The Australian Department of Health says it does not endorse any cleaning company in relation to COVID-19 and warns businesses not to use a free online course in their marketing materials.

The US President warns China that it should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic, as protests about strict stay-at-home measures spread across America.

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.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus tells Hamish Macdonald the Government taps the phones of union chiefs, while economist Gigi Foster causes a stir by saying the coronavirus lockdown may not be worth the cost.

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.

Backpacker workers are losing their jobs and being told to "go home" by local community members amid fears they will spread coronavirus.

The Federal Government has thrown airline Regional Express a funding lifeline to continue servicing airports in regional Australia during the ongoing pandemic.

Farmer John Lever and his wife Lillian say their Koorana Crocodile Farm has just two weeks of food left to feed 3,000 crocodiles, so they're offering an 'adopt a croc' program to raise funds.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 5.5 per cent slump in jobs in the first week after extensive business shutdowns and social-distancing limits were introduced to contain the virus, new ABS figures show.

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

Virgin Australia's potential collapse has left staff scrambling for jobs, as tourism and aviation industries prepare for the threat of major player leaving the market.

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.

Health professionals are incensed by dramatic price increases for face masks and other protective equipment by one of Australia's largest medical supply companies.

With the world experiencing "the biggest supply and demand disparity in history", benchmark Brent oil futures fall to their lowest level since November 2001.

Supermarket and grocery store turnover leapt 22 per cent in March on panic buying of toilet paper and food but sales are expected to fall as stockpiling subsides and major retailers, including Myer, extend shutdowns.

The senior doctor on board the Ruby Princess tells an inquiry she is surprised passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney last month despite some displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

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.

At a time when the economy is suffering the ACCC is calling on the petrol retailers to pass on the full benefit of the falling oil price to motorists.

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.

Townsville's housing market had been recovering after years of turmoil — now coronavirus is scaring off up to 70 per cent of potential buyers.

The spread of today's scourge may seem breathtaking in its scale and carnage, but in some ways we are lucky. We could be dealing with a modern-day plague with global deaths measured in their hundreds of millions.

For Queensland, the pain of a possible collapse of Virgin Australia runs deep, with nearly half of its workforce based in the state.

A new report has ranked disdain for scientific knowledge as one of humanity's biggest threats, alongside climate change, nuclear war, and artificial intelligence.

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.

While the price of petrol falls to the lowest point in a generation in Brisbane, service stations are charging 30 per cent more in north Queensland and 75 per cent more in Mt Isa, with a federal MP raising accusations of collusion.

Since the 1970s, the Degenhardts dreamed of retiring to Gerroa. Their dream became a reality — but retirement got tougher this month when they were told their supposedly guaranteed monthly income would not be paid until July due to coronavirus.

The Victorian Government announces a proposal for a 101-storey building is one of four to be approved amid moves to fast-track development in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jobless international hospitality workers deemed ineligible for the Federal Government's JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs are "heartbroken" at their treatment and turning to restaurants providing free meals during the coronavirus pandemic.

Reports of interference with aircraft radio communications at one of regional Victoria's busiest airports, where a flying school training pilots for Chinese airlines has been operating for about a year, are being investigated.

The COVID-19 outbreak may have forced them to close their doors, but some of Sydney's most revered restaurants won't let that stop them from giving their customers the fine dining experience at home.

The coronavirus shutdown has negatively affected so many aspects of the economy, but for these Australians, the closure of pokies rooms has changed life for the better.

An ANU demographer is "concerned" the coronavirus pandemic will result in an accelerated reduced birthrate and a decline in future taxpayers, affecting Australia's socioeconomic future.

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.

An easing of coronavirus restrictions means non-essential shopping has the green light from this weekend, but that doesn't mean all the stores are ready to throw open their doors immediately.

A union for call centre workers in the Philippines claims staff have been sleeping in the office in potentially unsafe conditions to help Telstra and Optus customers, despite the risk of the coronavirus.

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.

Today is the deadline for employers to pay superannuation they owe workers for the first quarter, but many may struggle to do so amid the COVID-19 economic shutdown.

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.

Adelaide landmarks were illuminated with blue light overnight amid more tributes for SA Police Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan and Tania McNeill, who were killed in a three-car crash on Saturday.

The small town in the middle of Australia is hosting a collection of very expensive aircraft, including double-decker Airbus A380s. Why are they being stored here?

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.

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.

A major Chinese mining company warns the Papua New Guinean Government it faces "significant negative impact" on bilateral relations with China if the company doesn't get a lease extension on a gold mine in the country.

Funeral insurer Youpla, slammed by the banking royal commission in a previous brand iteration for misleading Indigenous customers, has now been denied a licence to provide financial services and prevented from signing up new customers.

Australians have seen a rare rise in inflation, as a series of crises conspired to push up the cost of essential groceries, but economists say consumers should see cheaper prices again now that panic buying has subsided.