Federal government

Crime Latest News Politics

Stronger hate speech law passes Parliament

Australians convicted of displaying a terrorist symbol in public will spend at least a year in jail, under a new hate speech law passed in Parliament on Thursday.

The Government has banned Deepseek on official devices
Latest News Politics

DeepSeek to be banned on Federal Government devices

The Government has banned DeepSeek on official devices, citing national security concerns, following similar measures taken against TikTok.

Political donations for the 2023/24 financial year revealed as Government pushes for monthly disclosures
Latest News Politics

Political donations from the 2023/24 year released as Govt pushes for monthly disclosures

Political donations for the 2023/24 financial year have been revealed as Government pushes for monthly disclosures.

2024 was the deadliest year on Australia’s roads in over a decade, according to the Federal Government which recorded 1,300 deaths.
Latest News

Australian road deaths reach 11-year high

The majority of deaths were car drivers (45%) and people on motorbikes (21%).

Health Latest News Politics

The Govt’s response to the ADHD inquiry, explained

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, who proposed the inquiry, said the response was “disappointing”.

Five Australian men serving life sentences in Indonesia could return to Australia, according to international news reports.
Crime Latest News

Remaining members of Bali Nine return to Australia

The five are the remaining members of the ‘Bali Nine’ — a group of Australians convicted of attempting to smuggle over eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia in 2005.

Economics Latest News

Australia, your HECS has changed

The Government’s student debt reforms are being rolled out from today after its HECS indexation changes passed Parliament last month.

three days free childcare
Latest News Politics

Labor promises three days of free childcare a week if re-elected

Labor has promised to make three days per week of childcare free for families earning less than $530,000 annually, if re-elected.

The Government will legislate a duty of care for social media platforms
Latest News

ACMA to run register to crack down on scam texts

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will create a register of legitimate businesses’ phone numbers to cut down on scam texts.

The Federal Government says Australia is on track to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
Latest News Sport

How close is Australia to its climate goals?

The Federal Government says Australia is on track to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

The NDIS has announced it will change how much it pays for art and music therapy.
Health Latest News

Advocates warn changes to NDIS music and art therapy funding will have “devastating consequences”

The NDIS said these services “do not meet the evidentiary standards” required to qualify as therapy.

Latest News Politics

Social media ban passes Senate, will become law

Latest News Politics

What happened between Fatima Payman and Pauline Hanson?

On Wednesday morning, One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson attempted to table documents in the Senate relating to Independent Senator Fatima Payman.

The Government has responded to a major inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women
Crime Latest News Politics

The Govt has responded to a major report into missing and murdered First Nations women

The Government has responded to a major inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women, supporting six out of 10 recommendations.

Supermarkets could face big fines under a food and grocery
Economics Latest News Politics

Supermarkets could face millions in fines for new code breaches

The bill follows a Government review earlier this year, which recommended making the code compulsory for all supermarkets and introducing tougher penalties for failing to observe the rules.

The Federal Government’s HECS indexation changes have passed Parliament.
Latest News Politics

The Govt has passed its legislation to wipe $3 billion in HECS debts

Indexation is an annual increase applied to student debt to reflect inflation (rising prices). New legislation means indexation cannot exceed the lower rate of either inflation or wage growth figures.

Government misinformation abandon
Latest News

Federal Government decides to abandon misinformation bill

The Federal Government has decided to abandon its bill aimed at tackling misinformation online, in its last week of Parliament.

Culture Latest News

Coalition to block international student cap proposed by Govt

The Federal Government had planned to introduce the cap by January.

Political donations for the 2023/24 financial year revealed as Government pushes for monthly disclosures
Latest News Politics

Political donations are set to be capped under new Govt legislation

Political donations are set to be capped under a set of reforms that could see real-time disclosures and donations above $1,000 published.

The Government will legislate a duty of care for social media platforms
Latest News Politics

Duty of care for social media platforms to be legislated

The Federal Government plans to update its online safety laws, including a duty of care for social media platforms.

The Federal Government stumped up an $80 million bailout for Rex.
Economics Latest News Politics

Rex gets $80 million bailout from the Federal Government

The Federal Government stumped up an $80 million bailout for Rex after it went into voluntary administration earlier this year.

Former Labor Senator Chris Evans
Culture Latest News

Australia’s first Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been appointed

The commissioner will work with Governments, businesses, and non-government organisations to “fight against modern slavery.”

