Sydney news

Establishing a formal register of sperm, egg or embryo donors in South Australia would create an openness to address concerns around medical histories and people unknowingly forming relationships with relatives, a review finds.

Daydream Island Resort, in the Whitsundays off the north Queensland coast, will remain closed until mid-2018 due to substantial damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Debbie.

Holly Barratt, at 29, is not feeling her age but people cannot stop talking about it as she becomes the Australian swim team's oldest rookie.

A Newcastle man who had a challenging upbringing has spent the past four decades working to help underprivileged children.

Dogs love to chew all manner of things, but when they start to ingest non-edible objects such as socks or underwear, something could get stuck.

Western Sydney Wanderers face ACL elimination after a 3-2 loss to FC Seoul, while Adelaide United records an away win against Jeju United.

Cyclonic conditions one week, rebuilding the next. Satellite images capture Queensland's tourism icons two weeks on from Cyclone Debbie.

An aquaculture hatchery in far north Queensland sends 2,500 free fish to farms in the south-east corner of the state affected by the outbreak of white spot disease, in what is described as a "small ray of sunshine" for prawn farmers.

The confidential information of about 120 Victorian families who homeschool vulnerable kids is inadvertently published on the Victorian Education Department website for 24 hours.

Kimberley teenager Gordon Churchill answered a national casting call for young Indigenous men and won the lead role in the upcoming ABC TV comedy drama The Warriors.

A Perth doctor acted "reprehensibly" and "engaged in professional misconduct" in his treatment of a young cancer sufferer who died after her parents took her to El Salvador for natural therapies, a tribunal finds.

A serious debate in the Tasmanian Parliament is livened up by a tribute to the late satirist John Clarke, while the man who brought on the issue trashes the abilities of his colleagues.

On her last tour of Australia, seminal New York punk rocker, Patti Smith talks death and learning from failure, including getting stage-fright at Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize award ceremony.

Shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, dismissed the idea of allowing young people to access their superannuation to help them buy a house.

Governments should be open to the idea of re-regulating household gas and electricity prices if retailers do not improve their offering to consumers, the head of Victoria's energy watchdog says.

The Barossa's most impressive collection of wines will be showcased at a new $4.5 million museum facility near Angaston.

The AFL says it's working to develop new strategies to overcome racism. In a weekend clash between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, players from both sides faced verbal insults from fans. There was also an off-field clash involving spectators in the grandstand, and a woman who trolled Adelaide star Eddie Betts. The AFL says there's no room for racism in the sport, and it is working to stamp it out.

The first data from last year's controversial census is releasedincluding profiles of the typical Australian, the typical Indigenous Australian and the typical migrant.

Prosecutors tell the ACT Supreme Court all available evidence points to the guilt of Yemeni national Maged Al Harazi, who allegedly stabbed his wife to death in their Canberra home.

A Canberra university graduate who lost the use of his legs 11 years ago after a motorcycle crash walks across the stage to accept his degree, with the help of a robotic exoskeleton.

Narrabri, a town in north-western New South Wales is at the centre of the huge debate over energy security. Energy company Santos has earmarked the area for coal seam gas production. It's proposing up to 850 wells to supply gas to New South Wales for two decades. But locals are divided about the expected benefits and costs, with the environmental impact statement attracting thousands of submissions.

A detective tells a Perth court that on the day Lloyd Rayney was arrested over allegations he intercepted his wife's calls, he believed no doubt should be left in the public's mind Mr Rayney was also a suspect in her murder.

Australia is to become the first country in the world to introduce a tough new system to protect patients from medical professionals accused of sexual misconduct.

Seven West Australian citrus growers join forces to create one large farm in order to gain entry to export markets.

Lucy Gichuhi grew up with next to nothing on the slopes of Mount Kenya, and she's likely to become Australia's next senator for South Australia.

Relatives of a Melbourne man who says he killed his mother during a psychotic episode previously raised concerns he faked his symptoms, a court is told.

Inspections of Adani's operations in north Queensland show it is meeting environmental regulations, the Indian mining giant says, labelling aerial photographs showing the Caley Valley wetlands to be black as "misleading".

Indigenous rangers and scientists rediscover 11 populations of the Slater's skink near Alice Springs after the species was thought to be extinct.

As Adelaide workers rally over a construction site death in 2014, the South Australian Premier steps in to promise there will be a coroner's investigation of Jorge Castillo-Riffo's death.

Insurance policy holders check the fine print after the floods to make sure they are covered.

Young girls living in a single-parent home are more than twice as likely to be obese as those living in a two-parent household, Queensland researchers find.

Rock band Regurgitator pulls out of the Australian National University bar's final show, after the organiser responded to backlash over the all-male line-up by asking why he should "think about this shit".

When Julie O'Shea visited an organic farm in northern NSW, she only planned to walk away with 10 hens, but ended up rehoming nearly 400.

The decision on which Australian Super Rugby franchise survives beyond this season will come down to finances, the Western Force concedes, as WA rugby officials warn it will force more players overseas.

Police are waiting for an interpreter to interview the driver of a bus carrying tourists that crashed on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria's south-west on Monday, killing one man and seriously injuring a woman.

Bud Tingwell's tools of trade, kept secure in two chocolate boxes, tell us a lot about what kind of an actor he was.

Families descended from early pioneers secure the future of one of the oldest regional cemeteries in NSW.

Rural GPs-in-training get a tour of the extraordinary hazards facing farmers and their communities.

As Queensland communities continue the recovery process after cyclone Debbie, a JCU researcher is pointing to lessons learned from Cyclones Larry and Yasi.

A heavy police presence at the construction site for the now-scrapped Roe 8 project cost $1.5 million and Main Roads will be asked to foot the bill.

Port Adelaide hands an indefinite suspension to one of its members who racially abused Adelaide's Eddie Betts in Saturday night's Showdown.

Record numbers of cattle are hitting the online market amid producers looking to sell off their cattle and an upward trending market.

A new herd of artificially inseminated calves are born on a northern stud bull property.

Thousands of young students have "graduated" from a Children's University program that opens their eyes to the possibility of future tertiary study, but federal funding for its future is uncertain.

A North Queensland employment program records overwhelming success at giving young people the confidence to enter the workforce.

Farmers in central Queensland are left shocked after extensive flooding in the region destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops.

The Northern Territory Government announces a scientific study to identify key areas for agricultural and regional development.

Newly-appointed New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller reshuffles his executive team, removing Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn from the counter-terrorism portfolio.

Comedian Magda Szubanski remembers John Clarke as a "brilliant" political satirist who showed a great moral compass with his sharp take on Australian politics.

A new wind farm to be built 15 kilometres from Port Augusta is expected to create 300 jobs during construction, its developers say, with work also to begin on a nearby solar farm.