Australian shares drop as US oil plunges to a 21-year low, Caltex takeover fails due to coronavirus risk, and NAB flags $1.1 billion hit to its earnings.

The funding for services like the RFDS will allow them to evacuate coronavirus patients to larger medical centres and fly in medical workers and equipment for regional respiratory clinics.

A new survey from the ABS shows the extreme effect of coronavirus social-distancing measures on employment, with well over a million workers losing their incomes in the space of a month.

Changes necessary for the Victorian Government to deal with the coronavirus pandemic include plans to hold judge-only trials and giving councils the power to hold meetings online.

On this day 50 years ago, WA farmer Leonard Casley "stuck his nose up" at the Federal Government and seceded from Australia, forming the micronation the Principality of Hutt River.

Regional centres are concerned they could be badly hit by the potential collapse of Virgin Australia, with higher airfares and less competition.

The modelling predicts more than a quarter of a million jobs could be lost in Victoria due to the coronavirus pandemic in what Premier Daniel Andrews says is the perhaps the "biggest economic and employment challenge" in the state's history.

Raymond Barbara gave up his job for "the holiday of a lifetime". Instead he ended up with coronavirus, in mourning for his late mother, and thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Australia will buy fuel from the US at historic low prices to bolster its national stockpile, after criticisms that the Government only holds about 30 days' worth of fuel in domestic storage, far below the 90-day minimum.

The tourism industry warns if Virgin Australia collapses it could deliver a knockout blow to many WA businesses who were already on their knees as a result of coronavirus.

As Australians stay at home, and with many bricks and mortar stores closed, more of us are shopping online, placing a huge strain on the postal service.

Property owners are calling for pet-friendly tenancy laws to be scrapped before they are even enacted in the Northern Territory, as the Parliament prepares to vote on protections for renters during the pandemic.

The company behind the Spirit of Tasmania ferry service says its ships will no longer be docking at Station Pier in Port Melbourne, and will instead move to Corio Quay, north of Geelong.

An Australian-made ventilator that costs a tenth of the price of existing models is brought to life in just four weeks, which could revolutionise intensive care capability in the fight against COVID-19.

Regional tourism hotspots are closed but if bans on international travel continue local towns and businesses are hoping for a rapid resurgence in business.

The ACCC warns Qantas it will take swift action against anti-competitive behaviour such as attempts to swamp airline routes, artificially push down prices or lock in exclusive deals with airports and suppliers.

With 100 per cent of the bookings cancelled at his boutique business, a country chef decides to use his culinary skills to help others through the pandemic.

As artists worldwide launch livestream concerts from home, Yolngu musicians in one of the most remote parts of Australia are offering up a unique series of performances from north-east Arnhem Land.

More than two months after the first case of COVID-19 appeared in a small town outside Milan, Italy prepares a staged end to Europe's longest coronavirus lockdown.

After a shaky start, Australian shares closed sharply higher, but were dragged down by the big four banks, as investors weigh up the impact of COVID-19 on dividends.

Rod Peters is a real-life Darryl Kerrigan from movie The Castle — he has even extended his house to include uninterrupted views of the runway. And the noise? No problem at all.

Australia's largest flour mill will produce an extra 50 million kilograms by the middle of the year as consumer demand goes through the roof.

Thousands of mum-and-dad investors are being caught out by insurance companies refusing to cover them when they cut rent for tenants under financial stress due to coronavirus restrictions.

Almost a quarter of Australia's fashion labels believe they will never recover from the coronavirus hit — but some are adapting and finding new ways to make money, and a new way of doing business.

The Million Dollar Fish competition was designed to lure fishermen to the Northern Territory. But a consultant's report obtained by the ABC shows registrations have fallen by half in five years.

Banyan Constructions collapsed earlier this year, and a report from liquidators has now revealed that the $22 million owed to creditors — mostly small, local businesses — will not be paid back.

Videos of unidentified flying objects have been officially released by the Department of Defense after unauthorised distribution in 2007 and 2017.

Super funds and prominent professional investors warn that the mass withdrawal of funds from superannuation during the COVID-19 crisis risks undermining the whole retirement income system.

The Federal Government's stimulus package is supporting Australian households during the coronavirus pandemic, with a surge in unemployment payments more than offsetting the fall in income from job losses, according to the Commonwealth Bank.

A confidential report commissioned by the Department of Defence predicted medical shortages, panic-buying and mass job losses a year before the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is one of the most popular and important websites for cattle producers, rangers and carbon farmers in northern Australia, but its funding is about to run out.

From balconies to lounge rooms, songs of joy and sadness are helping us cope and keeping us connected. And if we look to the past, we'll find that our tendency to turn to music during times of crisis is nothing new.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino accuses the Federal Government of using funding to "force" independent schools to undermine the state's strategy on face-to-face learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fuel prices have plummeted across Australia during the coronavirus pandemic, but the ACT Government says they are not falling quickly enough in Canberra — and they are going to do something about it if prices do not fall to below $1 per litre this weekend.

Samuel Clarke knows withdrawing his retirement savings early is not ideal, but he says the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent loss of business has left him no option.

The major online platforms say rental listings are up 8-10 per cent compared to last year, as thousands of Airbnbs and other short-term rentals are expected to move to the long-term market as coronavirus halts travel.

ANZ announces a 51 per cent slump in profits and defers paying a dividend as it braces for at least a billion-dollar hit from the COVID-19 recession.

Australian farmers have lost tens of thousands of dollars after falling victim to fraudulent advertisements for farm machinery and equipment.

Victoria's total of COVID-19 cases rises to 1,361, as Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton reveals authorities are investigating three cases linked to a Melbourne aged care facility.

A ban on single-use plastics including cutlery and straws will be pushed back in SA to allow restaurants and cafes to reopen "sooner rather than later" amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia's electricity grid operator wants the authority to remotely switch off new rooftop solar systems in SA in order to manage their "invisible and uncontrolled" growth.

Thanks to a loophole in the Federal Government's JobKeeper legislation, Lewis Mullins has been earning far more than he did before the coronavirus pandemic. But the same can no longer be said for his younger colleagues.

ANZ's chief executive warns the Australian and New Zealand economies will be reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and take years to recover from the economic fallout.

US President Donald Trump seemingly increases his estimate of possible deaths from coronavirus to 100,000, up from 70,000 earlier in the week, as South Africa, Spain and some American states loosen their restrictions. These are the key coronavirus developments from today.

At 14 years of age Zaynn Bird was a sub-par McDonald's employee. At 23 he owns one of his state's most impressive burger joints.

The community of mainly over-60s on St Huberts Island in NSW manages to stare down the threat of COVID-19 with music, exercise and good wine — and a fresh catch of fish delivered by doting grandsons.

Sex and nudity is strewn across our TV and cinema screens, but for actors and audiences, there can be a cost. That's starting to change, says Normal People's on-set intimacy coordinator.

After two months in almost total lockdown, 4.5 million Italians are allowed to return to work today as the country with the second-highest coronavirus death toll begins to wind back some restrictions.

The coronavirus pandemic is understandably weighing heavily on the business sector, but there are early signs of green shoots as one state begins to open up.

Canberra petrol retailers will need to meet weekly fuel price targets to avoid the ACT Government regulating the market, despite prices dropping to about $1 per litre after the Chief Minister threatened to cap margins.