Live export ships on most short voyages to South-East Asia will no longer be required to carry independent observers in a Government policy change applauded by the industry.

The Territory Families Department finalised half the number of child-protection investigations it planned to last financial year, but child welfare advocates say the figure is a result of longer-term reforms.

Residents have been left vulnerable and fearing for their future water security as underground aquifers run critically low in rural Darwin and communities fear what a second poor wet season could mean for their future.

The 91-year-old cattle station pioneer who laid the chain up the rock says he is not expecting visitor numbers to dive now the climb has officially been closed.

Each year, psychics, mediums, clairvoyants, those with similar "sensitivities" roll in from all corners to host the event in a string of rural and outback towns across Queensland and the NT. But that could all come to a close.

It's an unlikely setting for the final chapter of an international diplomatic scandal, but Darwin's waste dump holds an extraordinary secret beneath the surface.

In the early 1970s a company spent millions of dollars developing a cattle and cropping empire near Katherine in the NT. What went wrong?

A politician opposed to the decriminalisation of sex work in the Northern Territory claims he has been "censored" by a parliamentary scrutiny committee which agreed to accept evidence from sex workers behind closed doors because of concerns about stigma and discrimination.

Arnhem Land's Malcolm Rosas becomes the first Northern Territory player picked up by an AFL club for next season but he says the remote community of Bulman will always be home.

The Northern Territory's incoming police commissioner, Jamie Chalker, wants more officers to work in remote communities and develop respectful relationships with elders.

African swine fever is believed to have first emerged early last century, but due to a lack of commercial interest no vaccine was developed. Now the world is racing to find a way to stop the spread of the disease.

The 66-year-old man is the latest person to die at a worksite in the Northern Territory, which has the highest rates of workplace deaths per capita.

Four-time Hawthorn premiership player Cyril Rioli kicks the last goal of the game to steer the Tiwi Bombers to a one-point victory in his return to the football field after retiring from the AFL.

The first Territory patient to ever fill a script for medical cannabis in the NT has now been approved, NT Health has confirmed.

One week after the end of the Uluru climb, Parks Australia has flagged the first fee increase at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in more than a decade and tourism operators could be the big losers.

Northern Territory Police send in reinforcements after a woman is shot with a crossbow during a violent outbreak in a remote Arnhem Land community

There had been hopes of recovery at the site of Australia's worst recorded mangrove dieback in the Gulf of Carpentaria. But during a recent visit to the area, traditional owner Patsy Evans said she was devastated by the scene.

Cameron Rowland says he can no longer complete his auto electrician training in Tennant Creek because of course cuts.

Telstra admits to selling "phones to customers who ultimately could not afford them", with an executive addressing the Aboriginal Economic Development Forum at the Darwin Convention Centre.

Previous attempts to reform Question Time have largely fizzled out, but with public faith in politics in a tailspin, both major parties now seem serious about an overhaul of Parliament's most theatrical hour.

Australia's consumer affairs ministers agree to consider laws boosting people's ability to repair their phones and other electronic goods, rather than send them to the dump.

A service available to many Australians will finally be provided to Canberrans, with the ACT Government hoping a kerbside collection service starting next year will help to curb illegal dumping in the territory's national parks.

An inquest into the death of murdered child Bradyn Dillon hears his father lied to school authorities in a deliberate attempt to hide his son from the public.

From smart watches to exercise monitors and devices that correct your posture, wearable tech is everywhere and now cancer survivor Kathy Reid has invented a smart breast.

Australian Federal Police leave the home where Australian Signals Directorate officer Cameron Gill was living in Canberra. The home was raided by the AFP in the early hours of this morning

Garry Marsh, 73, pleads guilty to indecently assaulting a student while he coached him in rugby union at Canberra's St Edmund's College in 1979, and will spend two years behind bars.

There are warnings for consumers and farmers that Australia's biggest food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin, is bracing for a grim end to the year.

A Victorian man who sent 52 packages filled with asbestos to embassies in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra has been sentenced to one year in prison.

A jury finds a former Canberra police officer who improperly used police data to impersonate his neighbour, in order to call authorities about a suburban dispute, acted reasonably and did not commit a crime.

As enthusiasm for zero waste grows and Canberra holds its first festival on the subject, a community of composters is working towards making landfill a thing of the past.

Australia's chief vet says a highly contagious disease that's led to millions of pig deaths is set to spread, but a new biosecurity levy is beset by costly delays.

On the eve of their first finals campaign in three seasons, the Canberra Raiders have received a massive boost with coach Ricky Stuart extending his deal with the club for another three years.

A deadly pig disease that has decimated herds across Asia has spread closer to Australia with the Philippines confirming it has tested positive to African swine fever.

All three men charged over a bashing that killed Canberra man Bobby Allan, who died after collapsing at a neighbour's door seeking help for his injuries, plead guilty to manslaughter.

The first milestone in the Federal Government's review of drone noise vindicates community complaints that the unmanned delivery vehicles are loud and obtrusive.

Angus Taylor downplayed the risk to Australian oil reserves in the aftermath of the drone attack on the world's largest oil refinery.

Ricky Stuart is still tied to the Raiders' golden era, but now he has Canberra within 80 minutes of a first grand final in a quarter-century, writes Richard Hinds.

The Kambah man could face serious assault charges after allegedly attempting to escape police twice, first while driving unregistered and later while being treated in hospital, when he injured two people.

Victorian Greens Senator Janet Rice announces her wife, renowned climate scientist and transgender woman Penny Whetton, has died suddenly at their home in northern Tasmania.

The Centre Alliance Senator has referred a recording of Mr Setka to police, and today asked the Senate to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is asking Parliament for a "big stick" to threaten energy companies with. Here's how it could work.

In a bid to bring down costs and ease the burden during an already difficult time, the ACT Government may establish a dedicated fertility-preservation clinic for women undergoing cancer treatment.

One of the biggest wrecking yards in the Southern Hemisphere, which supplied Mad Max: Fury Road with cars, is on the market after more than 60 years as a family business.

Already waiting for two previous inquiries to be acted upon, support agencies say the new family law inquiry announced last week will require they take resources away from frontline services in order to participate.