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.

Social media went into meltdown after images emerged of a power pole in the middle of a Newcastle street.

A recent Harvard study found Australia's economy is less complex than Kazakhstan or Uganda, but is the assessment fair? And, if it is, what can be done to diversify the economy away from its mining dependence?

Bush schools which harness outdoor exploration and play are increasing, and teachers say they are improving engagement, reducing anxiety and building resilience.

An estimated eight million tonnes of plastic rubbish enters the world's oceans each year and an Australian invention called a Seabin is doing something about it.

Early figures from Surf Life Saving Australia show that 53 people drowned on Australian beaches over summer.

Australian artworks will feature in a new international art-science exhibition in Venice, which hopes to educate people and raise talk about climate change and deforestation, and possible solutions.

MORNING BRIEFING: Former Newcastle Knights star Jarrod Mullen is charged over his alleged role in a cocaine ring in the Hunter region and Australia's country music industry is in shock after singer and producer Glen Hannah dies.

Bound by tradition but using honey from stingless bees and Australian botanicals proves to be more than just a silver lining for a NSW distiller.

A pharmaceutical giant owned by the Sackler family in the United States is using flaws in regulation to push its latest product deep into regional Australia.

Bullied outcasts hit the textbooks alongside teen mums bouncing babies while in the next classroom youths facing juvie learn about sex in prison.

A private company has unveiled its plans to build a major off-stream dam in the Northern Territory so who is NT Water Pty Ltd?

A review of WA's cattle stations finds at least a dozen are at risk of animal welfare issues in coming months because of a lack of food and water.

A "flood" of vulnerable Australians have been walking into Telstra shops looking to buy a cheap flip phone and walking out with contracts worth $250 a month. Now the consumer watchdog is investigating.

The Australian kelpie's origins have long been shrouded in mystery, but new genetics research has found some vital answers to the iconic working dog's ancestry.

At least 80 people were killed in a Japanese attack on Broome in 1942, and now the search is on for the wrecks of the flying boats where they died.

In the Northern Territory, where much of the population is sparse and remote, there are still wide gaps in understanding superannuation.

Australian Indigenous actor Ningali Lawford-Wolf dies at the age of 52 in Edinburgh, Scotland, while touring with the stage production of The Secret River.

Damage to a fibre optic cable causes a 20-hour communications blackout across Western Australia's Kimberley region, proving bad for business, but reigniting old-fashioned conversation.

Survivor is a word thrown around fairly lightly, but in the case of German migrant Frauke Bolten-Boshammer, you can't help but feel she's earned the title 10 times over.

Dozens of children with disabilities are being pulled out of West Australian schools by parents who say they are not getting enough support in the classroom.

Australia is home to some of the best dairy operations in the world, but an analyst has warned that without a drastic increase in production the country could soon become an "import nation".

Two of the world's biggest gold mining companies have merged in a $14 billion deal. What does it mean for the Kalgoorlie Super Pit and other Aussie gold mines?

Australia was built on gold rushes a century ago, but there is a warning it could slip from second to fourth on a list of the world's biggest gold producing nations by 2024.

Asian demand for the humble yabby has boomed in the last decade, but a lack of dam-filling rainfall threatens to pull them from the menu.

The weather serves as both a great unifier and obsession for most Australians and now the Bureau of Meteorology is about to bring in the next generation of online forecasting technology.

A crackdown on home loans emerges in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, with borrowers being asked for deposits of up to 30 per cent and banks throwing greater scrutiny on location and living expenses.

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.

An increase in the production of the trendy grains overseas forces a number of pioneering Australian growers to scale down production. What is the future for Australian farmers in the multi-billion-dollar superfood industry?

Killer whales gathering in a newly discovered biodiversity hotspot off the south coast of Western Australia are communicating with Aussie accents, according to a research group studying the ocean's apex predator.

Catching a glimpse of snow at the top of Bluff Knoll is a highly sought after WA bucket-list item, but this history of snowfall in WA spans Geraldton to Southern Cross.

Australian companies are enjoying record high woodchip prices, with overseas demand especially form China pushing the price for premium chips beyond $260 per bone-dry tonne.

This online community is reaching out to asylum seekers, providing friendship and support.

Arm wrestling is often associated with a casual competition at the local pub, but professionals like Ryan 'The Milkman' Scott compete internationally and are working hard to grow the sport in regional communities.

Australian farmers are grappling with the future of wheat exports as Black Sea nations like Russia and Ukraine increase shipments to Indonesia.

With WA moving closer to legalising voluntary assisted dying, the debate is shining a light on the desperate need for better palliative care, particularly in regional areas.

In West Cape Howe National Park on WA's rugged south coast, there is a narrow, twisting track with a fearsome reputation that has become a rite of passage for four-wheel drive enthusiasts.

Australia's $1.4-billion plantation woodchip industry is dragged into the US-China trade war, with a number of shipments to the Asian economic powerhouse cancelled in the fallout from the dispute.

African swine fever has depleted China's pig herd, creating a protein shortage that is benefitting Australian sheep farmers.

Praised for its "sweat characters and nuttiness", a Perth-based distillery and second-generation farmer from Western Australia's far-north have teamed up to create Australia's first red corn whiskey.

Close to the heart of gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome are two flags made from the dresses of drag queens who fought police in the Stonewall riots in New York. They'll now be preserved in a collection of memorabilia documenting the battle to change society's views.

The Launceston City Council becomes the second in Tasmania to scrap its Australia Day celebrations and instead hold its citizenship ceremony on a less contentious day.

South Australia's recent "old mate" tourism campaign may have ended in tears both literally and figuratively but Tasmania is hoping to cash in on that controversy by releasing its own rival ad.

Scientists hope a drill that can plunge 3 kilometres down into an Antarctic ice cap and withstand temperatures of -55 degrees Celsius will help solve one of the last great puzzles in climate science.