School principal Michelle Wilson spent a stressful two hours on the phone, convinced she owed $8,000 and could soon be arrested if she didn't pay up. Then she realised the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

A former Catholic priest who showed pornographic images to children and assaulted a teenager while he slept is jailed for two years and two months.

Tours of the 152-year-old Aradale Mental Asylum have been cancelled due to lead paint contamination. Operators fear this may be the end of the road for the historic site.

As urban sprawl puts pressure on the food bowl on Melbourne's fringes, and as water becomes increasingly scarce, one council has a bold idea that might just catch on.

This specialist nurse teaches thousands of prostate cancer survivors how to revitalise their sex life after diagnosis, but she is the only one of her kind in an area spanning 48,000 square kilometres.

There are only 600 registered British White female cows in Australia, but farmers hope selling the meat will increase consumer demand and breeding.

Councils across Victoria are left to fight the war on waste from the frontline while the State Government works towards a consistent recycling policy.

A ratepayers advocacy group says a damning report into the risk of corruption within local government in Victoria highlights the need for greater scrutiny of regional councils.

The green hills of south-west Victoria couldn't be further from the latest outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease African swine fever (ASF) in Timor-Leste, but pork producer Xavier Meade isn't taking any chances.

Police charge Melbourne Cup-winning horse trainer Darren Weir and two other men with animal cruelty offences following raids on Weir's stables near Ballarat and Warrnambool in January.

A group of wool makers launches a new trademark to recognise textile producers whose homegrown fibre is 100 per cent Australian from the farm right through to the finished product.

The trial of Lorraine Nicholson, who is charged with culpable driving causing the death of four women in their 60s and 70s, begins in Ballarat.

Alais, Princess of France, is back for another intriguing historical adventure in Healey's latest publication. Set during the early 13th century, at a time when the Catholic Church was actively campaigning against the Cathar sect in the Languedoc region, the author brings history to life on the page.

Here at last is the complete bible for those who never wish to grow up. A massive collection of all the useless tricks, facts and gags that make life worth living.

774 Listener Reviewer Goran Stolevski looks at this year's Palme d'or winner

As punishment for having stolen from his employer, our antihero, drug-addicted twenty-four year old 'Case' has had his nervous system crippled with mycotoxin, preventing him from entering the cyberspace system known as the Matrix.

Mark Haddon

Paralysed from the neck down after a football tackle 26 years ago, Brett Morris finishes the Gold Coast Marathon Fun Run in a wheelchair in under an hour, and he's "very happy it's done".

A former ABC journalist, who pressed assault charges after her elderly mother was allegedly hit by a carer, urges Australians with family members in aged-care to install personal surveillance equipment.

The dishevelled older man on a city street is no longer accurate as a homeless stereotype with women, youth and regional families falling below the poverty line.

A braille teacher says technology is causing a decline in literacy among people who are vision-impaired, prompting her to bring the tactile language into the mainstream.

The renowned painter launches legal action against his stepdaughter, saying she influenced her dying mother who "suffered from cognitive impairment" to withdraw $2.2 million from a bank account in 2016.

Music teacher and actress Kimmie Jonceski performed a lead role in a musical while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer this year and wants her courageous story to inspire other young women facing a cancer diagnosis.

A plan to shore up New South Wales's energy supply suffers a setback amid concerns about aircraft safety.

Triple murderer Matthew De Gruchy has been driven away from Sydney's Long Bay jail after serving 23 years of his 28-year sentence for bludgeoning to death his mother and younger brother and sister.

It is 30 years since Qantas's bold, record-holding 747 jumbo's continuous flight from London to Sydney in what was a marathon journey featuring specially-made fuel and covert planning.

A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after being found with an explosive device at Wollongong train station last Thursday during peak hour.

Police evidence presented to Wollongong Local Court reveals allegations of violent physical abuse against a 12-week-old baby.

Lance Daly has been through a heroin addiction, multiple stints in jail and gang violence and now wants to help people remove the marks of the past that are stifling their futures.

Shopping these days is no private affair as shopper surveillance ramps up towards the Christmas period. What you might not be aware of is that traders and their employees are also being keenly observed.

Almost 30 years after a car accident left Picton artist Freya Jobbins' face disfigured, she's deconstructing dolls to make creations that shock.

Stephen Grimmer, the brother of murdered toddler Cheryl Grimmer who disappeared in 1970, pleads guilty to indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

The NSW Transport Minister says he didn't decide to contest federal politics to be called "that type of smear" by his "mate" John Barilaro as he abandons his bid for pre-selection in the Eden-Monaro by-election.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is so concerned about the handling of the coronavirus outbreak at Sydney's Newmarch House, it is considering revoking its licence.

The University of Adelaide says the departures of chancellor Kevin Scarce and vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen have nothing to do with its finances despite admitting it is facing a budget shortfall of $100 million.

The Federal Government says it has set a record for the fastest app to reach 5 million downloads in Australia with COVIDSafe, but acknowledges it might never work for 10 per cent of smartphone users.

The principal of a WA public school who was stood down for urging parents to keep students at home against Education Department advice is reinstated.

The family of 19-year-old Sabrina Di Lembo allege the GPs and mental health service involved in her treatment were negligent.

MORNING BRIEFING: The proposed changes allow councils to apply the rate cap more flexibly and comes as local governments suffer financial hardship from the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia's national cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss relaxing coronavirus social-distancing restrictions, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warns nothing will be changed before Mother's Day on Sunday.

The International Transport Workers Federation says contacts on the ship told them there are six people in isolation on board due to COVID-19.

As leaders prepare to ease coronavirus restrictions in their states, South Australia could be in the box seat to win the race to recovery by turning what might be regarded as weaknesses into strengths.

The Australian Federal Police sanctions recruits and staff who breached coronavirus social-distancing rules but none, so far, has lost their job over the incident.

Police arrest a 67-year-old man and his son on Queensland's Sunshine Coast over an alleged line dancing scam after searching for the pair for more than a year.

The Northern Territory has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 testing in the nation. Will testing increase ahead of pubs and restaurants opening next weekend?

It's discovered that a devastating cyclone in Vanuatu last month actually unearthed a treasure trove of World War II US military relics, which were washed out of embankments along various shorelines.