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Energy customers struggling to keep up with their bills face "major inconsistencies" in how retailers respond, leaving many missing out on support, a survey of financial counsellors has found. That's despite formal hardship frameworks being a legal requirement for energy retailers. An...

Australians could see petrol prices rise as high as $2.20 a litre, as analysts warn the spike in oil prices fuelled by the Israel-Iran conflict will flow "directly to the pump". With the price of Brent crude oil hitting three-year peaks as the conflict escalates, there are forecasts it could...

Orroroo locals say the loss of fuel in town has been terrible timing, but the town is made of a "resilient bunch" of people. Reported before the long weekend, and with no end in sight, customers of the town's only fuel station cannot top up. Orroroo is just over three hours north of Adelaide...

A 185-year-old church bell has been found a week after thieves used an angle grinder to remove it from its mount. The bell was cut from its supports in a structure outside the former St Ann's Presbyterian Church at Paterson. Police said thieves took it between June 5 and 8. Police...

Australians are being urged to shop local and lend a hand to support farmers hit hard this past year by severe drought and floods. Many have been left wondering how they can help farmers after seeing the devastating impact of drought in South Australia and Victoria and flooding in Queensland...

High-risk painkillers were "misappropriated" by the nurse 34 times. (Eric Norris Flickr/CC BY 2.0) A former West Australian nurse has been deregistered for repeatedly stealing controlled medication, which led to patients being deprived of the pain relief they were prescribed. The Nursing and...

Sylvia Campbell has fond memories of her late husband flicking through the local daily newspaper, Shepparton News. The northern Victorian paper was a fixture in the Campbell house and, once it was read, would be taken to the neighbour, sharing the cost. "He used to sit and read the paper...

Tax time is fast approaching — but there is still time to get your ducks in a row if your superannuation is on your list of admin tasks to tackle. Tax agents say it is a good time to look at maximising your super, using something called 'concessional contributions', which can lower your taxable...

When Geoff Percival collapsed in cardiac arrest and his partner called triple-0, a paramedic was not the first responder; it was neighbour Ashlin Fisher. A few months earlier, the young mum from Broulee, on the New South Wales south coast, downloaded NSW Ambulance's GoodSam responder...

Treasury Wine Estates' new Barossa Valley facility can produce no and low-alcohol wine. (Supplied) One of the world's largest wine producers believes it has cracked the code in removing alcohol from its wines without affecting the taste. No and low-alcohol (NOLO) wine is one of the...

Heavy snowfall during the opening weekend of Australia's ski season has led to multiple emergency rescues as people became trapped in their cars. In Victoria alone, about 20 people had to be rescued from vehicles on alpine roads. With winter only just beginning, authorities are urging drivers...

Eating gluten was making Eliza Long sick, but it was the only way for her to get a life-altering diagnosis. Aged 11, she underwent a gastroscopy at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, with a biopsy revealing she had coeliac disease. More than 350,000 Australians live with the...

NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car says she is taking personal leave for "an undetermined period of time" after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Ms Car, who is also the state's education minister and minister for Western Sydney, said she had informed NSW Premier Chris Minns over the weekend. The...

Elderly residents of retirement villages in Cairns lobbying against a council proposal to hike their rates have hit out at the city's mayor, accusing her of "spying" on their movements using social media. Cairns Regional Council is proposing to charge its minimum general rate of about $1,072 to...

The financially strapped Toowong Private Hospital in Brisbane will close this week amid concerns seven other private mental health hospitals across the country are at "imminent" risk of collapse. Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Brett Heffernan blamed "rapacious...

A Catholic priest has rescued a father and son who were struggling to swim at a tourist hotspot in Western Australia's far north. Last weekend, Father Liam Ryan was out in the water at Cable Beach when he spotted two people struggling to stay afloat. "I saw a couple of fellows who looked...

It is sold as a scratch and win dream — two professional-looking scratchie cards neatly packaged alongside a glossy travel brochure and sent via registered mail with a return address to Kuala Lumpur. When the recipient scratches a ticket, they "win" a prize of $US240,000 ($369,000). But...

Whistleblowers from Sydney's Northern Beaches Hospital say repeated warnings about unsafe conditions have been ignored for years, as internal documents reveal a system in crisis. Senior doctors have raised alarms about dangerously low levels of junior medical doctors, inadequate equipment, and...

Rebecca* remembers fighting her clinical team all the way to the theatre, shouting the electroconvulsive therapy she was about to receive was against her will. "I felt completely helpless, that my body wasn’t my own. I felt like I was in a movie," she said. "I was shocked they could actually...

Scott Morrison has credited Australians for their "courage and resilience" in the face of crises, including the Black Summer bushfires and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, as he receives the country's highest honour for his leadership. The 30th prime minister has been appointed a Companion of...