Why does the Australian Tax Office require people to tick a mental illness box for early access to their superannuation to fund gender transition surgery?

There's been no end to bad news for the dairy industry, but one Queensland farmer is defying the trend by boosting tourism and drawing in droves of fans.

A former Queensland deputy principal indecently assaulted a teenager at a wake after the funeral of the girl's father in the 1990s, a court hears.

Former school deputy principal Kenneth Ralph Ernst is jailed for the prolonged sexual abuse of a young girl, in a case the judge described as a "gross breach of trust" made worse by Ernst's decision to plead not guilty.

A 25-year-old man lures two boys to a secluded location and offers to pay them $5 for oral sex, just months after he was given bail for possessing graphic and violent child porn material, a court hears.

Building an artificial reef could be the key to stabilising a popular beach at Queensland's Inskip Point that suffers from repeated landslips, a geotechnical expert says.

Chemical experts warn a Queensland council that a plan to dump millions of litres of PFAS-contaminated water into the sea off the Sunshine Coast as "insanity".

In Central Australia, butterflies have only several weeks in certain months to pollinate flowering plants in the desert region, making their presence there crucial.

Official data indicates no Aboriginal people in the NT have tested positive to COVID-19, and as restrictions start to ease, health leaders say it's time to address some of the fundamental holes in Aboriginal health care.

The re-election of the Berejiklian Government for a third term has provided a morale boost for the federal Liberals, but any relief being felt will be tempered by a much bigger problem: what to do about voter discontent in the bush.

Research continues to point to blue-green algae toxins as a trigger for neurological diseases, with motor neurone disease under increased investigation.

For the past four years Broken Hill's Indigenous community has welcomed all new public school teachers to the area with a cultural induction they hope will improve education for all students.

So shocking is the case of 18-year-old Alex Braes, it's prompted a group of clinicians who worked at the regional hospital where he was treated to blow the whistle on what they believe are systemic failures.

A new art exhibition opening in Sydney today brings together some of the nation's leading artists who offer an urgent message about the destruction of the beleaguered Murray-Darling basin.

There appear to be further fish kills in the Menindee Lakes on the Darling River, with drone footage showing thousands of fish carcasses.

The receivers of the collapsed Rare Coin Company say the return of stock, owned by customers caught up in the company's demise, will not begin until next year.

The plan to set out bait for large sharks near popular WA beaches has been criticised over concerns it could attract them into swimming areas, but others back the move.

The latest survey of the cost of living in regional WA has shown a significant drop in living costs in the state's north. The State Government assesses the cost of 500 goods and services in 27 regional centres as part of the Regional Price Index every second year.

A hoax claiming the Church of Scientology was planning a nine-storey development at an iconic Albany site in WA's South Coast has infuriated local authorities.

Authorities are warning the Great Southern and lower Wheatbelt need to be on alert over the next few days, with sweltering conditions expected to create a serious fire danger.

Local government officials in Mount Barker say they are angered by the "senseless" burglary and vandalism at the town's swimming pool complex.

An elderly woman has been indecently assaulted while walking her dogs at an Albany school.

Western Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources has announced an operating loss of nearly $40 million for last year.

The Katanning Shire says it still expects to be the first area in Western Australia's Great Southern to have fixed line access to the National Broadband Network (NBN), despite earlier work being carried out in Narrogin.

There has been a mixed reaction from Western Australia's two biggest farm lobby groups to the release of further details of the Federal Government's agricultural white paper.

Detectives have charged a man with procuring a child to perform a sexual act after an encounter on a street in the centre of Denmark in the South West. The man approached her on Mitchell Street on Friday night. The 34-year-old then allegedly kissed her on the neck and asked her to engage in sexual behaviour.

Former WA chief scientist Lyn Beazley says she is honoured to be named patron of an agriculture program in Manjimup.

The Mayor of Albany has scoffed at reports the city is considering spending millions of dollars on a prime vacant site in the central business district.

University of Western Australia (UWA) researchers have warned of the potential for "very large extinction rates" among marine life unique to southern WA due to climate change.

A Western Australian Nationals' MP has labelled "ridiculous" a Liberal backbencher's call for the Royalties for Regions scheme to be abolished.

A group of West Australian farmers is planning a class action in the federal court after their lenders shortened the length of their loans, in some cases, from 25 years to just 12 months.

Tristan was a kind and gentle 23-year-old surfer from Byron Bay. One night he suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode. And ended up driven to hospital in a small steel cage. Police say it is probably the worst place he could be. Tristan later died in hospital. Mario Christodoulou investigates the series of tragic events that led to Tristan's death that raise questions about how emergency services treat young drug-affected people in New South Wales.

Two terrifying incidents involving convicted extremists took place in London last year. The first, the London Bridge attack, left two people dead. Nine weeks later, in Streatham, two passersby were stabbed on the street. Both cases occurred after the perpetrators had failed to be rehabilitated in prison. So how effective are the UK's schemes for de-radicalising offenders? The BBC's File on 4 investigates where it is time for a radical overhaul of the way England treats extremists. For copyright reasons there will be no podcast or streaming of this program.

People experiencing homelessness are being moved from the street and shelters into four-star hotels. The radical plan is meant to protect them from the pandemic and it's temporary. But as Hagar Cohen discovers, there are questions about what happens once the virus crisis is over.

It's hard to imagine a subtropical island struggling with drought, but Norfolk Island has had only 12mm of rain all summer and dams and water tanks are running dry.

Hugh Bowman is one of the world's best jockeys and now he is set to be immortalised in art, in his home town of Dunedoo, alongside champion mare Winx.

Regional Express threatens to scrap flights or reduce their frequency on its popular route from Sydney to Dubbo due to a dispute over increased airport fees.