Police say half a tonne of gold concentrate found in a Kalgoorlie man's backyard came from a commercial mine. The 48-year-old says he found it at the local rubbish tip.

A 60-year-old man living in a caravan in outback WA faces legal action and fines of up to $50,000 from his local council after erecting a shade structure without a building permit.

Chinese interest returns to the Ballarat goldfields, which may provide job security for more than 200 people in the town, but there is concern about how new royalties will affect businesses.

Only a few weeks ago Karon Baker was in tears when her local Anzac Day service was called off, but by 6:30am this morning, she couldn't wipe a proud smile off her face.

As parents struggle to support their children learning at home, a survey of 10,000 teachers finds only half of those in the public system think Australia's remote learning arrangements are sufficient.

It's a challenging time for people addicted to poker machines shut down by COVID-19 and researchers are watching gamblers like Sam closely.

Researchers in Victoria are experimenting with biosolids in a bid to improve farm productivity, and the results are very promising so far.

Researchers have identified all the immune reactive proteins, then mapped and identified the parts causing chronic wheat ailments, giving growers a path to develop new lines.

Fire-affected communities in eastern Victoria are calling for a permanent firebreak to be built along both sides of the Princes Highway into New South Wales.

A patient who had emergency surgery at Sunshine Hospital tests positive for COVID-19, sending two dozen staff into self-isolation, while a Melbourne childcare centre closes following a suspected positive test.

The Royal Melbourne Show is cancelled this year for only the third time in its 165-year history, but what does this mean for regional shows and trials?

Drug-driving has become more deadly than drink-driving and Victoria is flagging drug tests in trucking firms as one area needing urgent attention.

To really understand how this pandemic is impacting all of us, and what we can do about it, we should look to social sciences and the humanities. They have a lot to offer — in ways that might surprise you.

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.

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

Residents against a controversial abattoir take their fight to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a final attempt to stop the plan going ahead.

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.

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.

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.

Shadow Local Government Minister Tim Smith and Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston are calling for rates to be frozen and for the State Government to do more to help council staff, May 6, 2020.

Cardinal George Pell accuses the child sexual abuse royal commission of making findings "not supported by evidence" in its unredacted report, which found he was explicitly told in 1982 of the reason paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes.

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.

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.

The Victorian Government launches a new campaign against family violence, as St Vincent's Hospital records a doubling of family violence victims presenting to its emergency department during the coronavirus pandemic.

Buskers are being accused of antisocial behaviour in Darwin's CBD and the council has responded by revoking licenses for two months.

Erin Hext is an experienced bushwalker, who set out on a day hike near Hobart well prepared. She didn't expect to make the return journey in a rescue helicopter.

A sighting of a sea creature not usually found in Tasmanian waters has surprised onlookers, but could become more frequent, experts say.

Kaley Chu knew she needed to do something to change her life — her shyness was holding her back at work, and she felt like the world's most boring person. She decided to attack the problem head on.

Giant fibreglass dinosaur Big Kev has escaped extinction after a community outside Darwin demanded it be saved.

A man who assaulted a South Australian paramedic while she attempted to help him while he was having a mental episode has avoided jail time.

The Coalition has promised to fix 1,600km of SA's dog fence if it returns to government, an announcement warmly received after almost 20,000 sheep were lost to wild dogs last year.

A flight school is forced to improve its safety regime after a student pilot who was sleep deprived and sick flew into Adelaide's controlled airspace after falling unconscious at the controls.

A community weeks away from being evicted has launched legal action against the South Australian Government in a bid to stop their town's closure.

Outback drillers find water 90 metres below the surface of SA's APY Lands in an underground valley millions of years old and remote communities are hoping it will provide a much-needed economic boost.

The nurses' union says a law requiring remote health workers to be accompanied when going on unscheduled or after-hours callouts is being undermined by the State Government.

The husband of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford says new protections for nurses named in her honour are necessary, but is worried healthcare workers could still be at risk.

A patient bringing a loaded gun into the Royal Adelaide Hospital and nurses being threatened with knives are just some of the concerning incidents plaguing staff at South Australian hospitals, the union for nurses says.

As the drought drives Australia's sheep flock to historic lows, a South Australian sheep sale has been called off three times due to a lack of animals.

A young father who "snapped" while trying to settle his five-week-old son, shaking the baby so hard that his development has now "effectively frozen", is sentenced to at least 18 months in prison.

Adelaide councils are considering a range of options to address the problem of abandoned shopping trolleys including GPS tracking, locking systems and a bounty for returned trolleys.

Holowiliena Station is in the grip of a horror drought, but reviving an ancient trade is proving a lifeline to this farming family.

A South Australian man is reported for allegedly selling alcohol without a licence after police uncovered about 800 litres of homemade alcohol at his property.

Dairy farmers say they are devastated a 10-cents-a-litre increase in the retail price of milk in July has not been passed on to them.

Allegations a female firefighter was grabbed by the neck by a male colleague, and another suffered burns after being "blocked" from leaving a house fire, spark an investigation at a regional SA fire station but the findings will not be made public.

A popular roadside attraction featuring about 2,000 teddy bears and other soft toys could secure a reprieve after an intervention from the SA Premier but two local councils remain concerned about the risk it poses to drivers.