NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says coronavirus restrictions in the state will not ease any further this week, despite the National Cabinet agreeing on a three-step plan to reopen most of the country by July.

Nineteen people are facing charges after firewood worth $1 million was allegedly harvested as part of what police are calling a "large-scale wood theft" operation in southern Tasmania.

Sydney silk Bret Walker SC, who is leading the special commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess, says he did not take Scott Morrison's criticisms of his "aggressive" questioning of a teary witness as an attempt to interfere with the probe's independence.

Residents on the New South Wales south coast have rejected the finding from a Rural Fire Service investigation into the cause of a deadly fire at Lake Conjola.

SA Police officer Joanne Shanahan, who was killed in an horrific road crash last month, has been farewelled by friends, family and colleagues at an emotional funeral service in Adelaide.

Convicted killer Wendie-Sue Dent will ask South Australia's highest court to acquit her of murder after a jury found she poisoned her partner with a lethal dose of prescription medication to inherit his $300,000 estate.

Christopher Turner, the contractor responsible for a gas mix-up that poisoned two newborns with nitrous oxide at a Sydney hospital, is convicted and fined $100,000.

The mother of a young boy who was killed when a truck driver with sleep apnoea crashed into their car says she won't get to hear "Happy Mother's Day" from her son on Sunday or ever again.

Tasmanian students can return to classrooms by the end of May under the Premier's plan to roll back coronavirus restrictions. Rules around national parks, funerals and aged care visits will ease from Monday, with two consecutive days without new cases.

A white former police officer and his son are arrested and charged with the murder of an unarmed black man whose death had been captured on video.

National Cabinet has outlined a three-step plan to relax the restrictions put in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what you need to know.

Katherine man Lorenzo Deegan is sentenced to 10 years by the Northern Territory Supreme Court after fatally assaulting his ex-partner while on parole.

The three-step plan might get Australia's downwardly spiralling economy off the critical list, but it will need to remain in intensive care for a long time to come.

The NSW Police watchdog finds the strip searches of four teenagers at two separate music festivals were unlawful, but stops short of findings of misconduct against the officers involved.

It will be up to the state and territory governments to decide when cafes and restaurants reopen across the country. Here's how the situation is looking in your state.

James Stuart Logue, a 29-year-old kitchenhand, also pleaded guilty to watching videos of young children being sexually abused in "depraved" ways.

A defamation lawsuit launched by one of Australia's most decorated soldiers could be delayed until next year because of coronavirus and a decision by the Attorney-General to invoke special secrecy laws to protect sensitive military information.

You can visit mum for Mother's Day and fire up the barbecue for a few mates, but you still can't eat at restaurants and it will be some time yet before you can have a beer at the pub.

Playgroups, playgrounds and visits to see grandparents are key staples in the social lives of many young families. So how will missing these things impact your young child's development and what can you do from home?

Although anecdotal evidence and media reports suggest COVID-19 has prompted a spike in racism, there is very little data available that can provide a more detailed picture of what is happening, writes Chin Tan.

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.

Nicole Alexander grew up in a generational grazing family where the custom of handing a rural business on to the eldest son was an unwritten rule — one that tested the bonds of her relationship with her father.

From balcony book clubs to re-reading, we asked professional readers how and what they're reading through the lockdown.

The UK Government will reveal the next "very cautious" phase of its plan to deal with the fallout from coronavirus, Brazil registers 10,222 new cases in one day, and Donald Trump says he isn't worried about a spread of the virus in the White House after a Mike Pence aide tests positive.

Chris Buckley spent 76 days in Wuhan during the coronavirus crisis reporting for the New York Times. He now joins an increasingly large group of foreign journalists asked to leave the country he's spent years covering.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says it is too far in the future to speculate on when life will get close to normal in Australia as the country looks to lift restrictions in stages.

The recurring political debate about immigration tends to ignore the demand and employment that new communities create, writes Daniel Ziffer.

Whether it's seeing family and friends, playing sport, eating out, dating or travel, we're all yearning for things that are out of our grasp right now. And experts say that might ultimately change us for the better.

As lockdown begins to ease the lesson is to take it gently and recognise we may have entered a new epoch of rolling pandemics, writes Virginia Trioli.

Don't like that Facebook deleted your post? You can soon appeal to Facebook's oversight board.

Theatres and art galleries around the country are on high alert after the NSW Government decision to withhold an annual grant from Australia's biggest multi-arts venue, Carriageworks, forcing it to appoint administrators.

Some aged care homes will allow staggered visits over the Mother's Day weekend to abide by social distancing requirements.

The Australian economy may be tanking due to the coronavirus pandemic, but for businesses promoting self-sufficiency, the sun is still shining.

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.

Tasmania's spaghetti soup of road shoulders, painted green lanes, shared-use paths and recreational tracks frustrates cyclists on a daily basis, but with usage on the rise advocates are hoping change is on the way.

Darwin's famous Parap Markets reopen today and it is only six more sleeps until Territorians can order a pint at the pub.

Queen Elizabeth has led tributes to veterans of World War Two, recalling the "never give up, never despair" message of Victory in Europe Day 75 years ago, as coronavirus dampened VE Day commemorations.

A 92-year-old resident of Newmarch House aged care home in western Sydney dies after contracting coronavirus, as NSW reaches a record high in testing rates.

Just off a quiet bush track near one of Queensland's most popular look outs, little notes and letters are left in a portal to childhood magic..

Roy Horn, one half of the longtime Las Vegas illusionist duo Siegfried & Roy, has died at the age of 75 after suffering complications from coronavirus.

No new COVID-19 cases were recorded as the State Government announced a multi-million-dollar medical research fund to tackle the disease.

South Australia's Mayura Station spends $92,000 securing elite Wagyu genetics for breeding stock.

With any overseas adventures off the table for a while, Australians will be dreaming of escaping the shutdown and heading out for a holiday. Here's how every state and territory plans to get people travelling again.

The American pianist-singer, regarded as the founding father of rock music, dies from unknown causes aged 87.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce the plan to start relaxing lock down restrictions from Friday, but local and regional travel is not yet back on the menu.

A powerful cold front brings strong northerly gusts and heavy rainfall to much of southern Western Australia, damaging homes, leaving more than 35,000 properties without electricity and washing up yachts.

Min Min lights are a mysterious phenomenon that have spooked many people in the outback of Australia. Is there any scientific proof that the lights exist or is it simply an Aboriginal folktale that has been passed down for generations?

A remote community in Western Australia equips students for the future through an independent teaching program at home, and by sending senior students to a boarding school 1,500km away for vocational training.

Katherine Comparti says "everything you could imagine" went through her mind when she became lost in thick jungle during a holiday to the remote island of Christmas Island off the West Australian coast.

A decision more than two decades ago to stop births at the hospital on Christmas Island has had significant financial and social effects on locals in the years since.