AAP

News has returned to Australian Facebook feeds with the social media behemoth dropping its ban after reaching a deal with the federal government.

Afterpay is raising money to increase its stake in its US operations, on the same day it posted a first-half loss.

Scott Morrison has conceded his defence minister should have told him about an alleged rape in Parliament House without identifying the woman involved.

Australia's share market has closed higher, as commodity-based sectors thrived on investor belief that economic recovery is coming, helped by vaccines and US fiscal stimulus.

Premier Mark McGowan has questioned why anyone would vote for the Liberals when the opposition leader is already conceding defeat.

Australia Post has announced first half revenue of $4.3 billion, up 15.5 per cent year-on-year, and profit before tax of $166.6 million.

Australia's world-first news media bargaining code will soon be in force after legislation cleared federal parliament.

Fortescue Metals Group has apologised to an Aboriginal community after clearing a Western Australian site considered sacred, without representatives present.

Australia's share market has closed lower but investors may have had greater losses if not for the US Federal Reserve assuring current policy settings will continue.

Early voting is under way for the Western Australian election, with more than a million voters tipped to cast their ballots before the March 13 polling day.

Senior ministers have been forced to defend a modest increase to the dole after welfare groups and economists slammed the miserly boost.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds will take indefinite leave after being admitted to hospital on the advice of her heart doctor.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Facebook's ban on Australian news and information should be a wake-up call for the rest of the world.

Wages grew at a fractionally faster pace than expected in the final three months of 2020, lagging expectations for record property price increases this year.

Nine boss Hugh Marks said the media company has resumed talks with Facebook, and is continuing talks with Google, for the digital giants to pay for its news stories.

Rising commodities prices proved a talking point for a second consecutive day, and helped the Australian share market close higher and the dollar remain above 79 US cents.

Western Australia's opposition leader is confident voters won't abandon him at next month's election despite polls predicting he will lose his seat.

Facebook has struck a preliminary news sharing agreement with Seven West Media, just hours after the federal government agreed to further amend its mandatory media bargaining code.

Australian exports dropped 9 per cent in January, led by a fall in iron ore shipments after a strong result the previous month.

Unemployed workers will receive a permanent $50 a fortnight increase to the JobSeeker payment once the coronavirus supplement is scrapped.

More doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine have arrived in Australia as the early stages of the jab rollout continue.

The Victorian government has called a royal commission into Crown Resorts, which disclosed the resignation of director Harold Mitchell, heaping further pressure on John Poynton.

Two nurses have become the first Western Australians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, saying they hope it will save lives and ease the strain on the healthcare system.

Australia's share market closed marginally lower while the Australian dollar reached its highest level in almost three years, spurred by metal prices.

Steelmaker BlueScope has reported a 78 per cent increase in its half year profit, while announcing a chief executive for climate change within the group.

Premier Mark McGowan has likened the coronavirus pandemic to World War II, positioning Labor as the safe choice at next month's election.

Property developer Lendlease has posted a first-half earnings decline of 37 per cent after COVID-19 stifled interest in building development.

Online giants including Facebook and Google have released a new voluntary code for dealing with disinformation and political advertising.

Australia's share market had its biggest fall in more than three weeks, set in train from the US where worries continued over a struggling economy and inflation expectations.

A former Liberal staffer who says she was sexually assaulted by a male colleague inside Parliament House will proceed with a formal complaint to police.

Relatively high confidence among shoppers and the continued drop in the unemployment rate saw modest retail spending growth in the first few weeks of 2021.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has raised hopes international borders could reopen once coronavirus vaccinations have been widely delivered.