Reeking bins and missed missions.

Eighty-six close contacts from the Perth COVID cluster have not come forward for a test, prompting the WA government to extend mask wearing and hospitality restrictions until January 4.

Long delays are forecast at testing sites across Sydney on Tuesday as Brad Hazzard accused the Queensland Premier of “effectively perverting the purposes of pathology testing”.

As case numbers climb in Sydney, expectant mothers have been told by hospitals they must get PCR tests regularly.

The #hotvaxsummer of endless good times for a demographic who sorely missed social interaction has been doused by COVID-19’s rebound.

Two Melburnians who skipped border restrictions to attend the AFL Grand Final in Perth before being jailed have now returned to Victoria.

This should be a busy trade period for retailers, but staff shortages due to the coronavirus is forcing them to shut their doors.

For eight months the EPA has been cleaning up the illegal dumping ground in country Victoria, making a range of toxic and grisly underground discoveries.

Authorities are treating three separate bushfires during a total fire ban across WA over the Christmas period as suspicious, with one man charged for allegedly igniting a blaze that tore through 30,000 square metres of land.

A feline family that lives in a pylon on the bridge feature as part of a recently opened museum.

The owner of a wholesale liquor business in Boronia has accused Victoria Police and the Office of Public Prosecutions of conspiring to financially cripple him, after freezing his assets and withholding almost $70,000 seized during a money laundering ...

As Richie Benaud impersonators treated the crowd to the sounds of summer, there was also something to smile about for English fans, such as Sophie McKenna in her sparkly Union Jack dress.

No single Australian company will be able to build 8000 new electric buses the NSW government has committed to buy locally, according to Nexport chief Michael van Maanen.

Upmarket catering and lucrative sponsorship deals will be offered at next month’s Australian Open as Tennis Australia tries to claw back some of the cash it lost last year.

Catching COVID is not inevitable, even if you are living with someone who has the virus.

Some residents who had evacuated on Boxing Day evening returned home Monday morning, grateful for community support in helping them leave, especially those with animals and livestock.

The need for Boeing 787 pilots in Queensland to isolate for 14 days after each international service has put pressure on crewing.

Many PCR testing clinics are closed or operating at reduced hours in NSW on Monday due to the public holiday, triggering queues at sites across Sydney.

Victoria reported 1999 new coronavirus cases on Monday and three deaths. NSW reported 6324 new cases of COVID-19.

State authorities are looking at allowing interstate travellers to do a rapid-antigen test, rather than a PCR test, on day five.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged parents to get their children vaccinated before they return to school.

This is not the first time we’ve been faced with what appears to be a seemingly unstoppable disease.

The people of Geelong can be thankful to Colin Atkins for many things. The bypass road, Deakin University, the Animal Health Laboratory, the Marine Sciences Complex at Queenscliff – even the car ferry to Sorrento.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland hospitals were prepared with the number of cases rising by the day.

The clean-up and the financial cost are far from over for the areas of Victoria that suffered heavily in the June storms.

During a series of raids, ABF officers seized 463,804 cigarettes, 138 kilograms of loose leaf tobacco and 411 kilograms of molasses.

The fire started near the intersection of Old Northam Road and Government Road in Beechina. An evacuation centre has been set up at Mundaring Arena on Mundaring Weir Road.

Performance and results should be what counts in the preselection process, not secret deals.

Sydney’s hospitals are battling a staffing crisis with more than 2000 health workers furloughed statewide.

The Andrews government placed a major order for rapid 15-minute tests before Christmas.

In an era before the invention of the bikini in 1946 or budgie smugglers, you weren’t allowed to display bare flesh.

Businesses say fast-growing suburbs along the route of the line will be distressed to learn that the project is “still uncertain”.

Water safety experts are shocked by new research finding the number of adults who can’t swim well or at all are higher than expected.

Dominic Perrottet’s determination to “open up”, despite the soaring numbers of positive cases, has contributed to the current COVID-19 crisis

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

A lofty battle of measurements.

The specialised unit’s 22 investigators spend their days online, impersonating children or paedophiles before a sting. They have never lost a case in court.

Johannesburg: “Like falling in love” is how Archbishop Desmond Tutu described voting in South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, a remark that captured both his puckish humour and his profound emotions after decades fighting apartheid.

The state recorded 1479 new cases during the Christmas weekend, but only seven patients are in hospital.

Masked-up and sanitised shoppers flocked to Sydney’s biggest retail centres on Boxing Day, while online sales rose by 25 per cent from last year.

Travel agents say increasing COVID-19 case numbers, which have forced thousands to isolate, have led to people cancelling bookings across the state.

Ben Luzz has the martinis ready for a street party in the city this New Year’s Eve which he says is going to be bigger and better than last year. 

As public health experts race to study the virulence and severity of the new Omicron strain, here’s what we know so far.

High vaccination rates have ended lockdowns on Australia’s east coast, but shortcomings within our testing and isolation systems have been exposed by the current outbreak.

A 25-year-old French tourist has been charged by police after allegedly failing to comply with directions while in hotel quarantine.

Five vans used to transport guide dogs in training have been stolen overnight, in what has been described as a “devastating blow” for those with low vision.

According to the Royal Life Saving Society Australia, the eight days from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day are the deadliest period for drowning.

Exposure sites include Westfield Garden City and Westfield Chermside, as well as a retail and hospitality venues in Brisbane City.

St Vincent’s Hospital has admitted more than 400 COVID-19 positive people were incorrectly notified that their PCR test results were negative on Saturday night.

Western Australia has recorded one new local case of COVID-19.