Australia

Strong winds fan bushfires as Australia battles spring heatwave

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Strong winds and a rare, intense heatwave in early spring fanned dozens of bushfires across Australia's southeast, prompting extreme fire danger warnings…

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Australia swelters in spring heat wave, temperatures set to break records

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A spring heat wave across large parts of Australia's southeast, including Sydney, will intensify on Monday, the weather bureau said, with temperatures…

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Three rescued after sharks attack yacht off Australian coast

SYDNEY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Three people on board a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia have been rescued after the hulls of the vessel…

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More than half of Australians oppose Indigenous panel in constitution, poll shows

By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) - More than half of Australians would reject the inclusion of an Indigenous advisory panel in the constitution, a newspaper poll showed, as the government…

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Australia to make it a criminal offence to deliberately underpay workers

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Australia's Labor government will introduce legislation to close "loopholes" in workplace law, a move opposed by employer groups fearing higher costs, when…

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Australia notches warmest winter on record

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia recorded its warmest winter on record, its weather bureau said ahead of a widely anticipated decision over whether to declare El Nino conditions, which typically bring…

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Australia, EU to resume talks on free trade deal on Thursday

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australia and the European Union will resume free trade talks on Thursday with a teleconference between Australia's Trade Minister Don Farrell and…

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Australia PM Albanese sets Oct 14 date for Indigenous referendum

Australians will vote on October 14 on whether they want to change the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait island people, a defining moment in the struggle for Indigenous…

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‘Tragic’ crash injures 23 US Marines in Australia exercises

SYDNEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Twenty-three U.S. Marines were injured during military exercises in northern Australia on Sunday, officials said, in a helicopter crash that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called…

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Point of no return: Australians fight for the right to work from home permanently

By Byron Kaye Australian federal workers have world's strongest WFH rights Employees globally want more WFH than their bosses - survey Office attendance remains far below 2019 levels - JLL…

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Australian prime minister raises prospect of early election over housing impasse

By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY, July 31 (Reuters) - Australia could go to an election more than a year ahead of schedule as opposition parties threaten to block a flagship housing…

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Photo Story: At least 50 pilot whales dead in mass stranding, in Australia

A handout photo made available by Western Australia's state Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions shows a pod of whales swimming off the West Australian coast before stranding themselves on…

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Gold Coast offers to host 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria withdrawal

(Reuters) - Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the city could step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria placed the future of the quadrennial multi-sport event in…

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Australia launches ‘national wellbeing’ dashboard to measure prosperity beyond GDP

By Wayne Cole and Alasdair Pal SYDNEY, July 21 (Reuters) - Australia on Friday launched a "national wellbeing" dashboard of indicators to measure progress on issues like health, education and…

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Australia PM Albanese to push to overcome EU trade obstacles with Macron

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was important for exporters to gain access to European markets under any EU free trade deal, and he would raise obstacles to an agreement in talks…

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Australia PM’s Germany, NATO trip to focus on trade, security

SYDNEY, July 9 (Reuters) - Trade and security will be priorities for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on a trip this week to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and attend a NATO…

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Australia job vacancies fall 2% in May qtr, still historically high

SYDNEY, June 29 (Reuters) - Job vacancies in Australia fell in the three months to May, the fourth straight quarter of decline, but were still far above pre-pandemic levels as…

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Hotter, drier weather likely across Australia for winter and early spring

SYDNEY, June 29 (Reuters) - Dry and warm weather is forecast across large chunks of Australia through the southern hemisphere winter and into spring, the Bureau of Meteorology said on…

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Australia urged to ban online gambling ads to curb growing addiction

SYDNEY, June 28 (Reuters) - Australia should phase out advertising for online gambling in three years, a parliamentary committee of inquiry recommended on Wednesday as it looked to limit the…

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Australia to provide more armoured vehicles to Ukraine

By Alasdair Pal and Renju Jose SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - The Australian government will provide a new A$110 million ($73.5 million) package to Ukraine including 70 military vehicles to…

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Australia says no threat from squatting Russian diplomat

By Alasdair Pal SYDNEY, June 23 (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday the contested site of a proposed Russian embassy was secure, after it emerged a…

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Australia’s visa overhaul leaves Chinese millionaires in limbo

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) - In 2018 Paul Wang left his home in Beijing to start a new life in Australia, investing A$1 million ($680,000) in a food processing…

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Shock in Australia after bus accident kills 10 wedding guests in NSW

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, June 12 (Reuters) - At least 10 people died and 25 were injured after a chartered bus carrying wedding guests rolled off a ramp at a…

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Australia’s trade minister talks tough on EU trade

June 7 (Reuters) - Australia's trade minister Don Farrell has warned the European Union that he will not sign on a trade deal unless the bloc opens its market to…

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Australian woman pardoned after 20 years in jail for deaths of her four children

SYDNEY, June 5 (Reuters) - A woman imprisoned for 20 years over the deaths of her four children was pardoned by New South Wales state on Monday after a judicial…

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Australia hikes minimum wage as living costs surge

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY, June 2 (Reuters) - Australia will raise the minimum wage by 5.75% from July 1 as families grapple with soaring living costs, a decision that businesses…

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Australia says tougher laws needed on artificial intelligence

SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday it planned to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) including a potential ban on deep fakes and realistic-looking but false content, amid concerns…

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Australia is in a unique position to eliminate the bee-killing Varroa mite

Varroa mites – notorious honey bee parasites – have recently reached Australian shores, detected at the Port of Newcastle in New South Wales last year. If they establish here, there…

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Photo Story: Opening night of Vivid Sydney 2023

