Australia

Intense heatwave grips Australia’s southern states

Australia’s south sweltered through a brutal heatwave that is delivering temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some cities, triggering health warnings, straining power grids and causing bushfires…

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Australian state passes tougher gun, protest law after Bondi Beach shooting

Australia's most populous state on Wednesday passed sweeping new gun and anti-terror rules following the mass shooting on Bondi Beach, tightening firearm ownership, banning public display of terror symbols and…

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Australia social media ban set to take effect, sparking a global crackdown

Australia is set to become the first country to implement a minimum age for social media use on Wednesday, with platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube forced to block more…

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Australia says the world will follow social media ban as Meta starts blocking teens

Australia's internet regulator said a teen social media ban would be the first domino to fall in a global push to rein in Big Tech, as Meta's Instagram, Facebook and…

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Meta to block Instagram and Facebook for users under 16 in Australia

Meta will stop Instagram, Facebook and Threads for users in Australia under the age of 16, the company has said. The block will come into effect by 10 December to…

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Gold set to become Australia’s second-biggest resource earner

Australia said on Tuesday it expected gold to become its second most valuable resource export after iron ore this financial year, dislodging liquefied natural gas, as concerns over geopolitical instability…

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Australia expels Iranian ambassador over antisemitic attacks

Australia says it will expel the Iranian ambassador alleging that Iran had directed antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attacks were "extraordinary and dangerous…

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Australia to recognise Palestinian state in September, New Zealand may follow

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly to add momentum for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday. Albanese, who…

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Australian Analysis Casts Doubt on Accuracy of Electric Vehicle Range Estimates

A government-funded program to test the true performance of vehicles has found the driving range of five popular electric cars is between 5% and 23% lower than results from laboratory…

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Australia adds YouTube to social media ban for under 16s

Australia is banning YouTube for children under 16, widening the scope of a landmark social media law that aims to protect teenagers from harmful content online. "Young people under the…

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Australia’s divorce rate is lowest in 50 years and marriages are lasting longer

Divorce rates are their lowest in 50 years and marriages are lasting longer, according to new data that reflects an increasingly selective approach to marriage and the ongoing effects of…

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Australia raises minimum wages by 3.5%

Australia's independent wage-setting body on Tuesday raised the national minimum wage by 3.5% effective July 1, a real wage increase for about 2.6 million workers on the lowest pay as…

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Record floods devastate eastern Australia

Record floods cut a destructive path through eastern Australia on Friday, caking houses in silt, washing out roads and separating 50,000 people from help.Four bodies have been pulled from vast…

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Australia’s Albanese Labor government sworn in for second term

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday, alongside his ministers, after a landslide win at a national election he said had returned the…

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Labor’s Historic Victory: Albanese Secures Majority in Australia

Labor's Anthony Albanese has been re-elected as Australia's prime minister in a landslide, overcoming the "incumbency curse." Though official vote counting is ongoing, his centre-left government will significantly increase its…

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Australia, New Zealand commemorate Anzac Day

Thousands of people in Australia and New Zealand on Friday celebrated Anzac Day to commemorate military service members who died in war. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.…

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Australians begin to cast ballots in early voting ahead of 3 May general elections

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton cancelled campaign events out of respect for Pope Francis who died on Monday. Australians have started casting their ballots in early…

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Australia PM Albanese calls national election for May 3

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday called a national election for May 3, launching a five-week campaign that is set to be dominated by cost-of-living pressures. Albanese's Labor party…

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Australia moves to arm troops with anti-ship missiles as China threat looms

Australia is scrambling to deploy new long-range missiles as the recent arrival of powerful Chinese warships off the Australian coast delivers a sharp reminder of Beijing’s growing naval muscle. In…

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Australians told ‘prepare for worst’ as tropical cyclone nears

Violent winds toppled power lines Friday as a tropical cyclone inched towards Australia's eastern coast, sparking evacuation orders and leaving 80,000 homes without electricity. Tropical Cyclone Alfred was 125 kilometres…

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Brisbane Airport suspends operations as forecasters’ worst fears realised

Australia is bracing for severe flooding as Cyclone Alfred nears, with the rare storm on the country's eastern coast expected to bring torrential rain, destructive winds, and storm surges. The…

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Chinese naval drills prompt 49 flights to change course unexpectedly

Some 49 commercial flights were forced to change course last Friday when Chinese warships unexpectedly announced naval drills off the eastern coast of Australia, officials said in a government hearing.…

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Australia spots ‘unusual’ Chinese ships near its east coast

Australia on Thursday said it was monitoring the "unusual" presence of Chinese warships near its eastern coast. "We are keeping a close watch on them, and we will make sure…

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Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed

Australia summoned the Russian ambassador over reports a Melbourne man had been killed after being captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. The…

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Australia’s under-16 social media ban sparks anger and relief

Australians are reacting with a mixture of anger and relief to a social media ban on children under 16 that the government says is world-leading, but which tech giants like…

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Australia passes social media ban for children under 16

Australia on Thursday passed into law a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the…

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Australia launches ‘landmark’ bill to ban social media for children under 16

Australia's centre-left government on Thursday introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million)…

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Australia proposes ‘world-leading’ ban on social media for children under 16

The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of…

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Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles

King Charles faced shouts of "you are not my King" from an independent senator just after he finished an address at Australia's Parliament House on the second official day of…

