Sydney news

Victoria's health complaints body is investigating a sex assault counselling organisation over its handling of allegations a sexual predator infiltrated one of its services. A former client of the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault says he was raped by another client in the wake of a weekend retreat organized for survivors of childhood abuse. The victim claims his Ballarat counsellor failed to report the assault.

A Goldfields mining town with fewer than 300 houses is leading the nation in solar energy, according to a new Climate Council report.

More than $1.5 million worth of prohibited drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, are seized during a number of searches in Sydney and on the Central Coast.

Two men remain in a critical condition in hospital after a factory fire, which took more than 100 firefighters to contain at Revesby in Sydney's south-west.

Vandals deface "priceless" Indigenous rock art in the state's Central Highlands, prompting calls for tougher penalties under the Aboriginal Relic Act.

Sand mining will come to an end on North Stradbroke Island by 2019, reversing a decision by the former Newman administration to extend Sibelco's lease to 2035.

A 33-year-old Thornbury man and a 26-year-old woman are charged with murder over a fatal shooting in Melbourne's north-west.

A program to reintroduce crayweed forests to waters off Sydney's most famous beaches will now cover 16 locations, as part of plan to rejuvenate the underwater eco-systems there.

The ACT Government will hire a team of investigators to chase up lost revenue and catch Canberrans who evade tax as part of measures to be included in the upcoming territory budget.

This is not how Suzie and Paul Muir pictured life in their 40s together.

A late Shandong Luneng goal denies a 10-man Sydney FC a spot in the last eight of the Asian Champions League, holding them to a 2-2 draw.

The manager of Sydney's Lindt Cafe being held hostage in December 2014 texted a warning that Man Haron Monis was becoming more agitated minutes before the gunman shot him dead, an inquest hears.

A 16-year-old boy dies in hospital after being injured in a rugby league match in Gundagai in southern NSW.

The completed Perth Stadium is projected to cost WA taxpayers more than $50 million in its first full year of operation in 2019, budget figures show.

An inquiry into a Tasmanian city council has become "derailed to such a degree that procedural fairness can't be afforded", the lawyer for a council alderman has told the Supreme Court in Hobart.

South Australian dairy farmer David Basham to become acting Australian Dairy Farmers president as the lobby group overhauls its senior leadership.

Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital failed to learn from its mistakes after the death of a woman in 2009, potentially contributing to the death of a pregnant woman three years later, a coroner says.

A 23-year-old man who took photographs of a young woman's genitals without her consent while she slept should be imprisoned, the prosecution tells a court.

McDonalds faces a backlash from inner city residents afraid that businesses on Glebe Point Road will suffer when the restaurant giant opens a pop-up cafe there on Friday.

The member for Canning, Andrew Hastie, is asked by the Australian Defence Force to stop wearing his uniform in federal election campaign material.

An $8 million footbridge proposed for over Hackney Road as part of the $160 million O-Bahn busway expansion in Adelaide is scrapped.

A German woman was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and fed drug-laced chocolates by a man who lured her to a property in Queensland with a fake job ad, a court hears.

WA's Health Minister says there is still no definitive date when the $1.2 billion hospital will open, just months from when officials are hoping it will open.

An Adelaide man is charged with dozens of aggravated theft and deception offences involving the alleged misuse of more than $1.5 million.

'Take a Seat' art exhibition aiming to raise money to provide people with spinal injuries life-improving technology.

An emotional reunion of family members connected to the Bowraville murders case is held to celebrate the matter being referred to the Criminal Court of Appeal for retrial.

New South Wales finalises its 17-man squad for the opening game of State of Origin in Sydney, with Josh Morris and Tyson Frizell released from camp.

Parramatta Eels five-eighth Corey Norman is ordered to front court after he was allegedly caught with ecstasy and muscle relaxants at a Sydney casino.

Three years after the NT Government scrapped some water advisory committees, it has announced new ones will be established.

A former Canberra construction union organiser is unlikely to face jail, after pleading guilty to blackmail charges arising from the trade union royal commission.

Two men who abducted and subjected a Canberra man to a terrifying ordeal over a drug deal gone wrong are jailed by the ACT Supreme Court.

Elizabeth Quay cost the WA Government nearly $1.7 million in its first two months of operations, including nearly $500,000 on an opening festival, new figures reveal.

Staff evacuated from Aurukun on Queensland's Cape York are unlikely to return for at least six weeks.

Are you one of our regular students for Self Improvement Wednesday? Each week, you get to learn something new - that's our Self Improvement pledge.

Each year, 16 regional fire stations across South Australia are put through a series of assessments and controlled scenarios to test the skills of crews, under the watchful eye of the service's top brass.

The Australian Agricultural Company announces a record net profit of $67.8 million in its full-year results to the end of March.

A policewoman who was kicked by colleagues while she was handcuffed and half-naked in a cell had been on leave for mental health issues at the time, a Victorian anti-corruption inquiry hears.

A teacher who worked in Aurukun 10 years ago says the problems the community is facing are the same problems of a decade ago.

It is a long road to the fashion catwalks of Sydney when you work in a beauty salon in country South Australia but one regional make-up artist is making a name for herself.

A woman who lost control of her car on a South Australian highway causing a crash that killed her grand-nephew and injured several others possibly sneezed just before the crash, the District Court hears.

The sister of one of the girls snatched from the Adelaide Oval in 1973 says she will never give up hope of finally bringing her home.

Farming carbon could play a part in meeting the challenges of demands on agricultural land and climate change.

A three-year-old child shoots herself in the leg with a replica air pistol, which was allegedly unsecured, in northern NSW.

Several regional property markets located within driving distance of major capital cities witness strong home price growth over the past year.

Victoria's Special Minister of State is suspended from Parliament for up to six months for refusing to produce government documents relating to road tolls and coal developments.

The City of Vincent council votes for a two-year trial that will lower speed limits to 40kph in the southern part of the municipality, with school zone limits to be dropped to 30kph.

Moves are underway to protect the rare giant Gippsland earthworm, which can grow up to three metres long.

Family and friends gather at the bedside of a young rugby league player whose life support is to be switched off after he was injured in a match in southern New South Wales.

A farmer in south-east New South Wales starts a buffalo farm to create highly sought-after milk and cheese.

Police in the Great Southern region of Western Australia believe farm theft can be reduced through with collaborative approach.