Retailers have been at the economic epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with mass shutdowns in place for the past five weeks.

National Cabinet will meet on Friday to start lifting restrictions in a three stage process to lock in what the Prime Minister is calling "a sustainable COVID safe economy".

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says coronavirus restrictions in the state will not ease any further this week, despite the National Cabinet agreeing on a three-step plan to reopen most of the country by July.

MORNING BRIEFING: The father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez will front the media today as homicide detectives travel to Byron Bay to assist in the investigation, while some of the residents of Mascot Towers will be permitted to return to their homes to pick up belongings.

More than 12 tonnes of dead fish have been buried after a council on the New South Wales north coast bowed to public pressure and opened a lagoon.

An 87th minute header from Ryan McGowan delivers Sydney FC a 3-2 win after a 10-man Adelaide fought back from two goals down in a feisty encounter at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Creswick's famous woollen mills reopen to the public in time for winter after closing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but they remain closed to tourism for now.

It's been called a bribe and a wedge — a $3 billion cheque for Catholic and independent schools to ignore the edict from the Andrews Government to teach kids from home, writes Richard Willingham.

Joining Raf is Deputy Premier and Education Minister of Victoria James Merlino, giving us an update on schools, and the scores of new cases popping in abattoirs and nursing homes.

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

A contentious ecotourism project on Kangaroo Island has been approved and could lead the way for similar projects that will open up South Australian national parks currently "under lock and key".

After undergoing a multi-million dollar development, the Port Pirie smelter is once again not producing anything.

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.

The company proposing a coal mine for NSW's Manning Valley, refused by an environment court on the grounds of its contribution to climate change, will not appeal the decision.

A day after Jody Gore was released from her murder sentence in an act of mercy by the WA Government, she says she hopes her case brings the "silent epidemic" of domestic violence into the open.

The owners of the mothballed Ravensthorpe nickel mine in WA's south-east, say they will move to re-open the site if surging demand for the metal continues.

DAILY BRIEFING: A road in the Central Highlands has reopened after a truck carrying a 68-metre-long wind turbine blade lost its load, a 39-year-old woman dies after being hit by a car and CPSU encourages public sector workers to take part in climate protests.

The Liberals' plan to open up World Heritage Area and national parks to more tourism developments has been contentious from day one now, it has attracted the attention of Tasmania's auditor-general.

DAILY BRIEFING: The Royal Hobart Show reopens after damaging winds, and police are using the rescue helicopter to search for a man at Roaring Beach.

A report finds Adelaide's drinking water could be under risk of contamination, leading to outbreaks of gastro, because of the State Government's plan to open up reservoirs to recreational activities.

After 25 years without a hairdressing salon the locals of Wedderburn in central Victoria finally open their own community enterprise.

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

Since the privatisation of Victoria's coal-fired power stations in the 1990s, the Latrobe Valley has struggled with high unemployment. But a workers' group has decided not to wait around for new jobs to appear.

The operators of Hazelwood Power Station should have been better prepared for a blaze in its open-cut brown coal mine that burned for 45 days five years ago, a court hears.

Building on the success of its Aceo Open Print Lab in Burghausen, Germany, Wacker Chemie A.G. has opened its first United States-based rubber silicone 3D printing lab.

Open Bionics announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Hanger Clinic to bring the first-ever medically-certified 3D-printed bionic arm to the United States.

Artist and performer Anne Norman is taking a more literal spin on the phrase 'underground music', guiding people into Darwin's old World War Two tunnels for a series of unconventional performances.

Hundreds of children have been filing into youth centres every evening, as numbers double ahead of school holidays

Visitors rush to ascend Uluru hours before the climb's permanent closure.

Voting opens for Victorian Aboriginal communities to elect the people who will help make the rules for what are expected to be the first treaty negotiations in Australia.

A historic train carriage is destroyed in a suspicious fire at the Canberra Railway Museum, just hours before its reopening. The 1930s passenger carriage was gutted in the blaze and two adjacent cars were also damaged.

The owner of a troubled aged care centre, which suddenly closed three months ago amid a pay dispute, says he has lost his licence to operate a high-care facility, and the centre will not reopen.

I had only been in Rockhampton for two hours when I experienced some form of Islamophobia and I'm a Palestinian-Arab-Christian, writes Ryan Al-Natour.

Writer Stuart Beattie wrote scripts for Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Tom Cruise, but it's his newly released Vietnam War epic that he is most passionate about.

As parts of Oregon are expected to see hot weather this weekend, some Oregon state parks have reopened, though with limitations and strict guidelines.

A handful of movie theaters in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, are set to reopen in the coming days, providing an early test case for coronavirus protection measures. EVO Entertainment plans to open two theaters on Monday using "airport security-style check-in," says CEO Mitchell Roberts. Guests will enter a cordoned area near the front door, […]

Editors’ Note: Deadline’s latest series, Reopening Hollywood, focuses on the incredibly complicated effort to get the industry back on its feet while ensuring the safety of everyone involved. Our goal is to examine numerous sides of the business and provide forum for leaders in Hollywood who have a vision for how production could safely restart in the […]