Fire authorities have issued the all clear after a major bushfire that was burning in Western Australia's Great Southern.

Firefighters will continue to strengthen containment lines around a bushfire in Riverslea in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.

Police are investigating a spate of bushfires in Albany over the weekend, which it is suspected may have been deliberately lit.

A prominent businessman on Western Australia's south coast has been sentenced to eight years and six months in jail for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged daughter-in-law. Brian Vincent Attwell paid $10,000 to an undercover police officer who had posed as a hitman in September last year. The court heard the 74-year-old was angry over legal action after his son's divorce and he was motivated by "sheer hatred" of Michelle Attwell. The trial was played recordings of the businessman saying his daughter-in-law had cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he wanted her "strangled and buried".

The Jerramungup Shire says it is working with Bremer Bay residents to address concerns about proposed bushfire safety measures.

Authorities say fire brigades have had to deal with a busier than usual fire season around Albany.

The Drug and Alcohol Office is touring regional Western Australia in an effort to improve substance abuse prevention, treatment and support.

Police have charged three people with drug offences after raids on several properties across Albany.

MORNING BRIEFING: Firefighters say it could take weeks, potentially months, to contain about five fires burning around Armidale and Tenterfield, while a woman is injured and a firearm stolen during a break and enter in Orana.

Fire tears through Macquarie Marshes

Australia slumps to a 3-0 series defeat in South Africa with a six-wicket loss in Potchefstroom, despite Marnus Labuschagne's maiden ODI century.

Life for Busara O'Reilly in her Lismore cafe is a far cry from the day she fled gunfire on a beautiful Thai beach as a toddler, but it is that start to life that has made her take nothing for granted.

The magistrate who sentenced a man over the assault of a champion surfer says she took into account the public scolding he's received when deciding his punishment.

Up to 20 homes and structures are destroyed in the village of Rappville, as watch and act warnings are issued for several bushfires burning within 100km of each other in northern NSW.

Authorities say at least 30 homes have been damaged or destroyed as fast-moving bushfires burned in and around Rappville in northern NSW on October 8, 2019.

An RFS crew drives through the northern NSW village of Rappville, one of the areas worst affected by a series of bushfires in northern NSW on October 8, 2019.

Police are investigating the "suspicious" origins of a devastating bushfire, which is believed to have started late Friday and yesterday destroyed 21 homes in northern NSW.

After watching their home burn on the news, Tina Hag, Robert Collier and their four children return to Rappville, wondering about the future of their northern New South Wales town, which lost 15 homes and 20,000 hectares of grazing land to a bushfire.

The community of Rappville in northern NSW is banding together to make sure everyone gets back on their feet, but Allan Robertson is dreading having to tell his partner that their home is now just ashes.

As ferocious blazes tore through Rappville last week, many of the community's young people displayed extraordinary bravery, rescuing their neighbours and animals while fighting tooth and nail to save homes.

The lead-up to Anzac Day is usually a busy time for florists and volunteers, but this year is very different.

A survey conducted by the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce finds 35 per cent of respondents fear they won't be solvent by the end of June, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Service upgrades rolling out this week aim to plug a hole in Telstra's network for regional, remote, and rural customers who do not receive emergency service alerts.

Sam Neill says he's in the "cheering-up" business. Acting is his profession, winemaking is his passion and now in times of COVID-19, the 72-year-old is delighting the masses on social media.

An angry nursing home operator says she will keep the doors of her facility firmly closed to visitors, claiming the aged-care sector has been "demonised".

As bushfire victims work to rebuild their lives after the devastating Australian summer, a group of quilters is stitching together beautiful handmade squares from around the world to offer a gift that is like a "nice warm hug".

After a frustrating wait, the bushfire clean-up effort is set to ramp up in South East NSW with around 300 properties to be cleared each week.

Veronica Coen and Ruth Haggar make one final sift through the ruins of their Quaama homes before the first stage of the bushfire clean-up begins.

A man is jailed for circling a family in his car and hurling anti-Islamic abuse at them on the New South Wales south coast last year.

A disability carer has been charged with 16 offences including counts of producing child abuse materials, after an investigation into a care home in Sydney's west.

The Eastern Creek man was arrested on alleged abuse charges of adults and children at a disability care home

The Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army have so far paid out fewer than half the donations they received to help Black Summer bushfire victims — with one charity claiming it's had to sift through more than 1,000 fraudulent claims.