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Australia, New Zealand brace for looming bird flu threat

Australia and New Zealand are bracing for the arrival of a destructive bird flu strain by tightening biosecurity at farms, testing shore birds for disease, vaccinating vulnerable species and war-gaming…

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Australia supermarkets sued over fake discount claims

Australia's consumer watchdog is suing the country's two biggest supermarket chains, alleging they falsely claimed to have permanently dropped the prices of hundreds of items. The Australian Competition and Consumer…

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King Charles to meet cancer researchers, Indigenous groups during Australia visit

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet cancer researchers, representatives of Indigenous groups and conduct a navy fleet review in Sydney harbour during their visit to Australia next month,…

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Australia plans social media minimum age limit

Australia plans to set a minimum age limit for children to use social media citing concerns about mental and physical health, sparking a backlash from digital rights advocates who warn…

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Australia to limit foreign student enrolments in migration crackdown

Australia said on Tuesday it would limit the enrolment number of international students at 270,000 for 2025, as the government looks to rein in record migration that has contributed to…

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Australian employees now have the right to ignore work emails, calls after hours

Is your boss texting you on the weekend? Work email pinging long after you've left for home? Australian employees can now ignore those and other intrusions into home life thanks…

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US to increase military force in Australia

Australia will begin co-manufacturing guided weapons with the US next year to boost supply for allies in the Indo Pacific and increase a US military presence in the country, including…

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Australia raises terror threat level to ‘probable’ from ‘possible’

Australia on Monday raised its terror threat level to "probable" from "possible", citing an increase in extremist views in the country leading to a more than 50% chance of the…

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Australia doubles foreign student visa fee in migration crackdown

Australia said on Monday it had more than doubled the visa fee for international students, the latest move by the government to rein in record migration that has intensified pressure…

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Australia reports first human avian flu infection

Australia reported its first human case of avian influenza on Wednesday in a child who authorities said had been infected in India but made a full recovery, while a different…

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Australian PM says children under 16 should be banned from social media

Anthony Albanese has endorsed banning children from registering social media accounts until they are 16, saying too much online engagement at a young age is seriously damaging their mental health.…

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Australia raises minimum savings for student visa, warns on fake recruitment

Australia said on Wednesday it would raise the amount of savings international students will need to get a visa and warned several colleges of fraudulent student recruitment practices, as part…

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Powerful earthquake hits South Australia

A magnitude-4.1 earthquake has struck Jamestown in South Australia's Mid North, with the tremor felt as far south as Adelaide, about 200 kilometres away. The quake hit an area north-east…

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UPDATED: Australia says Assyrian church stabbing was terrorist act

Australian police said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from…

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Australia hints it could recognise Palestinian state

Australia's foreign minister has suggested the country could recognise Palestinian statehood, to increase momentum towards peace. However Hamas could have no role in its governance, Penny Wong said. Both Australia's…

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Australia to recommend minimum wage rise in line with inflation

SYDNEY, March 25 (Reuters) - Australia's government will support a minimum wage increase in line with inflation this year as low-income families continue to grapple with costs of living, although…

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Verstappen continues pole perfection in Australia

By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE, March 23 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Formula One world champion Max Verstappen took pole position for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday with Carlos Sainz qualifying…

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Australia, UK to boost defence cooperation

By Kirsty Needham and Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and the United Kingdom on Thursday signed a new defence and security cooperation agreement that makes it easier for their…

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Australia tightens student visa rules as migration hits record high

By Renju Jose and Stella Qiu SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) - Australia will begin enforcing tougher visa rules for foreign students this week as official data showed migration hit another…

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Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong marries longtime partner

SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the country's first openly gay female parliamentarian, has married her partner Sophie Allouache, Wong said on Sunday. "We are delighted…

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Australia economy slows to a crawl

Q4 GDP data highlights demand-impact of elevated rates Frail outcome reinforces bets for rate cuts in 2H Growth driven by net trade, government spending Treasurer Chalmers say balance of risks…

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Much of Australia set for warm and dry autumn, weather bureau says

CANBERRA, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Australia could be heading for its third-warmest summer on record, with many places likely to experience a warmer and drier period than normal from March…

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Thousands told to flee homes in Australia amid heat spike, bushfire threat

SYDNEY, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of residents in Australia's southeast were told to evacuate on Wednesday due to an intense heatwave that authorities said could further spread…

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More Australian towns threatened by massive bushfire

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Fresh evacuation warnings were issued on Friday for dozens of rural Australian towns as around 1,000 firefighters battled a bushfire in Victoria…

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Australia boosts defence spending, aims to double warships

Australia said on Tuesday it would boost its defence spending by an additional A$11.1 billion ($7.25 billion) over the next decade to procure six 'optionally crewed' warships and 11 new…

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Australia lists nickel as ‘critical mineral’ to unlock billions in support

MELBOURNE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Australia classified nickel as a "critical mineral" on Friday, opening the way for the crisis-hit industry to access billions of dollars in government support. Australia…

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Australia wants China to lift trade barriers

Australia's trade minister said on Tuesday he would meet his Chinese counterpart at a World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi this month and push for the removal of restrictions…

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Australia to allow workers to ignore after-hours calls from bosses

By Praveen Menon SYDNEY, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Australia will introduce laws giving workers the right to ignore unreasonable calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours without…

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