Masses of Melbourne music fans enjoy 'Play on Victoria 21', the first outdoor concert in Melbourne for 2021 post COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in Victoria.

Victorians celebrated the further loosening of restrictions on Friday night while at least 10 cases have been linked to a COVID-19 cluster at a pub in Sydney’s east. 

Plastic surgeon Ian Holten and anaesthetist Eoin Fehsenfeld were once such close friends that they bought a yacht together for $280,000. Now they are in court after one allegedly engaged in a campaign to discredit him over sex with a patient.

Spectators were welcomed back to watch the thoroughbreds go around a year after the Melbourne Cup Carnival ran without crowds.

Severe storms swept across northern NSW late last week as Nick Moir followed one storm which was born 300 km west of where he let it go. For some the highway is a place from A to B. For Nick it's a pathway to pictures.

Selling meat is easy in pandemic-era Australia. Blooding young talent is another matter.

“Even one police officer before the court is a concern for us,” says one of the state’s most senior cops. Already this year, 62 Queensland police officers or staff have been suspended or stood down.

After 20 months of closed borders, these Victorians are bracing onerous new rules to fly overseas to holiday or reunite with family.

Hundreds of demonstrators, corralled on the steps of Parliament House, held signs saying ‘Stop Dan’s dangerous new legislation’ and ‘free Victoria’.

All arrivals to WA from Friday, November 5 from Victoria, NSW and the ACT must be fully vaccinated, the WA government announced on Saturday.

Snags. Dogs. DIY. Melbourne’s favourite Saturday morning pastime (other than brunch) is back.

The new mayor of Ku-ring-gai has extended an olive branch to the council’s general manager by signalling his intention to not hold a performance review to allow a factional stalemate to end.

A Bentley, multiple properties and drinks in the CBD. The restaurateur was enjoying life as investigators probed his alleged involvement in organised crime.

Derby Day at Flemington racecourse saw limited crowds return to Flemington today after a long absence due to covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria.

People have been urged not to attend popular treat streets outside their suburb, but families are coming up with fun ways to stay socially distanced this Halloween.

Melburnians share their experiences as the city reopens. Today, in the fifth instalment of the series, 11-year-old Michael writes about what it felt like to see his dad again at Melbourne Airport after more than four months of separation.

Despite two episodes being pulled and serious questions arising about the credibility of Unravel: Juanita, it has been nominated for the Best True Crime award at the Australian Podcast Awards

Under chaos theory, a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and causes a tornado in Texas. But what happens when humans disappear from a zoo’s butterfly enclosure for months for the first time in history?

About 85,000 Victorians are still without power and could be waiting days for reconnection, as authorities warn wild weather could hit again next weekend.

A Brisbane man has been charged after the flag was seen flying over the synagogue on Saturday, just days before the Jewish community commemorates one of its darkest events.

The man was rescued from the water near Cape Solander about 12.15pm, with bystanders trying to resuscitate him before Ambulance NSW paramedics took over.

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

COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar has told regional residents to be alert for COVID-19 symptoms on the first weekend Melburnians can enter the rest of the state in almost three months.

As the state enjoys a fourth day with no new local COVID cases, vaccination hubs at Surf Life Saving clubs are up and running amid warnings about the need to come forward.

A man who police allege was carrying a gun on Bourke Street hours before many CBD retailers reopened with fanfare on Friday has been charged.

Medical students from Monash University use their phones to form unexpected friendships amid a pandemic of loneliness.

People need to be encouraged to manage their own COVID monitoring, with quick testing available in most states from Monday.

Sydney’s St Paul’s college is going co-ed, but a fundamental question remains: why does it exist?

The first case of a new COVID-19 variant that is now the fastest-growing coronavirus strain in the UK has been detected in Australia, but virologists say there is no reason to slow reopening plans.

Shopfronts will be transformed into live music venues under NSW government planning changes aimed to boost trade and dial up Sydney’s festive atmosphere by Christmas.

Former NSW Police officer Mark Higginbotham has spoken out about the gay bashings at the hands of officers during the 1980s in Sydney.

The Greater Sydney Parklands Bill presents a clear and present danger to the green spaces bequeathed to the city by our wiser and more generous forbears.

Resistance is futile says western Sydney Halloween tragic Angelyca Dizon, who is going all-out this year to celebrate this year.

The son of Australia’s first billionaire is the face of a growing independents movement some say could herald a tectonic shift in our political landscape.

To see through the smoke you need to know a little bit about hydrogen, and government and company spin doctors hope you do not, so please read on.

The federal government’s backbencher revolt exemplifies self-interested political expediency.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today's interactive superquiz and target.

Shops are welcoming back customers and Melburnians can again head to the regions.

At the centre of political tensions over Brisbane’s run to the Olympics is the Gabba stadium, and a neighbouring school that has survived for over a century.

Victorians are enjoying new freedoms after the state hit a vaccination coverage target of 80 per cent of 16 year olds. Our photographers have been out today capturing all the action including a stormy start to the day.

Senior ministers in the NSW government are eyeing a potential 95 per cent mark double dose rate.

The week in photos from the award winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

Bennet Schwartz, a former employee at mining giant Rio Tinto, was arrested and charged by the AFP over a separate drug importation scheme, allegedly involving Baluch.

Kids are splashing into Victoria pools as swimming lessons make a return. Parents, swim teachers and lifesavers say it’s important for them to catch up on lost time.

Ramping issues at Perth hospitals and the provision of ambulance services to regional WA were two key issues raised at an inquiry into the delivery of the emergency service this week.

In the weeks before she was killed, Sandra Peniamina had planned to surprise her family in New Zealand and move back. What she was thinking in the final moments of her life will never be known.

Masks are off outdoors, Melburnians and regional Victorians are reuniting and shops and gyms are reopening as the state prepares to hit 80 per cent vaccination.

Melburnians will be able to reunite with regional friends and family from today, the Prime Minister has had a ‘candid’ phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is due to front ICAC.

It took millions of photographs taken over 113 years to come up with a book that would capture our extraordinary city.

A large window pane was dangling from the eighth floor of a Paddington unit as strong winds hit Sydney on Friday afternoon.