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

Sam Bloomfield makes medieval-inspired armour and art in a process he says is a bit like dressmaking — only with metal, not cloth.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says casual public sector workers who have lost their jobs due to coronavirus will receive fortnightly payments if $1500, May 6, 2020.

In 1979, the CSIRO imported a boutique wine grape from France. Since then the drop has been celebrated by growers and experts alike — but it turns out they've been enjoying a different variety all along.

Shadow Local Government Minister Tim Smith and Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston are calling for rates to be frozen and for the State Government to do more to help council staff, May 6, 2020.

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.

If you thought there were a lot more people around lately, you're not wrong. More and more people are out on the streets in Melbourne, anticipating an easing of coronavirus restrictions once the State of Emergency ends on May 11.

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

A Catholic order settles out of court paying $4 million to survivors of historic sex abuse and apologising to them, their families and the Latrobe Valley community.

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.

Police are appealing for public assistance in the search for Ricardo Barbaro, who is wanted over the death of Ellie Price in South Melbourne.

Australian scientists develop a tool that could help students learn better in the virtual classroom, as remote education during the coronavirus pandemic highlights issues with current methods.

Police are still searching for a man after homicide squad detectives found the Mercedes-Benz belonging to Ellie Price in Diggers Rest, about 40 kilometres from her home, overnight.

The culling of feral horses in Victoria's Alpine National Park will go ahead after the Federal Court ruled that alpine brumbies should not be protected.

Looking to replace the second oldest radar on its network at Mildura airport, the BOM marks a spot at Cullulleraine.

Two more Victorian police officers are suspended over the leak of unauthorised photos of former AFL coach and player Dean Laidley in a police station, as the state's corruption watchdog says it will oversee the investigation into the leak.

A woman who suffered a miscarriage in mandatory COVID-19 quarantine was forced to stay in a hotel room for five days after the traumatic event because the Victorian Health Department failed to act on an order to release her.

A new respiratory clinic is expected to open in Wodonga next week to assess patients with fever and respiratory symptoms who meet the government criteria for COVID-19 testing.

A Lifeline volunteer counts her work as a privilege and urges more people to volunteer, as calls to the support line jump to record highs.

Forestry academics have issued a warning over the Victorian Government's decision to scale back the harvesting of native timber forests in the lead-up to a 2030 ban.

The small West Australian town of Donnybrook is celebrating its reinvention more than 25 years after it was named the ugliest in Australia.

A humble, but very big, brown boot is seen disappearing into the sky via a crane, prompting commuters to take to social media to ask the obvious question.

Another "quite fat" king penguin is spotted on the Tasmanian mainland, with one wildlife officer calling the sighting especially rare "unless you're on a tourist ship going to Antarctica", although no cause for concern.

A rarely seen Bulwer's petrel, nicknamed Buggerlugs, which lost its way and ended up on a pub balcony in Sydney, is flown north and released back into its natural habitat.

He's worn many hats in his days, including that of world barefoot mud crab tying champion and Top End buffalo shooter. But Billy Lowery really just wishes he'd worn more hats more often.

It's been a huge week of news stories big and small. How many do you remember? Test that memory in our news quiz.

Sex, politics, and religion are traditionally avoided as dinner conversation, but in Queensland there's the emergence of 'rain guilt' — where you got some but your neighbours missed out.

Fish have been found on the streets of Yowah, in outback Queensland, after record rainfall.

Kaley Chu knew she needed to do something to change her life — her shyness was holding her back at work, and she felt like the world's most boring person. She decided to attack the problem head on.

It's been revealed a third of reported cane toads in NSW are misidentified and are in fact native — and even endangered — frogs.

Cryotherapy is used by pro athletes and "weekend warriors" alike. But are the benefits of subjecting your body to extreme cold really worth it? I jumped into the chamber to find out.

Inspired by Tourism Australia's Matesong video, locals in south-west Queensland write their own version with the banks of the Balonne River standing in for the beaches of Sydney.

Toilet paper is the butt of jokes in Australia but it has become currency for a desperate Far North Queensland cafe with dwindling supplies.

A snake catcher believes the 80-kilogram monster is likely to have been imported illegally and may be euthanased due to the threat it poses to native ecosystems.

With their kids peering over the neighbour's fence, a Melbourne couple forges ahead with wedding plans amid coronavirus restrictions.

A Top End roadhouse has started an aerial takeaway service to help lift community spirits during the coronavirus lockdown. So far, the owner says, the service has received "quite a good response".

Queensland law enforcement are undergoing a close shave of their own after being directed to shave for potential close-fitting masks to protect against coronavirus.

Prickles the merino sheep has been on the run from her Dunalley farm since the 2013 Tasmanian bushfires, but now she's out of self-isolation and ready for a trim.

Captain Tom Moore, the British Army veteran who raised more than $55 million for Britain's National Health Service, tops the UK music charts with a cover of You'll Never Walk Alone.

It took two years, countless phone calls and the determination of 84-year-old grain farmer Jim Sawyer, but Australia's only known cross-legged Stover windmill has been restored to its original glory.

A war veteran in outback South Australia is saving war memorabilia from being discarded, sold online, and hidden away in storage.

The Coalition has promised to fix 1,600km of SA's dog fence if it returns to government, an announcement warmly received after almost 20,000 sheep were lost to wild dogs last year.

In a backyard shed, artist Kerrie Taylor makes jewellery out of cutlery.

An Adelaide magistrate calls for police to allocate sufficient resources to a criminal neglect investigation into the mistreatment of a baby that left the infant "near death".

Australia's livestock feed supplies are under threat due to the drought, which is putting pressure on both domestic customers and the export market.

Snowtown "bodies-in-the-barrels" serial killer Robert Joe Wagner loses his bid for a non-parole period to be set, confirming the original judgment that he should never be released.

A world-leading agriculture business that uses sunlight and seawater to grow tomatoes has been sold but the final price is a closely-guarded secret.

For many, the word "Snowtown" sends shivers down the spine. But as the town attempts to attract tourists, some locals are wondering whether to cash in on the dark past.