From May 15, Territorians will be able to sweat it out at the gym, dine at a restaurants and get their nails done. And from June 5, they can get a tattoo or head to a nightclub.

Defence says it "proactively tested" members for COVID-19 in the Middle East after it was notified a number of locally engaged contractors had tested positive to COVID-19.

Northern Territorians are hitting the roads, pools and sportsgrounds in droves today, for the beginning of one of Australia's largest wind backs of coronavirus restrictions.

Official data indicates no Aboriginal people in the NT have tested positive to COVID-19, and as restrictions start to ease, health leaders say it's time to address some of the fundamental holes in Aboriginal health care.

New Zealand has aimed for elimination of SARS-CoV-2 — or as close as you can get.

Developer of the human papilloma virus vaccine, Professor Ian Frazer, weighs in on the prospects of a coronavirus vaccine.

New modelling suggests the recurrence of COVID-19 will depend on human immunity to the virus, which remains an open question.

How much is SARS-CoV-2 mutating, and does it matter?

Twin studies allow researchers to study the impact of the environment, separate from genetics.  

While the death and disease threats from COVID 19 during the pandemic period are huge, the devastation to the global and local economies are also enormous and there's plenty of research to inform what the effects will be on health, wellbeing and life expectancy.

An increase in the diagnosis of cancers and their subsequent treatment could get caught up in the potential widening of health disparities in the community as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the moment human vaccine trials are testing whether the vaccine is safe, what dose you need to induce a good antibody response and finally whether that antibody response is enough to prevent infection with this coronavirus. All that takes time.

Coronaviruses are well-studied in animals. What lessons does veterinary medicine have for this pandemic?

Last week, the US announced approval to use a drug named remdesivir, made by Gilead, in people sick with COVID-19.

Australia's next generation $20 banknote design continues to feature a portrait of John Flynn who pioneered the world's first aerial medical service in 1928, now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

As water supplies run low for towns reliant on the Darling River in western NSW, the Government says it has drought-proofed Broken Hill with a 270-kilometre pipeline from the Murray River.

A grazier in the far west of New South Wales is up to the challenge of the drought, growing his beard till he beats the big dry.

Bourke, outback NSW, has not seen meaningful rain in seven years and while its 2,500 residents prepare for unprecedented water restrictions, their dire plight has helped propel environmental concerns into NSW's political spotlight.

Hundreds of people appalled by the deaths of millions of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin have rallied in far west NSW, calling for a royal commission into the management of the waterway.

A group of shearers tired of losing loved ones to suicide hope that, by sharing their stories, they can spark a broader conversation about mental health in regional areas.

Locals at Menindee, in far west NSW, hail funding to seal a key regional road as a project that could "save" the drought-stricken town.

Over the past seven weeks, ABC readers have been submitting questions about the NSW election in the process, you actually told us three things would decide your vote this Saturday. Here's a peek.

The re-election of the Berejiklian Government for a third term has provided a morale boost for the federal Liberals, but any relief being felt will be tempered by a much bigger problem: what to do about voter discontent in the bush.

The most remote voters in New South Wales say they feel forgotten by politicians as the state election draws closer.

Research continues to point to blue-green algae toxins as a trigger for neurological diseases, with motor neurone disease under increased investigation.

Opposition Water spokesman Tony Burke has announced Labor would change the way 450 gigalitres of water is recovered, by "restoring the socio-economic definition" for delivering water.

For the past four years Broken Hill's Indigenous community has welcomed all new public school teachers to the area with a cultural induction they hope will improve education for all students.

For the first time in 15 years, cattle are grazing the roadsides of the Moyne Shire, in Victoria's south-west.

Buying water entitlement from irrigators, installing cameras on the river, and a subsidy to install water meters are at the centre of a $70 million Government spend to prevent fish kills.

A 36-year-old man is arrested and charged for illegally taking and selling 12 tonnes of golden perch from the Darling River over a 20-month period.

A fourth-generation grazier, who is selling the family property, says it could take a decade of uncommonly good conditions for pastoralists to recover from the drought in far-west NSW.

Extreme drought conditions have all but dried up the Barwon River in western NSW, and now the unprecedented dry has exposed an extraordinary piece of maritime history.

NSW's water woes extend beyond the farm gate and its impact on the local environment water is intimately linked to the strength of regional economies. And many are struggling.

From 85 millimetres of rain in a year to more than 50mm in a day, widespread Easter rain raises spirits from Bourke to Menindee.

The Federal Government announces it will stump up the funds in a bid to replenish native fish populations that were decimated during the summer fish kills.

As the Federal election draws closer, disability advocates call for changes to ensure people with disabilities have a better voting experience.

The driver appeared nervous, police say, triggering a search of his car and allegedly revealing almost $1 million in cash stuffed in the bottom of a fuel tank in outback New South Wales.

For keen rugby league player Owen Whyman, times are tough enough in the Darling River town of Wilcannia without losing the game he looks forward to each week.

Taxi driver Reg Kelly will bear the scars of a murder attempt for the rest of his life, but he wants to thank his home town for rallying to his side.

Locals at the heart of a devastating fish kill say politicians lack the vision or intent to overcome water management deficiencies, as the ABC visits towns from Goolwa to Menindee to find out who, if anyone, is in control of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Amid the mass fish kills and the ongoing drought, residents of Menindee in outback NSW hope a festival will be the first of many positives that draw tourists back to the region.