Once the subject of "satanic panic" and seen as the epitome of nerd-dom, roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons finally hits the mainstream and is bigger than ever.

MORNING BRIEFING: Relatives are insisting they be allowed to see loved ones at an aged care home where 11 people have died of COVID-19, while the Waverley Council applauds people for abiding by rules at reopened beaches.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance is expected to announce he will contest the federal seat of Eden-Monaro after NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro decided not to run.

Ten years ago Chris Roby sought help from the Salvos for crippling alcoholism; he's now leading a group of men fighting addiction to help their local community's response to bushfires.

Business owners in Tenterfield say tourists will be the key to the rural town's recovery, as bushfires and drought take their toll on the local economy.

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

As Tasmanian health authorities say they are yet to learn how two people in the state's north-west contracted coronavirus, four new cases are confirmed.

A new coronavirus case diagnosed overnight takes Tasmania's tally to 72, as authorities release a list of destinations visited by two interstate travellers who later tested positive for COVID-19.

One of the latest cases of coronavirus in Tasmania is an employee of a local tour company that hosted two interstate travellers who, after leaving the state, were found to be ill with the disease.

Hospitals across Tasmania have banned visitors, but one Hobart doctor is helping patients stay in touch with their loved ones during coronavirus pandemic by asking people to "donate" their iPads.

The Prime Minister says north-west Tasmania is a classic example of the need for the Federal Government's coronavirus-tracking app, after he accuses a north-west aged care worker of not telling the truth about their movements and contacts.

A day after the Prime Minister announced a moratorium on evictions, this doctor was given an ultimatum by her landlord — either she stop working at a hospital or move out.

On her country mail run Jocelyn Flint delivers letters, boxes of wine, flat pack queen-size beds, asthma puffers and even biscuits for morning tea and she's a welcome sight in Tasmania's coronavirus hotspot.

Whisky the kelpie and Diamond the sheep are making a splash at Karoonda in South Australia's Mallee region, after being painted on the town's silos.

A CSIRO reconstruction of the Federation drought of 1891 to 1903 finds that if it were to occur again today, its effects would likely be even more devastating.

Firefighters are battling to stop a large bushfire from destroying the tinder-dry Ramsar-protected Macquarie Marshes in western New South Wales.

CCTV released by the Supreme Court of Victoria shows Ahmed Mohamed and Hamza Abbas in a chemist and a hardware store buying items to be used in the attack.

A Swinburne University scientist loses his job after an internal investigation into alleged research misconduct and dozens of his papers were retracted by scientific journals.

Comic superheroes and villainous characters put their differences aside over the weekend, uniting for far north Queensland's first ever pop culture and comic convention, Tropicon.

South coast photographer, Nic Duncan, has been named Western Australia's 2015 Portrait Photographer of the Year by industry body, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Her environmental portraits offer a glimpse into the lives of diverse individuals, centred around a unique Great Southern town.

There is no shortage of heritage to celebrate and preserve at the New Norcia Monastery in Western Australia's Mid West.

Cardinal Pell said in a statement yesterday that he was "surprised" by some of the views of the royal commission about his actions, and that "these views are not supported by evidence".

A council in far west New South Wales has started trucking water to the remote Darling River town of Pooncarie, which is expected to run out of raw water within days.

A major crime review into the suspected murder of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer, who was taken from a Wollongong Beach almost 50 years ago will be conducted, as her family desperately pleads for the state coroner to hold a second inquest into her death.

The Australian Tax Office reports a "small amount of fraudulent activity" related to its early superannuation access scheme, which was designed to provide financial relief to people left without income due to coronavirus.

A property search fails to uncover the remains of missing man Michael Purse, but SA Police say two men they suspect of murdering him are already in custody for unrelated crimes.

Why are there so few antivirals? The answer boils down to biology, and specifically the fact viruses use our own cells to multiply. This makes it hard to kill viruses without killing our own cells in the process.

The parents of young children in Queensland will be fighting back the urge to jump for joy this weekend, but the little ones might be feeling a bit anxious about returning to school.

Six Malaysian men visit Perth seeking $1.5 million they lost when an alleged Ponzi property scheme masterminded by WA businesswoman Veronica Macpherson collapsed three years ago.

Netflix dominates online TV streaming, but for how long? Also, Cory Doctorow on how more government regulation could inadvertently make the tech giants even stronger.

The Northern Territory Chief Minister says plans for a water theme park in Darwin are not dead in the water yet, despite his Government formally rejecting all expressions of interest in the project submitted so far.

MORNING BRIEFING: The ex-girlfriend of a woman who fell to her death from a Sydney apartment block is expected to be charged with her murder, while a backpacker says the alarm about Theo Hayez's disappearance should have been raised much earlier.

Police and State Emergency Service volunteers are scouring the park where Shaun Thomas Russell, 36 was killed in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

Adelaide man Malcolm Walker is found safe and well, but police say they will continue to investigate witness reports he was attacked and then forced into a car.

The family of missing man and suspected murder victim Michael Purse makes an emotional plea for information on his fate, with his mother breaking down as she described her anguish.

An animal rights group calls for a roadside memorial to be erected for a number of chickens killed in a truck fire on Adelaide's Northern Expressway this morning.

An inquest into the deaths of two young vets who took a drug linked to almost 20 suicides per year within the industry urges better mental health support for veterinary professionals.

NSW Police stated the man was refusing to comply with "seating protocols".

NSW Police stated the man was refusing to comply with "seating protocols".

CCTV footage from Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula captures the moment a meteor lit up the night sky over the bay. (Supplied: Martha Cove Owners Corporation)

Police say half a tonne of gold concentrate found in a Kalgoorlie man's backyard came from a commercial mine. The 48-year-old says he found it at the local rubbish tip.

While war veterans around the country are disappointed Anzac Day services have taken a different form, one woman in Melbourne is grateful for a connection.

A health industry expert is calling on federal authorities to oversee the return of windfall profits, as customers negotiate with insurers to save money.

Trevor Whybrow will spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars for the "extremely violent" assault which resulted in the death of his friend, Barry Moffat, after he "touched him up" in bed.

The findings are expected to reveal what the royal commission made of the evidence put before it about whether Cardinal Pell could or should have done more to prevent children from being abused by priests in the 1970s and 80s.

Police are preparing an operation to recover the bodies of two men who are believed to have fallen while rock climbing in a remote part of South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

A South Australian woman who posted "vile, vicious and vitriolic" comments about sexual impropriety, incest and drunkenness that were directed at another user of an online political forum is convicted of stalking.