National News

More than 1800 new virus cases have been reported from outbreaks in NSW and Victoria as the first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrives in the country.

France has plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with the United States and Australia after it recalled its ambassadors from both countries over a trilateral security deal that sank a French-designed submarine contract.

Sydney's status as a globally-engaged city can be rebuilt through the establishment of shorter home quarantine periods for vaccinated international arrivals, the NSW government hopes.

The death of a baby girl three days after a home water birth could have been prevented if she had been born in the hospital, a Queensland coroner had found.

New Zealand's ban on quarantine-free travellers from Australia will remain until November at least, with future trans-Tasman travel hinging on vaccination rates.

Terminally ill Queenslanders will be able to end their lives at a time of their choosing from early next year after the state parliament voted to legalise voluntary assisted dying.

The NSW government has prepared a "draft" reopening roadmap for when the state reaches 80 per cent double-dose vaccination in its eligible population, the deputy premier says.

Australia's first nuclear-powered submarines could be in the water before 2040 under a historic partnership with the United States and United Kingdom.

Leaders from western and southwest Sydney have welcomed the NSW government's decision to end curfews in COVID-19 hotspot areas.

A regional Victorian city is going into a seven-day lockdown, as the chief health officer warns the state's latest COVID-19 outbreak is yet to reach its peak.