George Pell's lawyer tells an appeals court there are "questions of probability" over whether the child sex abuse offences the Cardinal is convicted of occurred, and a jury should have found him not guilty even if they believed his victim.

Hundreds of abuse survivors could benefit from reforms that will allow them to sue their abusers, even if they signed "unfair" agreements not to take legal action.

A teenager molested by Christian Brother John Laidlaw in the 1980s tells a Melbourne court he thought he was being "punished by God" when he was sexually assaulted at his family home, as the former teacher pleads guilty to abusing six boys over two decades.

A Christian Brother who sexually assaulted boys at some of Victoria's most prestigious Catholic schools is sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

The Catholic Church may have opened itself up to hundreds of potential damages claims from sexual abuse survivors after admitting liability in court documents.

The Storm hold on in a tight encounter against the Dragons to win 16-14 in Wollongong, as both sides struggle to cover for their missing State of Origin stars.

An educator on the New South Wales south coast hopes to have all the region's school children fluently speaking their local Dharawal language in the next 10 years.

MORNING BRIEFING: NSW police hunt for Sunjay Dayal, who escaped while undertaking maintenance work in Mount Kiera, while three cars set alight in a garage triggers the fire alarms inside a Liverpool unit block.

A plan to shore up New South Wales's energy supply suffers a setback amid concerns about aircraft safety.

Cronulla moves into eighth place on the NRL ladder after a hard-fought win over the Dragons, after the Roosters made light work of the Warriors in an ominous performance ahead of finals.

Sydney's drinking water catchment is under threat from longwall mining with upland swamps and streams drying out as a colliery pushes to expand.

A former Special Forces soldier says it's time for the ADF to "modernise" its internal legal system and start footing the bills for members who want to use civilian lawyers.

SA legal reforms that will allow alleged sex offenders to be named earlier in proceedings are being hailed as an important safety measure, but the Law Society is concerned about vigilantism.

The NSW Police watchdog finds the strip searches of four teenagers at two separate music festivals were unlawful, but stops short of findings of misconduct against the officers involved.

A defamation lawsuit launched by one of Australia's most decorated soldiers could be delayed until next year because of coronavirus and a decision by the Attorney-General to invoke special secrecy laws to protect sensitive military information.

The Roosters entrench themselves in the top four with a win over the Bulldogs at the SCG after Manly defeats the Dragons at Brookvale.

Ex-detective Paul Dale tells a royal commission he has waited years to expose "corruption" within Victoria Police over the use of Nicola Gobbo as an informer, and that his sexual relationship with the woman known as Lawyer X has been exaggerated.

The Victorian Government prepares to reintroduce a bill which would make it easier for people to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate to male, female or any other gender descriptor of their choice.

A teenage basketball star from a celebrity family in California is set to move to Wollongong in New South Wales in one of the most intriguing signings in Australian basketball history.

Former drug squad detective Paul Dale wanted to speak to gangland bosses Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams nine days after he was arrested for the burglary of a drug house, the royal commission hears.

Amid plans for a five-star hotel for Canberra's centre, some of the city's biggest music success stories plot to save its nightlife, claiming currently unenforced noise limits could kick into effect and threaten venues when the hotel starts hosting guests.

A crime spree allegedly committed by a high-risk fugitive has prompted the SA Government to "clean up" the laws that govern the supervision of former prisoners.

An Adelaide lawyer who authored the South Australian Law Society's trust account handbook "abused" his knowledge to steal $850,000 from two deceased estates and fabricate documents to cover his tracks, a court has heard.

A group of 1,000 protesters gathered in Sydney on Sunday to urge the Australian Government to condemn a proposed new law in Hong Kong which would allow criminals to be extradited to mainland China.

Premier Daniel Andrews says more than 100 doctors have already undertaken intensive specialist training ahead of Victoria's voluntary assisted dying laws taking effect on June 19.

The Victorian Parliament will debate a bill which would allow people to change their gender on their birth certificate without needing to undergo surgery.

Disgraced former drug detective Paul Dale tells the Royal Commission into Management of Police Informants he has waited years to expose what he says is "corruption" within the highest ranks of Victoria Police over the use of Nicola Gobbo as a police informer.

Three remote Western Australian Indigenous communities say they have been disadvantaged because their homes lie within national park and reserve areas and they want out.

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.

Drug-driving has become more deadly than drink-driving and Victoria is flagging drug tests in trucking firms as one area needing urgent attention.

When a farmworker was convicted of poisoning hundreds of wedge-tailed eagles in Victoria, he told the court he was ordered to do it. But due to legal limitations, no further charges were laid against his boss.

Faruk Orman, who spent 12 years in prison for murder before being acquitted because of the Lawyer X scandal, is suing Victoria Police for unspecified damages.

The ewes, estimated to have been roaming free for years, are spotted on WA's south coast by a man who's had their monster fleeces removed.

The nurses' union says a law requiring remote health workers to be accompanied when going on unscheduled or after-hours callouts is being undermined by the State Government.

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.

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.

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.

A court has heard the most senior Australian Anglican clergyman to be charged with child sexual abuse used his power and influence to dissuade his alleged victim from disclosing the abuse.

Former Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence "avoided" answering questions when giving his evidence about allegations he sexually assaulted a teenager at his home in the early 1990s, a court has heard.

The defence for former Anglican dean Graeme Lawrence has told a court the case against him has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 former Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence is sentenced to a maximum of eight years over the rape of a 15-year-old boy in 1991.

When Bennett Powell was a child, doctors thought he might never walk but now he's running, cycling and swimming as part of his third Ironman Australia race.

Honey from Australian native stingless bees is not technically honey and moves are buzzing around to change that.

Members of the NSW legal fraternity have spoken out against a bill to change the state's double jeopardy laws brought forward following the acquittal of the prime suspect in the Bowraville murders.