A comet discovered by a man in regional Victoria is becoming brighter in Australian skies and is being closely watched by amateur astronomers around the world.

Heavy, early season snow has fallen across the high country in Victoria and NSW, driven by a wintry cold front.

Australia is significantly expanding testing for COVID-19 across the country in order to stay on top of the virus and provide a path to re-open large portions of public life, but experts believe some tests are not up to scratch.

The busiest airport in regional Victoria has laid off more than half its workforce and has lost 95 per cent of its revenue — but says it isn't eligible for government programs like the JobKeeper allowance.

Organisers of the national cattle industry expo say it's 'full steam ahead', despite not knowing when the ban on mass gatherings will be lifted

Australia's largest sawmill has stood down 51 workers in the south west Victorian town of Colac, as it prepares for a slow down in demand for its products.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the National Cabinet's plan to reopen Australia, but it will be up to each state and territory to decide how to roll it out. Here's what will change (or not) where you live.

Scientists say it is likely a fragile little penguin colony skipped a breeding season due to crucial ocean occurrence — called the Bonney upwelling — running late.

The small West Australian town of Donnybrook is celebrating its reinvention more than 25 years after it was named the ugliest in Australia.

A war veteran in outback South Australia is saving war memorabilia from being discarded, sold online, and hidden away in storage.

A man who assaulted a South Australian paramedic while she attempted to help him while he was having a mental episode has avoided jail time.

The Coalition has promised to fix 1,600km of SA's dog fence if it returns to government, an announcement warmly received after almost 20,000 sheep were lost to wild dogs last year.

The Cordillo Downs woolshed is the biggest of its kind in the world and a reminder of when Australia rode on the sheep's back. Now help is being sought to guarantee its future.

Australia's livestock feed supplies are under threat due to the drought, which is putting pressure on both domestic customers and the export market.

Bob the Railway Dog, an icon of Peterborough in South Australia's mid-north, is again being celebrated with a book detailing some of his many adventures.

A community weeks away from being evicted has launched legal action against the South Australian Government in a bid to stop their town's closure.

A motorcyclist dies in a crash near Port Pirie, another man dies following a crash in Finniss, while the Sturt Highway is closed after a collision near Waikerie.

Farmers in South Australia's mid-north are threatening to boycott Viterra after the bulk-handling company closed several grain silos and bunkers.

Heavy rain has fallen over parts of South Australia, providing desperately-needed relief for some of the state's farmers but unfortunately some areas have missed out.

The fossils of a giant new species of sea creature are discovered on South Australia's Kangaroo Island and with its formidable legs with spines used for crushing and shredding food, scientists are comparing it to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP and Glencore have listed several of their tailings dams across Australia as being at "high" or "extreme" risk to public safety if they fail.

The upcoming cinema blockbuster Mortal Kombat is only a small part of South Australia's booming entertainment sector, and many people say the jobs are starting to flow.

A woman and a man aged in their 50s are in a stable condition after the light plane they were flying in flipped upon landing at the William Creek Airport.

A pig farmer receives a barrage of abusive online comments after opening up on Facebook about the closure of her pig business.

Autistic students have long needed two separate diagnoses before receiving extra help at school, but from October that will no longer be the case.

Scottish stonemasons with experience in restoring castles, restore a historic woolshed in South Australia's outback with quite a bit of help from the locals.

The actor, who became an Australian household name through shows such as The Sullivans and Matlock Police, won five silver Logies and also helped set up Brisbane's first AFL team.

A South Australian man has been jailed for killing his best friend at a remote camp site during a drunken fight after falling on him and rupturing an internal cyst.

Commercial fishers, country towns and amateur anglers have their say on how they will be affected by the ban on snapper fishing for the next three years.

Footage emerges of an echidna cooling off in the warmer weather with a swim on South Australia's Kangaroo Island. One expert says it is not uncommon to see them in water on hot days.

Birdwatchers are spotting crimson and rare orange chats in southern Australia, refugees of the drought in the inland.

A New South Wales Appeals Court judge has condemned violence at the hands of up to seven police officers in relation to the Australia Day arrest of an Aboriginal man.??

Arno joined a neo-Nazi skin head group to "repulse" society. He says governments are ignoring his warnings about far-right extremists like he once was.

An independent investigative commission reviews allegations of police brutality against an Aboriginal man at a station south of Newcastle in New South Wales.

One family has been dairying for 100 years and another is getting back in the game. What is it that keeps them so keen in a struggling industry?

Two men on trial over a 700kg cocaine importation racket used encrypted mobile phones to help arrange for the drugs to be sailed from Tahiti to Australia, a court hears.

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.

If you suffer from trypophobia, or an aversion to the sight of clusters of small holes, you might want to take a deep breath before laying your eyes on a Suriname toad.

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.

The forestry industry believes the Coalition's pledge of planting 1 billion trees by 2030 is unrealistic, unless it removes barriers preventing the sector's growth.

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.

Ross Miller has no intention of putting the rod into the rack. Instead, he is building another prawn trawler as a legacy to his son.