While statistics suggest workforce participation in the 45–54 age group has been slowly climbing, employment industry experts warn too many mature-aged jobseekers are being shut out.

A north-east Victorian alpine village says it will welcome visitors when restrictions allow despite uncertainty whether the ski season will go ahead at all.

A magistrate has apologised to a man who spent months behind bars waiting to be dealt with by the courts for minor theft charges.

A Senate inquiry into a possible cancer cluster on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula hears evidence from high-profile lawyer Peter Gordon of a "disturbing number of cancer cases" connected to the early years of Bellarine Secondary College.

For babies born during the coronavirus pandemic, introductions to extended family members have been a little different. Parents have had to use technology to allow grandparents, aunts and uncles to meet their latest family member.

A comet discovered by a man in regional Victoria is becoming brighter in Australian skies and is being closely watched by amateur astronomers around the world.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says eight employees have tested positive to coronavirus.

An unusually early cold snap is delivering snow, frost and strong winds, and while temperatures will increase back towards average for a few days as the system moves out to sea, another bout of bad weather will soon move east from WA.

Along the Victorian coastline, residents in booming seaside towns fear the rapid rate of development is ruining the character of the communities. The Government has promised to strike a balance between growth and protection, but residents fear it may be too little, too late.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announces that Epping's Meadowglen Primary School will be closed for three days as the state confirms 13 new coronavirus cases.

The federal Education Minister accused Daniel Andrews of "taking a sledgehammer" to schooling over his reluctance to reopen classrooms.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan accused the Victorian Premier of jeopardising the national consensus on Australia's coronavirus response be refusing to reopen classrooms.

Heavy, early season snow has fallen across the high country in Victoria and NSW, driven by a wintry cold front.

Meadowglen Primary School in Epping was closed after a teacher tested positive to coronavirus.

Six weeks into the biggest shakeup of the Australian workplace since World War II, one economist is warning the adjusted work arrangements could be widening inequalities among workers.

Parents and teachers may be finding isolation tedious, but Kurnai College's school captain finds ways to keep the student body engaged and amused.

As some states across the country enjoyed their first taste of social freedom in weeks at the weekend, for many living in border towns it was more a case of confusion than celebration.

Australia is significantly expanding testing for COVID-19 across the country in order to stay on top of the virus and provide a path to re-open large portions of public life, but experts believe some tests are not up to scratch.

Boxing enthusiasts know John Patten as the Bantamweight Champion of Australia that no-one would challenge, but there was much more to his life.

Victoria Police are treating the death of a South Melbourne woman as suspicious after officers found her body on Monday.

A man has been bailed to appear in court at a later date after police allege he made threats to kill and tried to run over a man in Nhill on Friday.

After enduring isolation for almost five weeks, are cracks appearing in our ability to stay positive and connected? Joining Virginia is Professor Rob Gordon, clinical psychologist and consulting psychologist with the Red Cross, answering this question and providing some much needed advice on staying well mentally in the times of COVID-19.

New COVID-19 testing clinics have opened in Warrnambool and Ballarat as the Victorian Government continues its push to surpass 200,000 tests by May 11.

One of Australia's largest regional universities is set to axe jobs as a result of a multi-million-dollar drop in revenue following a decline in international students due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Victoria's health department counsels Annaliese van Diemen over her tweet comparing the impact of COVID-19 with Captain Cook's arrival in Australia, but clears her of breaching the Victorian public sector code of conduct.

A racehorse brought to Australia for the 2016 Spring Carnival has been euthanased after falling in a jumps race in south-west Victoria.

Faruk Orman, who spent 12 years in prison for murder before being acquitted because of the Lawyer X scandal, is suing Victoria Police for unspecified damages.

Melbourne tea shop manager Jennifer Li recorded a stranger hurling racially charged taunts at her when she tried to defend herself and customers who were wearing facemasks.

With lines between school and home blurred, parents of students with disabilities are struggling with little or no extra support. Some have started dipping into their limited NDIS funds to get help.

After six weeks in lockdown and quarantine, a couple who contracted COVID-19 while on an Antarctic expedition have finally made it home.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is helping launch a mobile testing clinic in a small agricultural town in Victoria to reach an "at risk" population of itinerant farm workers and migrants.

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

Organisers of the national cattle industry expo say it's 'full steam ahead', despite not knowing when the ban on mass gatherings will be lifted

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.

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.

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.

Australia's largest sawmill has stood down 51 workers in the south west Victorian town of Colac, as it prepares for a slow down in demand for its products.

Scott Alan Murdoch, the man who stabbed Melbourne woman Kylie Blackwood and left her bleeding to death to be found by her 11-year-old twins, will have to serve at least 36 years before he is eligible for parole.

Joining Raf is Deputy Premier and Education Minister of Victoria James Merlino, giving us an update on schools, and the scores of new cases popping in abattoirs and nursing homes.

Police investigating the death of 26-year-old Ellie Price in South Melbourne are calling for help from the public to find Ricardo Barbaro, who they want to speak with about the death.

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.

The family of a man who went missing in Victoria's Latrobe Valley last month say they "fear the worst" and are urging anyone who has seen him to contact police.

It has been an exotic jujube harvest boom for a Victorian grower, but COVID-19 restrictions have slowed down sales and squashed market prices.

Doctors label medicinal cannabis prescriptions a "bureaucratic nightmare" requiring "a massive learning curve", as patients say people in pain cannot wait months for relief.

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.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the National Cabinet's plan to reopen Australia, but it will be up to each state and territory to decide how to roll it out. Here's what will change (or not) where you live.

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 prominent Indonesian university is investigating allegations of sexual harassment involving a former student who is currently studying in Melbourne on a prestigious scholarship.