AAP

Scott Morrison has backed heavy restrictions to suppress coronavirus after cases surged in Sydney and Melbourne's lockdown was extended.

Western Australia's premier insists tourism is thriving within the state's closed borders despite the industry reporting mass cancellations.

A bumper Commonwealth Bank payout prompted investors to snap up bank stocks as they helped the ASX to its sixth consecutive record high.

Commonwealth Bank has announced a $6 billion share buyback and lifted dividends after improving economic conditions helped it post a robust rise in full-year profit.

Australia's agriculture minister has declared the start date for a dedicated farm work visa will be announced imminently.

The federal government has released a discussion paper seeking submissions on more changes to the auto sector in Australia.

Investors raised the ASX to a record high despite a bleaker outlook for commodities as the coronavirus' Delta strain spreads in China and the US.

Western Australia will consider legislating its net zero emissions target but the premier has dismissed calls to rule out new major oil and gas projects.

More than 11,000 people have been sent debt notices worth almost $33 million linked to JobKeeper wage subsidies.

A charity for musicians, performers and crew will receive a $20 million funding boost as calls for help spike on the back of COVID-19 lockdowns.

The federal government says 85 per cent of its promised support from the devastating bushfires of 2019/20 has been delivered.

Fewer than half of Australia's disability care residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus almost six months into the rollout.

Investors have an appetite for financial shares at the start of a busy earnings week after Suncorp's bumper earnings delivered shareholder rewards.

National Australia Bank is buying Citigroup's consumer business and the two are devising new buy now, pay later products.

Insurer Suncorp has improved full-year cash earnings by 42 per cent, and rewarded shareholders with a special dividend and on-market buyback.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has moved a step closer to going into Australians' arms with the medicines regulator giving provisional approval.

Investors overcame lockdown gloom and helped Australian shares to record levels for the weekend, prior to a busy earnings week.

The federal government has quietly tightened the rules around people trying to leave Australia during the coronavirus pandemic.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe expects the Australian economy will bounce back by year's end after suffering a contraction in the September quarter.

An energy industry body representing thousands of companies may sue the federal government if it uses Australia's green bank to invest taxpayer dollars in fossil fuel technology.

More than 16 million Australians will once again be plunged into lockdown as extra coronavirus vaccine doses are pumped into outbreak hot spots.

The federal government has announced a $1.1 billion package to address Indigenous disadvantage, after the Closing the Gap 2021 report found only three of 14 targets were on track to be met.

A second consecutive day of record heights for the ASX has ended with a pullback as investors learned of Victoria's latest lockdown.

Fake Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and crafts will come under the microscope of a major inquiry into the market.

Labor and the Greens have failed in a fresh push to remove the ability of Australia's green bank to invest in fossil fuel technology.

Ministers are standing by government grants spending, which would face public scrutiny under Labor's proposed "anti-rorting" bill before parliament.

The ASX200 has closed higher than 7500 points for the first time as robust economic forecasts and a falling dollar help investors look beyond coronavirus lockdowns.

The ports industry has questioned Western Australia's hardline stance on high-risk ships, saying pre-existing safeguards were working.

New figures show the negative impact a series of virus lockdowns have had on both retailing and the construction industry in recent months.

More than $120 million will be spent on boosting early childhood care and education in Indigenous communities, with most of the funding earmarked for an expansion of the Connected Beginnings program.

Labor and the Greens are expected to make a fresh push on Wednesday to remove the ability of Australia's green bank to invest in fossil fuel technology.

Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate will receive a $1 million settlement for losing her job more than nine months after the acrimonious split.