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

Across many states and territories, the coronavirus restrictions keeping people at home are finally being relaxed. Here are the things allowed as the country slowly opens back up.

To really understand how this pandemic is impacting all of us, and what we can do about it, we should look to social sciences and the humanities. They have a lot to offer — in ways that might surprise you.

The Prime Minister weighs into the debate on a tweet by Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer while the state's Premier says there are "far more important matters to talk about".

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews responds to the state's Deputy Chief Health Officer's tweet comparing coronavirus to Captain Cook's arrival in Australia at a press conference on May 1, 2020.

While statistics suggest workforce participation in the 45–54 age group has been slowly climbing, employment industry experts warn too many mature-aged jobseekers are being shut out.

A magistrate has apologised to a man who spent months behind bars waiting to be dealt with by the courts for minor theft charges.

A Senate inquiry into a possible cancer cluster on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula hears evidence from high-profile lawyer Peter Gordon of a "disturbing number of cancer cases" connected to the early years of Bellarine Secondary College.

As the south and east remain gripped in a cold snap, it might be hard to believe that Australia just had its fifth warmest April on record.

Regional children with congenital heart disease must move to Brisbane to be closely monitored after critical heart surgery. One mum is petitioning for change.

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.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says eight employees have tested positive to coronavirus.

Along the Victorian coastline, residents in booming seaside towns fear the rapid rate of development is ruining the character of the communities. The Government has promised to strike a balance between growth and protection, but residents fear it may be too little, too late.

Shane Fitzsimmons was nicknamed the "nation's father" for his leadership during the catastrophic bushfire season. As he departs his post as NSW RFS chief, he explains how he went from a troubled teenager to a celebrated leader, earning respect and saving lives along the way.

For now, Australia appears to have kept the virus in check and avoided a full-blown coronavirus crisis. This data shows how we did it.

Six weeks into the biggest shakeup of the Australian workplace since World War II, one economist is warning the adjusted work arrangements could be widening inequalities among workers.

Parents and teachers may be finding isolation tedious, but Kurnai College's school captain finds ways to keep the student body engaged and amused.

Victoria's COVID-19 tally continues on its steepest climb in a fortnight, as Premier Daniel Andrews reveals 13,000 people were screened for the virus in the state's testing blitz on Sunday.

As some states across the country enjoyed their first taste of social freedom in weeks at the weekend, for many living in border towns it was more a case of confusion than celebration.

When a farmworker was convicted of poisoning hundreds of wedge-tailed eagles in Victoria, he told the court he was ordered to do it. But due to legal limitations, no further charges were laid against his boss.

The funeral for Josh Prestney today was small but full of grief as family and friends farewelled the young constable who was called a hero.

Victoria Police has suspended a senior constable over what Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton calls one of the most appalling breaches of privacy he's ever seen.

Advice on whether students should attend schools amid the ongoing coronavirus situation varies widely across Australia. Here's the latest on what schools are doing in your state or territory.

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.

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.

Residents against a controversial abattoir take their fight to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a final attempt to stop the plan going ahead.

Victoria records 17 new coronavirus cases including 11 linked to a cluster at a Melbourne meat processing plant. It comes as Treasurer Tim Pallas announces $491 million in tax relief for Victorian businesses.

We all want life to get back to normal. But do we really want to go back to the same traffic? The same working day? The same city? The same inequality? Or are there ideas we can talk about now to make life better for us all when it’s over?

New COVID-19 testing clinics have opened in Warrnambool and Ballarat as the Victorian Government continues its push to surpass 200,000 tests by May 11.

One of Australia's largest regional universities is set to axe jobs as a result of a multi-million-dollar drop in revenue following a decline in international students due to the coronavirus pandemic.

City of Yarra Mayor Misha Coleman defends parking inspectors who slapped "official warning" tickets onto the windscreens of cars belonging to St Vincent's Hospital staff, saying free parking offered to the staff during the coronavirus pandemic does not extend to cars parked in unsafe locations such as clearways.

Faruk Orman, who spent 12 years in prison for murder before being acquitted because of the Lawyer X scandal, is suing Victoria Police for unspecified damages.

Melbourne tea shop manager Jennifer Li recorded a stranger hurling racially charged taunts at her when she tried to defend herself and customers who were wearing facemasks.

With lines between school and home blurred, parents of students with disabilities are struggling with little or no extra support. Some have started dipping into their limited NDIS funds to get help.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is helping launch a mobile testing clinic in a small agricultural town in Victoria to reach an "at risk" population of itinerant farm workers and migrants.

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.

Colac Hospital prepares to return to business as usual after a predicted surge in coronavirus cases fails to eventuate.

Police say there is "no reason" a man was shot as he was driving two women home from a church service, and they hope a $250,000 reward will help find answers for him.

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

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.

The new coronavirus has brought an increase in racism towards Australia's Asian community, but experts feel the current laws are not strong enough to deter offenders.

A big hemp haul in Victoria's north-west expects their first harvest of edible crop to be the largest in Australia.

Cardinal George Pell accuses the child sexual abuse royal commission of making findings "not supported by evidence" in its unredacted report, which found he was explicitly told in 1982 of the reason paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes.

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.

Scott Alan Murdoch, the man who stabbed Melbourne woman Kylie Blackwood and left her bleeding to death to be found by her 11-year-old twins, will have to serve at least 36 years before he is eligible for parole.

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.

More than $15 million could have been lost from the Wimmera Southern Mallee economy as a result of events being cancelled because of the coronavirus.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the state's total has been brought up to 1,454 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 106,000 tests conducted over the past week and a half.

An aged care facility says robotic pets are lighting up the lives of its residents and bringing comfort during isolation from the coronavirus pandemic.

The family of a man who went missing in Victoria's Latrobe Valley last month say they "fear the worst" and are urging anyone who has seen him to contact police.