COVID-19

The risk of more COVID-19 outbreaks looms when ship crews are eventually granted long-overdue changeovers, the state government warns.

Western Australia will ease restrictions for people arriving from Victoria and NSW as the nation's COVID-19 case numbers continue to fall.

Health Minister Roger Cook is confident a COVID-19 outbreak on a bulk carrier off Port Hedland will be resolved within a fortnight.

The coronavirus pandemic and deepest recession since the 1930s has turned a forecast $5 billion federal budget surplus into an $85.3 billion deficit.

Business groups believe proposed changes to insolvency laws will be a lifeline for thousands of small businesses struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are almost 36,000 Australians stranded overseas trying to get home, an increase of more than 10,000 in less than a week.

Josh Frydenberg has put forward a two-stage plan to lift the economy out of recession and then repair the budget.

Retail spending fell across the nation in August, with Victoria recording a massive 12.6 per cent drop as the state's COVID-19 restrictions hit non-essential retail businesses.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has dismissed concerns over whether the advisory panel who recommended a gas-fired economic recovery from the pandemic will personally benefit from the plan.

Premier Mark McGowan is maintaining his increasingly isolated hard border stance as the state recorded three new COVID-19 cases.

Western Australian Liberal opposition leader Liza Harvey has promised $50 million for a Local Jobs First Commissioner to crack down on interstate companies winning government contracts.

Western Australia will set up a new quarantine hotel and may reduce elective surgery to cope with an influx of returned travellers.

The federal government is treating the states like children in its push for them to take more returned travellers, Premier Mark McGowan says.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists thousands more stranded Australians will re-enter the country each week, pressuring the states to boost capacities in hotel quarantine.

The pandemic has derailed plans for opposition parties nationwide, and WA’s Liberals are no exception.

Businesses can apply for grants to attend events, trade shows and conferences after the federal government announced a $50 million package to restart the corporate events sector.

Western Australia will extend COVID-19 emergency laws preventing residential and commercial tenants from eviction, despite opposition from industry groups.

Premier Mark McGowan has defended Western Australia's COVID-19 contact tracing capacity after Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared to question the state's readiness for an outbreak.

The state's coronavirus travel restrictions are set to block an on-country hearing by a committee examining Rio Tinto's destruction of ancient sites.

Australians could get access to coronavirus vaccines next year after the federal government secured deals to deliver two promising candidates.

The limit on the number of Australians able to arrive home is being revised after a meeting of the nation's leaders.

The federal government is ramping-up pressure on the states to open their borders, releasing new modelling showing $55 billion could be wiped from Australia's tourism industry.

The federal government's plan for a national definition of COVID-19 hotspots has hit a hurdle, with Western Australia's premier describing it as flawed.

States and territories have been urged to endorse a new definition of coronavirus hotspots as the federal government turns the screws on border closures.

Australia's troubled aged care sector will receive a $563 million boost after more than 450 deaths and ongoing political pressure on the federal government.

Nine Entertainment has reported an annual net loss of more than $500 million after a challenging year when advertising earnings slumped and the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Flight Centre shares have fallen after the travel business reported a $510 million loss as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Clive Palmer is refusing to drop his challenge of Western Australia's border closures and has promised further legal action against Premier Mark McGowan.

The Australian economy will take a "substantial and heartbreaking" hit from the coronavirus pandemic when official figures are released next week, the prime minister says.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce is confident the Morrison government will extend its support for the aviation sector during the coronavirus crisis.

Digital contact tracing for COVID-19 is now in full swing in many countries like Australia, Germany, Ireland and South Korea.

Australia's top science agency has pledged at least $100 million each year towards helping the nation recover from coronavirus.