeling 'pill shamed' and are avoiding treatment due to the stigma around mental health medication and a lack of confidentiality in small-town pharmacies.

A chance finding among the bric-a-brac at a backyard auction in Port Lincoln results in a 12-year journey that uncovers one of Australia's most tragic family losses from war.

South Australia Police are investigating a video that appears to show an off-duty officer badly injuring or killing a wombat by throwing rocks at it, but an Aboriginal elder says it is a local hunting practice.

A video showing an off-duty police officer stoning a wombat, apparently to death, leaves Aboriginal elders divided with one condemning the incident as "wrong" but defending traditional hunting.

Outreach workers across Australia say that the survival of farming communities will depend on support and understanding from the Australian community.

Australia's largest integrated battery and solar farm in Victoria's north can power 16,000 homes. It was officially opened today.

While the Battle of Bendigo isn't quite as exotic sounding as The Rumble in the Jungle, it's still a bout you should care about, writes Alex McClintock.

Three men accused of attacking staff at a youth justice centre in central Victoria with a plastic cricket bat will be sent to adult prison. It follows another incident earlier this week when an inmate allegedly attacked a worker with a makeshift knife.

Rain has been so heavy in parts of Gippsland that it has caused landslides, severely limiting some residents' mobility. Meanwhile, the other half of the region continues to battle through the drought.

A proposal to build a lead battery smelter in the Latrobe Valley has sparked health concerns among the local community. The nearest house is little more than a kilometre from the site, as is a school.

It's an old joke in Bathurst that locals can spot an out-of-towner because they turn the wrong way around one of the historic lamp standards in the city's CBD. But what's the reason behind this road rule and is it unique to Bathurst?

It's been 30 years since the Daintree rainforest was World Heritage-listed, signalling the end of one industry and the birth of another.

Cassandra Smith* found herself in hospital and on an IV line directly to her heart when mould took hold of her body, seeping in after her Townsville home was inundated during major flooding, with an expert saying mould in the city is the most extreme she has ever seen.

Witness AAC says five of her children with disability have had negative experiences with the education system, with problems ranging from verbal abuse to denial of access to bathroom facilities and other restrictive practices.

A $30 million proposal for a sheep abattoir that would employ 150 full-time workers is opposed by a group of residents, who are concerned about potential health impacts and devaluation of their properties.

Authorities were warned that a teenage boy with severe cognitive impairments was deteriorating in Darwin's Don Dale youth detention centre and needed help, before he joined in on a riot for which he may now go to adult jail.

Manal Aqrawe is a doctor with more than 20 years of experience, but she can't get a job in Australia even outside medicine. Her story is sobering, but far from isolated.

The new energy storage will help the ACT avoid blackouts and meet its commitment to renewable electricity.

The ACT Government unashamedly asks the community to do more to help it reach the ambitious target of net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with transport and natural gas top of the list of targets.

New laws are before Queensland Parliament to protect the Great Barrier Reef from harmful nutrient and sediment run-off, with a voluntary scheme not working fast enough according to the Environment Minister.

Queensland's Royal Flying Doctor Service trades training for loyalty in a new program to bring in more pilots.

Fire crews contain a blaze west of Kalbar on Queensland's Scenic Rim, as well as battling bushfires on multiple fronts near Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland, with the Rural Fire Service saying resources are "stretched to the limit".

South-East Queensland's bat population is in crisis as the species faces a mass starvation event which is seeing rescue groups inundated with as many as 50 calls a day reporting deaths and injuries in public spaces and backyards.

Some of Australia's best baton twirlers will be heading to the world championships in France next week and for some the journey hasn't been without considerable pain.

A group of primary students are turning to a traditional skill that they hope will help them, and their families, rely less on throwaway fashion.

Legendary Australian boxer Troy Waters, a former junior middleweight world title boxing contender, dies at the age of 53 following a long battle with leukaemia.

Bathurst's resident golf pro, Matt Barratt, centre, works with schools to recruit juniors to the sport.

The BOM says "scraggly" showers moved over the Great Dividing Range with a few millimetres in places like Orange and Dubbo but nowhere near enough to make a difference to the enduring drought.

The romance and lifestyle of winemaking do not match the reality of hard work and tough business, says an international wine writer.

The beer may be flowing, but water will be limited at Mount Panorama as supercars fans help conserve water in the drought-affected community.

New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin wins a drama-filled Bathurst 1000 for the first time in his career after surviving a tense finish at Mount Panorama.