Australia

All eyes are on how the credit rating agencies will react to Australia's forecast deficit blowout. If you're not sure why a downgrade would matter, read on.

How much do you know about the Sydney to Hobart and sailing jargon? Not much? This quiz should be educational then.

Just when cricket's authorities and players thought it safe to go back into the negotiating room, the clause that has lain quietly in their women's contracts explodes.

Federal budget deficits will increase by more than $10 billion in coming years as the Government battles low wage growth and falling company profits.

More than 2 million Australian workers are being forced to take their annual leave over the Christmas period, with Gen Y forced to take leave more than any other generation according to research from comparison firm Finder.

This year marked another momentous 12 months of progress for women's sport, with a number of Australia's female athletes standing tall.

The ANU is set to build a new 25-metre pool, as the university continues talks with the ACT Government to extend the size to 50 metres.

How Germany's once pagan tree became a Christmas centrepiece, thanks in part to a popular British queen.

One of the biggest providers of non-government residential care has announced it will be closing its homes in New South Wales within six months.

How much do you know about the Sydney to Hobart and sailing jargon? Not much? This quiz should be educational then.

Independent candidate Tony Windsor raised nearly half a million dollars in donations to try to oust Barnaby Joyce from his seat at this year's federal election.

NSW Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard says a third of the 20,000 children in care across the state are Aboriginal.

Weather forecasters say there is a moderate chance a cyclone will form off the NT on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Palmerston Boxing Club is keeping young NT people out of mischief.

In the biggest undertaking of its kind in Australia, thousands of soil samples are being collected from water catchments in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

The jury retires to consider its verdict in the fraud trial of former Billabong chief executive Matthew Perrin in the District Court in Brisbane.

Where are all the beautiful coloured Christmas beetles we would normally see at this time of year?

A concerted team batting effort by Pakistan, capped by Asad Shafiq's defiant century, has left open the possibility of history being made on day five of the first Test against Australia at the Gabba.

A man left a quadriplegic while training for his first Ironman event now plans to compete in Hawaii next year.

A memorial service will be held for three members of the Vandepeer family who went missing on a boat during a fishing trip out of Cape Jaffa.

How much do you know about the Sydney to Hobart and sailing jargon? Not much? This quiz should be educational then.

Two more Chinese men are remanded in custody in Hobart, accused of trying to smuggle cocaine into Australia.

Three Tasmanian special needs schools are among the latest group to extend to Years 11 and 12.

A man who sexually molested and then strangled 11-year-old Zoe Buttigeig in her bedroom in Victoria's north-east is sentenced to life imprisonment.

A Melbourne woman finds a metre-long tiger snake wrapped around her Christmas decorations.

Police are searching properties in a rural area north-west of Melbourne as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Karen Ristevski.

Weather forecasters say there is a moderate chance a cyclone will form off the NT on Tuesday or Wednesday.

WA Premier Colin Barnett says he does not want people imprisoned for unpaid fines, but has stopped short of committing to the coroner's recommendation for legislative change to rule out detention for fine defaulters.

The first inmates have moved into WA's new women's jail, where the private operators are being offered cash incentives by the Government to ensure prisoners are rehabilitated.