The sails of the Opera House are lit up on the opening night of Vivid Sydney 2023 in Sydney, Australia, 26 May 2023. Vivid Sydney 2023 runs from 26 May…

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Photo Story: Fire destroys building in downtown Sydney

A wall collapses during a building fire in the Central Business District of Sydney, Australia. Fire and Rescue New South Wales said more than 100 firefighters were deployed to the…

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Australia employment unexpectedly drops

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY, May 18 (Reuters) - Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April after two months of outsized gains, and the jobless rate also ticked up in a sign…

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Australia to deliver first budget surplus in 15 years

SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) - Australia is set to deliver its first budget surplus in 15 years on Tuesday, as its coffers bulge with tax windfalls from higher commodities prices…

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Australia pledges $10 billion in budget to ease cost of living

SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) - Australia's centre-left Labor government said on Monday it would include A$14.6 billion ($9.84 billion) over four years in the federal budget for cost of living…

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Australia’s Sydney Opera House won’t light up for coronation to save costs

SYDNEY, May 6 (Reuters) - A decision not to light up the sails of the Sydney Opera House to mark the coronation of King Charles was a cost saving measure,…

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Australia PM says ‘frustrated’ over continued detention of Julian Assange

SYDNEY, May 5 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he was frustrated for not yet finding a diplomatic fix over the continued detention of Julian Assange…

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Australia aims to start making guided missiles within two years

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Wednesday it would start domestic manufacture of guided missiles by 2025, two years sooner than expected, in a wide-ranging shakeup of defence arrangements to…

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Less rainfall and warmer weather ahead – Australian weather bureau

SYDNEY, April 27 (Reuters) - Australia is set for a drier and warmer start to winter, with even odds for the El Nino weather pattern, the weather bureau said on…

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Australia to overhaul immigration system, smooth entry for skilled workers

SYDNEY, April 27 (Reuters) - Australia proposed on Thursday overhauling its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country and smoothening the path to permanent residency.…

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Australia to prioritise long-range strike capability in defence shakeup

CANBERRA, April 24 (Reuters) - Australia's government will prioritise long-range precision strike, domestic production of guided weapons, and diplomacy - key points of a review released Monday recommending the country's…

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Australia says discovery of WW2 shipwreck ends ‘tragic’ maritime chapter

SYDNEY, April 22 (Reuters) - Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the wreck of a Japanese merchant ship, sunk in World War Two with 864 Australian soldiers…

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Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89

April 22 (Reuters) - Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday,…

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Australia introduces vehicle pollution rules to boost EV uptake

By Praveen Menon SYDNEY, April 19 (Reuters) - Australia said on Wednesday it would introduce new standards targeting vehicle emissions to boost the uptake of electric cars, as it looks…

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Australia’s northwest braces for strongest cyclone in a decade

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, April 13 (Reuters) - Australia's northwest region, home to the world's largest export hub for iron ore, could be hit by the most powerful tropical cyclone…

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Australia tells exporters to diversify from top trade partner China

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, April 12 (Reuters) - Australia wants exporters to diversify markets and become less reliant on China, because it cannot separate economic and strategic relationships, Foreign Minister…

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Australia cancels Binance’s financial services licence amid probe

By Lewis Jackson To close its Australian derivatives business Will not impact Australians using its spot exchange product Also faces regulatory actions in U.S., UK, Japan, Italy and Singapore (Reuters)…

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Australia to ban TikTok on government devices – reports

Australia will announce a ban on TikTok on government phones this week, following other countries in barring the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns, Australian newspapers reported late on Monday.…

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Australia’s Latitude says nearly 8 mln drivers licence numbers stolen

Repeats to widen distribution Data theft much bigger than flagged on March 16 Drivers license, passport numbers, customer records stolen Shares fall 2.5% By Byron Kaye and Navya Mittal March…

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U.S. State Department approves potential sale of Tomahawk missiles to Australia -Pentagon

March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Australia in a deal valued at up to $895 million, the Pentagon…

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Australia, India agree on strengthening economic, defence ties

By Krishn Kaushik NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - Australia and India have agreed to accelerate a broader economic partnership and to boost their defence ties, Australian Prime Minister Anthony…

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Australia expected to buy up to 5 Virginia class submarines as part of AUKUS

WASHINGTONReuters) - Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class nuclear powered submarines in the 2030's as part of a landmark defense agreement between Washington, Canberra and…

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Sydney swelters through autumn heatwave, bushfire threat looms

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, March 6 (Reuters) - Parts of Australia's east including Sydney recorded their hottest day in more than two years on Monday with temperatures hitting more than…

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Australia plans to limit early access to retirement funds, cut tax breaks

By Renju Jose SYDNEY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australia's centre-left government said on Thursday it would push ahead with plans to change superannuation rules, including restricting early access to funds…

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Australian grocer Woolworths says inflation is spurring in-home dining

Interim dividend of 46 Australian cents per share HY profit rises on strong sales, beats estimate Cost inflation above recent history Shares up 2% By Byron Kaye and Sameer Manekar…

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Australia employment falls for second month, jobless at 8-mth high

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Australia employment surprised in January by falling for a second straight month while the jobless rate jumped to its highest since last…

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Australia to expand rollout of fifth COVID vaccine shot

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will roll out a fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine later this month to all citizens aged 18 and above who have not contracted coronavirus or been…

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U.S., UK and Australia carry out China-focused air drills

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada, (Reuters) - The United States, Britain and Australia carried out joint air drills on Wednesday over the Nevada desert and beyond as part of an…

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Australia orders checks on Chinese-made cameras in defence offices

By Renju Jose and Stefica Nicol Bikes SYDNEY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Australian government will examine surveillance technology used in offices of the defence department, Defence Minister Richard Marles…

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