Sydney news

Thousands of new students are offered the chance to study at the University of Newcastle for 2016.

The Women's Big Bash League has been a turning point for women's cricket in Australia, and England captain Charlotte Edwards hopes the Women's Cricket Super League will have the same effect in her country.

John Heffernan and Doug Daniel from Queanbeyan at the Tamworth Country Music Festival

Busking in Tamworth

Lunch in the Country Music Capital

11 year old Felicity Kircher and her much autographed hat

Tamworth has welcomed visitors for its annual country music festival.

Chris Watson teaches around the world

Crocodile farms across northern Australia are enjoying the sight of baby crocs starting to hatch out of their eggs.

A Katherine farm will plant more bananas after a successful trial of the crop, while most of the Top End is restricted from growing bananas.

Farms in Bokal, in Western Australia's Great Southern, have been devastated by flooding.

Human remains uncovered at a property in Melbourne's north are believed to belong to Terrence Blewitt, who was connected to Melbourne's underworld and disappeared under suspicious circumstances more than a decade ago.

A pair of bronze-plated shoes is all that's left of a statue dedicated to female carers of war veterans at a park in Melbourne after it was removed by "callous" thieves.

India captain MS Dhoni says his cheap dismissal was a major reason for the tourists' demoralising 25-run defeat to Australia at Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday.

The Tamworth CBD, festival 2016

A 15-year-old boy is winched to safety after falling about eight metres down a cliff face at Teringie in Adelaide's east.

Federal MP Clive Palmer's wife was appointed director of his flagship mining company, Mineralogy, 10 days before Queensland Nickel went into voluntary administration, documents show.

At least seven babies have been given to the wrong mothers to breastfeed in New South Wales hospitals in recent years, the State Opposition reveals.

New South Wales Police say the Riverina town of Leeton does not need a 24-hour police station, as it already has access to officers around the clock.

ACT police are asking for the public's help to locate a missing Canberra woman who was last seen two days ago.

Union delegates say they have uncovered documents that reinforce fears about terrorists and drug gangs being attracted to flag of convenience shipping.

Liberal MP Bob Baldwin rules out contesting the seat of Lyne as an independent after a redistribution of electoral boundaries substantially altered his New South Wales seat.

There could soon be a new political party on the scene, with the northern New South Wales-based Country Minded Party planning to apply for registration in the coming week.

It is expected the demolition of New South Wales houses contaminated with Mr Fluffy asbestos will start this year.

European Cup winner Luis Garcia has touched down in Australia hoping to make his A-League debut for Central Coast Mariners as early as this weekend against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Grape-growers in the NSW Upper Hunter reap the benefits of Australia's free trade agreement with Japan, a year after the deal was finalised.

A Hunter region council is questioning the New South Wales Government's reluctance to release a report relating to proposed council amalgamations.

It has emerged two dams overflowed at a NSW Hunter mine during last week's heavy rain, prompting an ongoing investigation.

Motorists in the NSW Hunter region can expect petrol prices across the region to fall further in the week ahead as world oil prices fall to record lows.

Places of significance to Tasmania's Aboriginal community will gain wider recognition with dual names being given to seven more areas.

Daria Gavrilova says she will draw inspiration from Lleyton Hewitt, as she looks to continue her winning run at the Australian Open after knocking out sixth seed Petra Kvitova.

Just days after dozens of jobs were cut by a rail freight operator in the NSW Hunter region, a mining services company announces it is also shedding workers.

Women could soon have the option of using a nasal spray for pain relief during childbirth following recent trials by an Adelaide-based midwifery researcher.

Defence personnel at Newcastle's Air Force base are asked not to drink tap water while a problem with the mains water supply is investigated.

Police find science equipment in the backpacks of three boys they allege fled a school in Adelaide's northern suburbs after a break-in.

A man dies after he was found crawling on his hands and knees on a road in Parramatta after being apparently side-swiped by a car.

A primary school in Sydney's inner west was in danger of being totally destroyed less than a week before school returns after a fire engulfed a building, authorities say.

Interstate crews are likely to be brought in to help firefighters contain more than 70 bushfires burning across Tasmania.

Aerial before-and-after photos reveal the frightening damage a bushfire caused in the Western Australian town of Yarloop this month.

An incredible batting collapse of 9 for 46 from India hands Australia an unlikely 25-run win and 4-0 ODI series lead at Manuka Oval.

Novak Djokovic beats French teenager Quentin Hays in straight sets, while red-hot Agnieszka Radwanska halts the comeback of Eugenie Bouchard.

Daria Gavrilova produces upset of women's draw so far to beat Petra Kvitova, while Nick Kyrgios overcomes injury and a wardrobe malfunction to progress.

After more than 20 years washing car windows at an intersection in Canberra's north, one of the city's most familiar faces has died.

A Serbian leader says he is worried about the health of his community after asbestos was found near a cultural club in south-western Sydney.

The Northern Territory Government is being warned of Indigenous job losses and problems managing public housing under changes planned for the Aboriginal town camps in Alice Springs.

Floods sweep through the Great Southern town of Gnowangerup, 395 kilometres south east of Perth, after heavy rainfall in the region.

A 15-year-old boy is winched to safety after falling more than 30 metres down a cliff face at Teringie in Adelaide's east.

Students from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory find out whether they have been accepted to study at university.

The nephew of the man who was shot dead by police during a confrontation in Sydney's west pays tribute to his uncle, saying he was a devoted family man.

WA National Tony Crook confirms he has put his name forward for the state seat of Kalgoorlie at the 2017 election.