More than 100,000 Victorians have had coronavirus tests in the past two days as authorities try to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Some people feel they have developed psychological skills to manage this lockdown, while others have a “real sense of disappointment, deflation and powerlessness”.

Research has discovered how a version of the common cold primes the body’s immune system for COVID-19, and hope to use the finding for new treatments.

Queensland police will be the first in the country to receive new specialised sexual violence training after the service came under fire for its response to victims, with officers believing outdated rape myths.

Demand for the Pfizer vaccine was outstripping that for AstraZeneca at the Homebush vaccination centre, according to those queuing up on Saturday.

After she made global headlines pretending to be a teenager in Ireland and Canada, no one heard about Samantha Azzopardi for several years. But in that time, she was conning families across Melbourne.

Four of today’s five new locally acquired COVID-19 cases are close contacts of a worker from a large food distribution centre who travelled across Melbourne over a 10-day period.

A victim of notorious paedophile Kevin Lynch, who abused more than 130 children at a Brisbane private school, is raising funds to sue the institution for about $30 million.

The Bureau of Meterology has warned that gale force winds are expected for part of the NSW coast, as well as large swells and abnormally high tides.

The Catholic Cemeteries Trust will launch legal action against the NSW government decision to merge the five trusts managing Sydney’s cemeteries.

A small rally against the Victorian lockdown and vaccination efforts has ended with a number of arrests.

Emergency services are working to winch a missing man to safety after he was found at the bottom of a cliff in the Scenic Rim. 

George Tippett was not driven by ambition; he just had the flexibility and the confidence to say “yes” to opportunities and ideas. In his 93 years, he enriched many people’s lives and left the world a better place.

An investigation is under way after a young mother developed a rare flesh-eating infection that threatened her life after she had a caesarean birth at a Brisbane hospital.

The move comes after a week of heightened tensions between the government and frontline staff, as more than 1000 nurses and doctors rallied outside the hospital.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors.

A truck driver is in hospital after being seriously assaulted by a group of young men in Sydney’s west on Friday.

There is still work to do – outside and inside the courtroom.

Parramatta could become an irresistible honeypot for tourists. Will it?

Space gazing is one of the best ways to stimulate our crucial capacity for wonder.

Isolation won’t be a problem for Melbourne University arts student Sobur Dhieu as she bunkers down for Victoria’s snap lockdown, but finding a quiet place might be.

The NSW government has given councils the power to refuse development occurring on land above the previously prescribed one-in-100 year floodline.

An official report found no apparent link to ventilation and the coronavirus transmission, but experts say the facts tell a different story.

Chris Minns and Michael Daley are set to go head-to-head to take over from Jodi McKay as leader of NSW Labor.

Sydney’s health hotels are housing their smallest number of coronavirus cases in recent months, as national discussion continues around how best to quarantine returning Australians.

Plans for a new rail bridge have sparked a fight over how the Kelly gang should be remembered at the siege site in Glenrowan.

When a “tall, dapper, eloquent older man” wanted to take photographs of student Anders Villani on campus, he came with the apparent imprimatur of the university.

Another lockdown in Victoria has been driven by the lack of federal initiative in developing dedicated, design-built facilities for people from overseas requiring quarantine.

The Victorian government was caught out by the dramatic surge in demand for vaccines and left unable to deploy its high-tech vaccination management system.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today's interactive superquiz and target.

On the day Victoria’s latest lockdown was announced, acting Premier James Merlino delivered a blunt message. Although directed at Canberra, it applies to all of us.

Health authorities are urgently flagging 20 sites of concern tied to a COVID-positive worker from a large food distribution centre who visited sites across Melbourne over a 10-day period.

Finian Egan has been fighting a five-year legal battle against former home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s decision to cancel his citizenship over the defrocked priest’s criminal record.

One Melbourne couple found a priest and a church and scrounged up a cake within a matter of hours so they could make it down the aisle before lockdown.

Senior Constable Aaron Izzard has had to learn to walk and talk again, but he still has no sense of taste or smell. And he can not remember the births of his children.

The week in photos from the award winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

Police said the 16-year-old died about 5pm on Friday in Coorparoo.

Senator Jacqui Lambie has denied she made a homophobic remark to staff at a Qantas lounge, two days after apologising for her conduct when the remarks were put to her.

Victorians are waking up to their first day of a seven-day lockdown, NSW is issuing stay-at-home orders to people who cross the border and NSW Labor MP Jodi McKay has resigned as opposition leader.

An analysis by The Age shows most eligible state MPs have received a COVID-19 jab, but about a third are not confirmed to have been vaccinated.

Victoria has entered a week-long lockdown that has intensified scrutiny on the nation’s immunisation and quarantine strategies.

Lawyers for accused paedophile Malka Leifer want the medical reports of one of the former school principal’s alleged victims that were used in a previous civil trial.

A long week for NSW Labor has seen them lose ground to the Coalition in the Upper Hunter and the resignation of leader Jodi McKay.

The former corporate titan forfeited his knighthood after he pleaded guilty to possessing tens of thousands of child abuse images.

The 32-year-old was sentenced to two years in jail for child stealing on Friday, with a non-parole period of 12 months. With 573 days in jail already served, it meant she was immediately eligible for parole.

Sydney University’s St Paul’s College says it now needs to take students from other universities amid declining demand for male-only residences.

Community mourns tragic death as Health Department denies request for an exemption to coronavirus restrictions limiting funeral attendance numbers.

The former fortress will reopen to revellers under plans for a new restaurant, bar and visitor tours.

Thousands of Victorians trying to book in their coronavirus vaccines have been left confused and frustrated as state’s coronavirus hotlines buckled under the pressure of the high volume of calls. 

Following a string of investment embezzlement cases, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission says some financial advisers pose a serious risk.