Sydney news

About 500 people are in evacuation centres and 3,000 have called the State Emergency Service for assistance as heavy rain and damaging winds continue to hit NSW and the east coast low moves south.

New Zealand has shocked Rio de Janeiro Olympics contenders Australia, defeating the Hockeyroos 2-0 in the gold medal match of the women's International Hockey Open in Darwin.

Low-lying areas in NSW are evacuated due to rising floodwaters as a strong upper trough moves south from Queensland, with the weather bureau warning of conditions to worsen with flooding, damaging winds, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

Extreme weather causes flash flooding in Brisbane and Sydney and evacuations elsewhere in New South Wales, as residents in Victoria and Tasmania brace for heavy rain, strong winds and damaging surf.

Fremantle finally wins a game in 2016, beating Essendon by 79 points at Subiaco, while Sydney beat Gold Coast by 38 points at Carrara.

The Socceroos beat Greece 1-0 in their first friendly on the back of a 94th-minute Mathew Leckie strike.

Look back on the Socceroos' 1-0 win over Greece as Mathew Leckie scores the winner with the final kick of the game in Sydney.

North Queensland's State of Origin contingent stars in Cowboys' 46-16 demolition of Newcastle, as the Storm tops the ladder after 24-6 win over Panthers.

The NT Chief Minister says a lack of Federal Government funding is not to blame for a dialysis vehicle, meant to service remote communities, sitting unused in an Alice Springs car park.

Heavy rain and gale force winds hit Sydney and NSW as a strong upper trough moves south from Queensland, with the weather bureau warning of conditions to worsen with flooding, damaging winds, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

Geelong spoils Stevie J's return to Kardinia Park with 10-point win over GWS for eighth victory of the season.

Follow all the action as it unfolds as the Socceroos take on Greece at Sydney's Olympic stadium in the first of two friendlies.

Northern Tasmanians are warned to prepare early for flash flooding, strong winds and damaging surf set to hit the state.

A West Australian Football League match between Subiaco and Peel Thunder is postponed in Perth due to fears over the playing surface.

A Shaun Johnson-inspired Warriors bounce back from a limp last-up performance in emphatic fashion by downing Brisbane 36-18 in Auckland.

Heavy rain and gale force winds hit Sydney and NSW as a strong upper trough moves south from Queensland, with the weather bureau warning of conditions to worsen with flooding, damaging winds, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

The artists behind a prominent outdoor mural in Darwin depicting the West Papuan "Morning Star" flag are asked to paint over it by the wall's owners as a matter of urgency following "external pressures".

Caitlin Foord scores a brace for the Matildas who down trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand 2-0 in Ballarat in Victoria.

The NSW corruption watchdog says it is facing a "funding crisis" and will be forced to fire 16 people after State Government cuts.

Bill Shorten vows a Labor government will boost arts funding and dump the Coalition's controversial Catalyst arts program, handing back funding decisions to the independent Australia Council.

Carlton's surge up the AFL ladder has continued with the Blues brushing aside Brisbane by 38 points, while the Hawks beat the Demons by 18 in Melbourne.

The Tasmania Police Association is calling on the State Government to amend its controversial anti-protest legislation, or risk police not enforcing it.

The artists behind a prominent outdoor mural in Darwin depicting the West Papuan "Morning Star" flag are asked to paint over it by the wall's owners as a matter of urgency following "external pressures".

Extreme weather causes flash flooding in parts of Brisbane and Sydney as residents in Victoria and Tasmania brace for heavy rain, strong winds and damaging surf conditions.

The Martu people from Indigenous communities in WA's Pilbara region are setting off on a week-long March to protest against a proposed uranium mine.

The Hobart Hurricanes reject claims by controversial West Indian batsman Chris Gayle they want to recruit him for the Big Bash series.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promises funding for training scholarships and a suburban Adelaide football oval while continuing to campaign in South Australia.

The family of missing Australian backpacker Rye Hunt are holding onto hope after a body was sighted in the sea off Rio de Janeiro.

A crucial element of a pilot program to revitalise oyster populations virtually wiped out more than a century ago is completed in Albany, on WA's South Coast, with scientists laying new seabed.

Measures are put in place by the beef industry to help improve the welfare of Australian live exports.

Heavy rain has hit Sydney and NSW as a strong upper trough moves south from Queensland, with the weather bureau warning of flooding, damaging winds, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

A new magazine featuring rural women finds a welcome market both here and overseas.

An east coast low is causing flash flooding in parts of Brisbane and Sydney as residents in Victoria and Tasmania brace for heavy rain, strong winds and damaging surf conditions.

Some of the country's most established winemakers head south to cooler climates.

The ACT Government says it is looking to relocate a set of a point-to-point speed cameras installed in Canberra's south.

There are calls for a national plan to fight the fugal disease myrtle rust, which is destroying native trees and, experts say, has the potential to cause regional extinction of iconic Australian animals.

Flooding inundates cars and cuts more than 30 roads, including the Bruce Highway, in Queensland's south-east as an extreme weather system intensifies and moves south through the state.

Olive growers in the New South Wales Hunter Valley are counting their blessings on the back of a bumper harvest that is in stark contrast to this year's disappointing grape yield.

The current strength of the citrus industry has some Riverland growers feeling confident they will be able to cope with having their water allocations cut next financial year.

A West Australian man who was critically injured when he was attacked by a shark in Mandurah, south of Perth, dies in hospital.

Catch up with the latest podcast of Saturday Talkback Gardening with Jon Lamb and Ashley Walsh.

Emergency crews brace for possible flooding in Victoria's east as almost 150 millimetres of rain is expected to fall in parts of Gippsland over the weekend.

NSW residents are preparing for a massive storm moving south from Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of flooding, damaging winds, heavy rainfall, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

The Hockeyroos have beaten India 2-1 in their last round-robin match to reach the final of the International Hockey Open in Darwin.

The constant felling of Word Records is something athletes and armchair athletes alike come to expect from our elite performers. In this classic Beyond the Lab we return to the track to ask; is this relentless march forward sustainable?

No Fixed Address, widely seen as the first Indigenous band to break into mainstream music, is inducted into South Australia's music hall of fame.

At a loss about what to do with his life after his stepdaughter was murdered and his wife died from cancer, Ivan Phillips planned a motorbike ride around Australia to tackle the issue of domestic violence.

Every election political parties spend millions on research, polling, marketing and advertising to carefully craft and then sell their message to voters.

A High Court challenge to Tasmania's workplace anti-protest laws will go ahead, despite police scrapping plans to prosecute the only five protesters to be charged.

A woman has been rescued from the roof of her car after being swept off the Capricorn Highway as a dangerous weather system moves over central and southern Queensland.