The states want more money for their COVID-hit public hospitals, but the Commonwealth won’t budge as the worst period of the pandemic looms.

NSW will have greater freedoms sooner in an amended road map out of COVID-19 lockdown, but top epidemiologists say Victoria should stay the course with its strategy.

A strong southerly change caused Sydney temperatures to fall rapidly from 5pm, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning gusts exceeding 90 km/hour are possible.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has accelerated the state’s path out of lockdown to kickstart the economy and help reopen offices earlier.

The new buzzword will be ‘cohorting’, which involves sorting students into groups and not letting them mix to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

Facility managers and water safety experts were delighted by the NSW government’s decision to bring forward the opening, originally scheduled for doubled-vaccinated people for mid-October.

Ineligible for government support, health care and public housing like all non-resident refugees, asylum seekers and foreign students, the NSW government provided emergency accommodation in a Sydney hotel.

The platform must be held liable. If they enable the vice, they pay the price.

Seventy per cent vaccination is a huge achievement, but it still leaves 3.3 million people exposed in NSW. And while Sydney cases fall, they’re rising sharply in the rest of the state.

A Victorian police officer is in hospital with COVID-19 after he was exposed to the virus during recent anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne.

Yarra councillors will be forced to rethink the controversial fees they were planning to charge hospitality traders for using on-street car parks as dining spaces.

NSW’s Premier prepares to overhaul the state’s crisis cabinet, child cancer patients and their families are isolating in Melbourne and France is sending its ambassador back to Australia.

We ask subscribers to the Greater Good newsletter to send us photos of things that have made them smile recently. You can send your own contributions to greatergood@smh.com.au or greatergood@theage.com.au

Assistant Commissioner says during the altercation with police, the man “became unconscious” and died at the scene.

A rapist who attacked two women as they walked through their Melbourne suburb has been jailed for 12 years for crimes a judge described as “every woman’s worst nightmare”.

A Melbourne mum who died after a home birth might have suffered a rare, unforeseen medical complication, a court has heard. But the evidence contradicted testimony of other medicos.

During the pandemic and remote learning, teachers continue to work hard and inspire a new generation.

New ministerial roles were announced on Thursday, as the state government said there was “no time to waste” in preparing for the Games.

The defence barrister said a weakness in the Crown case was a lack of evidence showing his client knew the packages he handled contained drugs.

An analysis of HSC results found students taught by specially qualified teachers did better than those who were not, particularly in science and technology subjects.

Volunteers are using their long hours of lockdown to help count the fragments of polystyrene that float down Melbourne’s watery artery.

Faridullah Mohibi is one of the lucky ones. But nearly 60 NSW MPs from all parties have signed a petition urging the federal government to boost its refugee intake from Afghanistan.

Bullsbrook residents have been forced to buy bottled water or truck it to their properties for more than five years.

From her early days as a volunteer, through to the pinnacle of being president of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) as well as VCOSS, and countless committees, advisory groups, federal, state and local government inquiries, Merle Mitch...

Leakers leak because they see the target as a threat, outlets supply stories fuelled by leaks because there is demand in the political bubble.

Kylie Minogue has confirmed that she’s saying goodbye to London and moving back to Melbourne after 30 years, and the world feels a tiny bit right again.

Human remains have been found in the Gwydir River, around 500 metres from where the man was last seen. Police say they have yet to be identified.

School friends, footy and even swimming lessons are out of reach for now, but a spirit of adventure is keeping Aidan in touch with the great outdoors – even if it’s just camping in the backyard.

The Defence Minister is suing refugee advocate Shane Bazzi in the Federal Court over a tweet in February which branded him a ‘rape apologist’.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

NOVA106.9 remains the creme de la creme, but there was plenty of movement around them in the latest Brisbane radio ratings.

Today on Please Explain, federal bureau chief Angus Livingston joins Nathanael Cooper to explore the latest Resolve Political Monitor survey

Karrina Kemp and her three children spent the week in greater comfort thanks to the kindness of Herald readers and a grant from the NSW government.

After almost 40 years plying Sydney Harbour, the Queenscliff’s last passenger service will be from Manly to Circular Quay on Wednesday.

Under Victoria’s home care program, only the most serious coronavirus cases end up in hospital. Low severity patients are meant to stay home receive daily calls from their GP to monitor their conditions, but GPs say they’re not always told who’...

While it is welcome news that lawyer Bernard Collaery’s prosecution will not go ahead in complete secrecy, it should not go ahead at all.

While concerns mount about hospital pressure as states reopen and Delta spreads, data reveals the extent to which Queensland patients have been managed in their own homes.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has flown to Mackay to urge people to get vaccinated to boost the region’s shockingly low double-dose rate.

The City of Sydney is instead proposing a permanent cycleway along one side of the well-known strip, which will increase the cost and delay its completion.

Fully vaccinated people will be able to have up to 10 visitors in their home, not including children under 12, and up to 30 people can gather outdoors.

Alcohol sales have increased during the pandemic, and we are now starting to grapple with the impact of increasing rates of alcohol harm on families and communities.

The NSW Spring Racing Carnival is about to kick off, but the sport’s peak racing body is at a leadership crossroads.

New NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is unlikely to be as easy going, despite Morrison’s boast that they work well together.

Schools are being asked to move away from blanket bans on common allergens such as nuts and eggs, with experts calling for better food labelling, individual allergy management and better staff training.

Solidarity among women is critical, but it is not unconditional. An essential condition is accountability.

More than 25 per cent of Australians have experienced loneliness for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has found, with one expert saying it may be the nation’s next public health crisis.

Confidential departmental documents show NSW government schools face an unprecedented lack of teachers and are likely to “run out in the next five years”.

I have more faith in the former judges and anti-corruption experts of the Centre for Public Integrity than I have in PM Scott Morrison when it comes to the need for a federal corruption watchdog.

Drone delivery company Wing is now operating out of a major shopping centre in Logan City, in a step the company hopes will expand the types of items it offers.

Spies like Aus, that’s the Goss, and Mundine defeated