Budget cuts, funding freezes, and tight rental markets put pressure on homeless services as more people end up on the street.

A tight rental market and rising cost of living is stretching homelessness services beyond their budgeted capacity.

A central Victorian woman is one of only three accredited teachers of a Japanese form of freestyle weaving that is beginning to grow in popularity.

A prominent urban researcher warns that Ballarat is heading towards a "social disaster" unless it can curb urban sprawl.

School principal Michelle Wilson spent a stressful two hours on the phone, convinced she owed $8,000 and could soon be arrested if she didn't pay up. Then she realised the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

Every night Allanah Morel packs her daughter's school bag ahead of time because she knows that by the next morning she could be in too much pain to get out of bed.

Once the staple of regional travel, motels are facing an increasingly uncertain future as online alternatives bite away at revenue.

Research into a mysterious substance that makes up 85 per cent of the universe, along with good old-fashioned gold and a new hydroponic farm, are driving a jobs boom in the small Victorian town of Stawell, but there's a problem.

The ABC understands the Victorian Department of Corrections considers the Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, 200 kilometres west of Melbourne, to be the most appropriate place to send the high-profile cleric.

In the end, just as in the beginning, this was a case about two little boys and their battle with the world's third most-senior Catholic. And today, child protection won, writes Louise Milligan.

In August 1978, someone entered Ballarat's art gallery, grabbed a 92-year-old painting off the wall, and walked out the front door. Now, the once cash-strapped gallery hosts international artists.

Around one person dies on Victoria's rail lines every week, with most long-term train drivers experiencing at least one fatality in their career.

Once touted as a $300 million solution to regional Victoria's waste woes, plans to build a waste-to-energy facility have stalled, with some in the industry left scratching their heads.

The Catholic Church may have opened itself up to hundreds of potential damages claims from sexual abuse survivors after admitting liability in court documents.

The wife of former AFL star Danny Frawley reveals her husband had removed himself from treatment and medication for his depression about eight months before his death last week.

A child abuse survivor says the priest who assaulted him did so in the 'welcoming' home of another clergyman. His claim comes amid new allegations that paedophiles acted in concert within the Catholic Church.

The daughter of 1993 Adelaide murder victim Suzanne Poll has thanked police for their efforts in investigating her mother's death. A Victorian man has been extradited to South Australia charged with Ms Poll's murder.

A Victorian man accused of murdering Adelaide mother-of-two Suzanne Poll at her workplace in 1993 will plead not guilty to the charge, a court has heard.

Police charge Melbourne Cup-winning horse trainer Darren Weir and two other men with animal cruelty offences following raids on Weir's stables near Ballarat and Warrnambool in January.

Twelve years ago Paul Preusker was disqualified for possessing an electronic jigger. Now he's back, training the Melbourne Cup favourite and insisting he's a changed man.

Life as a psychic.

Here at last is the complete bible for those who never wish to grow up. A massive collection of all the useless tricks, facts and gags that make life worth living.

It's 'Koori chick lit' for the very first time; A romantic romp in the vein of Sex and the City with some big plusses - a little reluctance for love and an Indigenous Australian central character in the international art world.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

Christopher Hitchens

Running With Scissors is a humourous yet disturbing account of his observations of the unhinged world he now inhabits.

Chloe Maxwell

Andy Griffiths

This year's NAIDOC Week theme is Voice. Treaty. Truth. But the truth is that many Indigenous people feel voiceless when it comes to expressing where Australia stands on treaty today.

Disability advocates renew their push for local councils nationwide to ensure that new housing is universally accessible to address what they describe as a critical shortage of accommodation.

The dishevelled older man on a city street is no longer accurate as a homeless stereotype with women, youth and regional families falling below the poverty line.

Beekeepers in New South Wales are hand-feeding their hives as the drought cripples the bees' ability to make honey, with a shortage expected to sting consumers at the checkout.

A braille teacher says technology is causing a decline in literacy among people who are vision-impaired, prompting her to bring the tactile language into the mainstream.

A woman on trial accused of murdering her partner allegedly poisoned him with a "cocktail of dangerous medication" so she could benefit financially from his death, an Adelaide court is told.

The rugby league player is slapped with an extra charge which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison as he is committed to stand trial in August over the alleged aggravated sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman in Wollongong.

Jobs growth versus environmental concerns reignite with a coal company's proposed expansion under Sydney's water supply.

An Adelaide judge remains tight-lipped on his reasons for declaring a mistrial in the case of a woman accused of poisoning her partner with a cocktail of dangerous medication.

The renowned painter launches legal action against his stepdaughter, saying she influenced her dying mother who "suffered from cognitive impairment" to withdraw $2.2 million from a bank account in 2016.

The ARLC has suggested that Jack de Belin needs a "reality check" as it argues that the code's no fault stand-down policy is necessary because the sport has been "beset by a series of scandals."