The NRL grand final is expected to go ahead today, pending Queensland COVID-19 case numbers. In Victoria, cases may rise for another month, while NSW could have a new Premier with Dominic Perrottet tipped to take the job after the shock resignation o...

Dominic Perrottet is expected to announce his intention to run for the Liberal leadership.

It was an unexpected moment of raw emotion during Sunday’s coronavirus press conference, encapsulating the tragedy of the pandemic better than any politician ever could.

In an anonymous building on the edge of the Melbourne CBD, one of the state’s most powerful law enforcement agencies runs a court-like office extracting information from Melbourne’s underworld.

Of the 1220 coronavirus cases reported on Sunday, 236 were in the south-east, which now also holds the state’s highest effective reproduction number.

“If there is any community spread ... [a lockdown] could happen,” the Premier said on Sunday as Queensland’s tally hit four local COVID cases over the past three days.

Staff and students return to classrooms for Term 4 on Tuesday, with mask rules firmly in place.

Premier Daniel Andrews says further details of the mandatory vaccination scheme allowing entry to a range of hospitality venues and businesses will be announced in coming weeks.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has quit State Parliament for a tilt at federal politics but is distancing himself from the support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

QPS confirmed on Sunday that Senior Constable Neil Glen Punchard had resigned, following the successful appeal against his sentence for computer hacking.

Some migrant women on temporary visas are experiencing servitude and physical and sexual abuse, and the need for specialised services to support them continue to rise.

Fully vaccinated Australians have the chance to win a $1 million prize in a lottery set up by a group of companies and philanthropists who hope to drive up COVID-19 jab rates.

Over the past 18 months, schools have followed multiple messages, from multiple stakeholders, ofttimes conflicting and sometimes downright absurd. And we have seen first-hand the effect of pandemic decisions on families.

Melbourne’s schools will welcome year 12 students back to classrooms this week in the first step of a staggered return to on-site learning, as COVID-19 cases are expected to rise during term four.

The week in photos from our award winning staff photographers and regular contributing photographers at The Age.

Chris Thomas, one of Australia’s most distinguished scientists and a respected research fellow into the psycho-social aspects of disease, has died in Melbourne following a six-year battle with brain cancer.

Though rendered illegal under the broad restrictions made under public health orders, protests have occurred - from the organised Black Lives Matter demonstration, to the chaotic anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine roving protests in Melbourne.

There can be few more promising signs that a degree of normality is set to return than the Prime Minister’s surprise announcement on Friday that the staged re-opening of international borders will begin around November.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has resigned from state politics and will nominate for preselection for the federal seat of Gilmore.

A health program in Melbourne is helping hundreds of Afghan refugees obtain medical assessments, trauma counselling and COVID vaccinations as they await permanent housing after fleeing the Taliban.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has issued new guidelines for businesses and pleaded with NSW residents not to “let the side down” as the state reported 667 new local infections.

Michelle Spence, an ICU nurse unit manager from The Royal Melbourne Hospital, became emotional as she described the lonely deaths in ICU for COVID-19 patients, saying it was the nurses who “hold their hands while their families have to be at home�...

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she plans to attend the match at Suncorp Stadium after just one overseas case was detected in hotel quarantine.

The pub, as well as service stations and a medical centre in the Moreton Bay region, were among several sites added to the list overnight.

I found myself deeply moved by the home itself, and how its simplicity reflects a way of living that has much to teach us in our modern age.

Melburnians are exhausted and emotional. Premier Dan Andrews needs to change his message to connect better with them and urge them through the last lockdown leg.

Much as the man currently in the job might wish otherwise, the formerlies are here to stay.

Gladys Berejiklian’s abrupt political demise can be traced back to one council’s handling of Sydney’s recent property development boom.

The recent ABC documentary on Juanita Nielsen has only added to the many rumours surrounding her murder.

Tennis chiefs resisted a looming vaccine mandate for the Australian Open, fearing it could deter vaccine-hesitant champion Novak Djokovic in his pursuit of a record-breaking 21st grand slam title.

Australian journalist Jonathan Swan swears his stunned expressions during his Emmy-winning tussle with the former president weren’t staged.

Daylight saving has arrived after a long, 18-month winter, with longer days to enjoy outdoors once the COVID-19 road map allows.

Move aside robots, a pair of Belgian Malinois dogs have become the first-four legged recruits in an Australian police bomb squad.

Did the class of 2020 have it tougher than this year’s VCE students? It’s a debate playing out on social media between final year high school students about to return to classrooms for the first time in months.

By some counts, Melbourne will have been locked down for 245 days on Monday and will claim from Buenos Aires the dubious title of the world’s most sequestered city. So, has it all been worth it?

Senior Labor Party members doubt the local bona fides of Tu Le, who currently lives in Fowler, but not of Senator Kristina Keneally of Scotland Island.

A day after Premier Gladys Berejiklian sensationally resigned, at least three ministers from the party’s moderate wing were considering a tilt at replacing her.

Sydney council areas among the first to hit 70 per cent vaccination are now falling behind on first doses, although their residents will likely benefit most on October 11.

Hair stylists are hoping to gently steer clients away from discussing the pandemic in an effort to protect their mental health.

Experts say the opportunity for children to bond with a pet during lockdowns has significant mental health benefits.

There are more than 11,000 Queenslanders stranded in NSW or Victoria while waiting to cross the border. Several told The Sun-Herald they were sleeping in a tent or car as a result.

For some families, the children’s social bubbles have saved the school holidays but for others, they’ve caused nothing but drama.

A year ago Karen Price was lying on a hospital stretcher waiting to find out if she had breast cancer when her phone rang.

The Greek migrant grandfather, 78, had resisted his son’s encouragement to get vaccinated against COVID-19. His son, Bill, wants the loss to be a lesson to other families.

The 9pm New Year’s Eve fireworks have been saved after an agreement was reached between the City of Sydney and NSW government.

Last year Kate Young completed the City2Surf as a way of keeping motivated - and now she’s back.

Plans for a new suburb at Ingleside in the northern beaches are opposed by residents and councillors due to bushfire risk.

A fortuitous break in lockdowns allowed an interstate visit to the town of my birth, where my parents had grown up and established our family.

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

Victoria has posted a new daily record for coronavirus infections, Queensland’s low case numbers have eased concerns for the NRL grand final as NSW copes with the shock resignation of Gladys Berejiklian.