Locals allowed home to collect gifts as bushfire rages
Holiday travellers are being warned to keep up to date with the latest fire conditions as several states face growing bushfire risks from Boxing Day.
National news
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have released their Christmas messages to Australians.
Sydney's world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead after a union and government paused their enterprise agreement fight for the holidays.
A former pilot accused of unlawfully helping the Chinese military will face prosecution in the US after the attorney-general approved his extradition.
Update
Premier regrets ‘stupid’ union deal as NYE strikes loom
The long-running stand-off between a transport union and a state Labor government over pay appears a long way from resolution as a peace deal is rejected.
Update
Australian soldier captured by Russians in Ukraine
Officials are scrambling to provide support for an Australian citizen reportedly being held hostage by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.
National news
Worker shortage risks transport, green energy rollout
Australia's building sector is plagued by poor work conditions and stagnant productivity, impeding the transport and energy projects the nation needs to grow.
Firefighters are working around the clock to prepare for sweltering Boxing Day conditions as warnings for several major blazes are downgraded.
The week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day is the worst time for drownings in Australia, lifesavers warn, with an average of 15 lives lost annually.
A Greyhound bus driver has died after his vehicle collided with a truck on a highway in the early hours of the morning, leaving several passengers injured.
The execution of two Australians for drug smuggling in Indonesia has refocused a spotlight on how the nation co-operates with countries using the death penalty.
Cancelling Australia's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks display could send businesses to the wall, but the impacts of rail network chaos are already in play.
After almost 20 years in an Indonesian prison, five members of the Bali Nine will spend Christmas with their families after returning to their Australian homes.
Contingencies in place to avoid maintenance engineers' industrial action impacting Christmas holiday makers during a busy aviation period, Qantas says.
Hundreds more Australians have arrived in RAAF planes from earthquake-stricken Vanuatu, with those returning sharing stories of chaos, survival and relief.
Australians stranded in Vanuatu are calling for help as two RAAF planes bring 148 citizens home after delivering vital assistance following a deadly earthquake.
The overhead HumeLink transmission line will be crucial to the national energy grid but has drawn criticism from farmers, communities and environmentalists.
Experts are warning domestic violence attacks are likely to escalate on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, as new data reveals the extent of the increase.
After committing an alleged war crime by murdering an Afghan civilian, an Australian special forces trooper boasted of having a "good day" in the field.
