Controversial plans to redevelop the historic home were approved just weeks before the blaze that police are now treating as suspicious.

Artist Fletcher Andersen is breaking the mould with a new venture for his “beautiful passion” - toys. They’re not the mass-produced variety and not just for kids.

There is now a record of more than 26,000 personal watercraft registered in Victoria, up 36 per cent since 2015. Amid COVID-19, sales have spiked.

The man and his girlfriend had been walking along the cliff when he lost his balance and fell 30 metres.

Though a fraction of their usual size, the Barmy Army ensured that they were not forgotten at the Ashes Test as they belted out song after song.

Fans braved Omicron, humidity and the Barmy Army at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Tens of thousands of elderly residents are in lockdown after the number of aged care facilities with active outbreaks more than quadruped in a fortnight.

Police closed off multiple streets in Fortitude Valley until they revoked a PSPA on Saturday afternoon.

On New Year’s Day the state government said it was unlikely coronavirus cases would hit 25,000 a day, seven days later it has happened.

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

The use of rapid antigen tests is now the preferred strategy – a move that takes pressure off the PCR public testing sites – but authorities are only just starting to put in place mandatory reporting systems for positive RAT results.

There are 17 people in intensive care, three on ventilators and 349 other COVID-19 patients in hospital, while 24,000 are being cared for at home.

There are 1795 coronavirus patients in hospital, a slight increase, with 145 in intensive care. From today, hospitality venues are subject to new restrictions.

The daily case counts are confronting but closing schools in light of them is unjustified. We don’t do it for other common viruses and we should no longer do it for COVID-19.

The 22-year-old Sunshine Coast man was found dead in his vehicle on Saturday morning after a search and rescue operation that occurred overnight.

There have been two recent instances of security guards picking up COVID-19 from quarantine guests and the Chief Health Officer says the infections highlighted the need to maintain risk mitigation.

Mangrove forests on some remote islands of the northern Great Barrier Reef are expanding by up to six metres a year, new research indicates.

What did ancient fish eat? How many hairs on the leg of a 15 million-year-old spider? What colour was a feather? A new fossil site can answer these questions.

The cancellation of Novak Djokovic’s visa has sparked a domestic war of words and an international diplomatic incident.

Paediatricians say it’s vital for children to head back to classrooms, but it may be a challenging start to the school year with Omicron tearing through the community.

The pandemic has ruptured Australian society and made it ripe for political exploitation.

Sydneysiders did not recognise, support and protect this piece of the city’s heritage.

In an ideal world, we’d be able to vaccinate all children before the school year begins.

The NSW government’s ban on dancing and singing will hit already struggling venues hard, operators say.

The fire at Old Parliament House emerged from a dispute at the world’s oldest protest site, which faces a hostile takeover by anti-vax and “freedom” groups in the lead-up to its 50th anniversary.

Catherine Greaves shares her near-miss for the first time as part of a push for Victorians to stay safe in and around water after a deadly record season.

Every day the paper pandemic furloughs perfectly well people long after they have unwittingly passed on the quick-travelling germ

It’s astounding that Scott Morrison would draw the world’s attention to the Park Hotel in Melbourne, a coronavirus incubator and home to refugees seeking asylum in Australia.

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

The federal Treasurer said he was experiencing symptoms and was isolating with his family.

As cases skyrocket, a new hotline goes live to catalogue positive RAT tests as soon as possible.

The weather bureau says a severe thunderstorm that threatened parts of Melbourne with giant hailstones of more than 5 centimetres in diameter has now moved beyond the metropolitan area as it tracks east.

The venue faces fines of up to $250,000 and the possibility of losing its liquor license.

Sydney hospitals are starting to treat COVID and non-COVID patients in the same wards, as the state prepares for a hospitalisation peak of 4700 people with the virus this month.

Coronavirus hospitalisations have jumped 50 per cent in a week, with the vast majority of the ill filling general hospital wards after passing through congested emergency departments.

Young people who have been in the care system are grossly over-represented among users of the most costly acute government services. But there is another way.

Despite rainy conditions and rising COVID-19 cases, the crowd at the SCG lost none of their fervour for the McGrath Foundation on Friday.

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

With retail stock difficult to find, Cheavy Taing found another way to make sure his customers could get tested for COVID-19.

Travellers planning to enter WA or residents trying to get back in after borders open will not get an approval through Good 2 Go until an unspecified date.

New restrictions have been announced in NSW including a ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues, Victoria has introduced new indoor density limits and tennis star Novak Djokovic spent a second day in immigration detention.

The number of protesters rallying outside Carlton’s Park Hotel dwindled as heavy rain drenched much of Melbourne.

Police are investigating the crash that occurred in Moreton Bay on Friday morning.

Novak Djokovic, the King of Melbourne Park, is embroiled in a royal mess. Here’s how a saga many months in the making reached a dramatic climax ahead of the Australian Open.

Modelling suggests the Omicron wave will peak just as Queensland schools are meant to go back, forcing authorities to look at contingency plans.

As case numbers surge, NSW Health has prohibited singing and dancing in public hospitality venues and will require people to register positive home results in the Service NSW app.

WA’s mask mandate will end at 6pm in most settings, after the state recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

Novak Djokovic is never more dangerous than when on the brink of defeat. He has the mental strength to turn black into white. But this time the brick walls are literal, not mental, obstacles.

If – like about 50,000 people in NSW since Christmas – you test positive to COVID-19, this is what the experts say you should do next.

Mutant, invisible, airborne, the rise of this unwanted guest on nightclub dance floors and at New Year’s Eve parties has been staggering. What of its demise?