Social media minimum age
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Govt set to make 16 the minimum age for social media in Australia

Social media platforms will be responsible for implementing the minimum age requirement under the Government’s proposal.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will begin recruiting foreign citizens as part of efforts to increase its numbers.
Latest News Politics

Govt announces plans to boost ADF personnel numbers

The ADF workforce has been in decline over recent years, prompting defence officials to develop recruitment and retention reforms.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess
Latest News

National security agency says it’s identified nine suspected terror incidents this year

In an update this week, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said it had not linked any recent threats to wars in the Middle East.

Will the Coalition support the Government's student debt plans?
Economics Latest News Politics

Will the Coalition support the Government’s student debt plans?

Will the Coalition support the Government’s student debt plans, including a 20% cut to debts and higher repayment thresholds?

20% off HECS debts
Economics Latest News Politics

The Govt plans to cut 20% off all student loans

It also plans to increase the minimum salary one needs to earn before they start making repayments to their loan.

Latest Politics

Pauline Hanson racially abused Mehreen Faruqi, Fed Court finds

Senator Pauline Hanson has lost a hate speech case brought against her by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi.

Latest News

The Govt has announced a new body to prepare for the next pandemic

The COVID-19 Response Inquiry released its final report on Tuesday, finding that while the first stage of the pandemic was “characterised by decisive leadership,” Australia’s vaccine rollout was “slow to start [and] hampered by logistical challenges”.

Candace Owens hold a microphone as she speaks on stage.
Culture Latest News

Candace Owens’ Australian visa blocked

The American was scheduled to bring her speaking tour to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth next month.

Crime Latest News

Where is the Nazi salute banned in Australia?

Around 50 men, associated with a white supremacist group, assembled in front of the war memorial, wearing balaclavas.

Economics Latest News

The Govt wants to ban debit card surcharges by 2026

A surcharge is added by a business to the price of a product or service when paying by card, to compensate for the cost applied by the card issuer.

Richard Marles' chief of staff is suing him and the Federal Government over bullying claims.
Culture Latest News Politics

Richard Marles and the Greens face bullying claims in Parliament

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles faces bullying claims in Parliament from his chief of staff, while the Greens fight separate claims.

Crime Latest News

Review finds low uptake of domestic and family violence leave

An independent review of the Government’s Paid Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) leave has found while the entitlement is “operating as intended”, there has been “low uptake” of it.

Australia will protect more oceans near Antarctica
Latest News Politics Science

Australia will protect oceans around remote islands near Antarctica

Australia will protect more oceans near Antarctica, after expanding marine park zones around Heard and McDonald Islands.

The Government has established a new body for young First Nations people — The ‘National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People’.
Latest News Politics

The Govt has established a commission for First Nations children and young people

The body is expected to focus on issues including the over-representation of First Nations children in out-of-home care and youth detention.

Federal Budget surplus
Economics Latest News

The Federal Govt has confirmed a budget surplus. What does that mean?

A budget surplus is when the government makes more money than it spends in a year. A budget deficit is when it spends more money than it makes.

The Federal Government has announced a $15.8 billion surplus as it delivered the Final Budget Outcome for 2023–24.
Economics Latest News

The Federal Govt has confirmed a budget surplus. What does that mean?

A budget surplus means that over the last financial year, the Government made more money than it spent.

victorian public servants period leave
Health Latest

Senate inquiry into menopause hands down final report

A Senate Inquiry into menopause and perimenopause has handed down its final report.

The Government is threatening a double dissolution election
Latest News Politics

Will the Government call a double dissolution election?

The Government is threatening a double dissolution election as many of its planned reforms are stuck in the Senate.

government social media misinformation
Latest News Politics

Govt wants to fine social media companies if they enable misinformation

The new legislation comes after a previous version of the bill was delayed over concerns about freedom of speech suppression, including from the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Culture Health Latest News

Poor life satisfaction linked to regular social media use, study says

Australia’s largest survey of young people has linked poorer life satisfaction among high school students to regular social media use.

The Government will pass aged care reforms after securing a deal with the Coalition.
Sport

The Govt’s plan to increase gender equity in sport leadership

The policy doesn’t apply to community-level clubs, or professional leagues like the NRL or AFL.

The Federal Government will introduce laws to enforce a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms.
Latest News

New social media minimum age laws to be introduced

The announcement comes days after the South Australian government announced it will move forward with a ban on social media use for children under the age of 14.

National Cabinet has agreed to a $4.7 billion plan to boost domestic violence support for those fleeing violence.
Crime Latest News Politics

The Govt has announced $4.7 billion in domestic violence support

National Cabinet has agreed to a $4.7 billion plan to boost domestic violence support, including frontline legal services.

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