School principal’s historical sexual abuse appeal fails
An ex-school principal's appeal has been dismissed after his defence argued a child abuse conviction was based on a victim's "dreams and nightmares".
crime, law and justice
Harsh penalties won’t fix youth crime problem: experts
Crime experts have convened to discuss trends in youth offending, suggesting blunt approaches taken by some states and territories aren't it.
Snowtown murderer granted parole after decades in jail
Convicted Snowtown killer James Vlassakis is no longer considered a threat to the community and has been granted parole after 26 years in jail.
Accused murderer remains on bail without monitoring
Prosecutors have failed in a bid to place an alleged murderer back on remand after a state government outlawed private ankle bracelets for those on bail.
Outback Wrangler star ‘tampered with helicopter dash’
Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright interfered with a helicopter's dashboard at a crash site in an attempt "to cover up previous rule breaking", a jury has heard.
Rwanda agrees to take deportees from the US
Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the United States under the Trump administration's third-country deportation program.
Trump under mounting pressure over Epstein documents
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers say the release of her grand jury materials will jeopardise a potential re-trial, as Donald Trump faces more pressure over the case.
Accused wife killer’s family offers $250,000 bail
A man accused of murdering his wife joked about killing her and moving overseas before she drowned in a kayak trip and he relocated to Thailand, a judge heard.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks Trump pardon, lawyer confirms
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' legal team have "reached out" to US President Donald Trump about the possibility of a pardon.
Russia fights edict Canberra embassy a security threat
Diplomatic tensions between Australia and Russia are playing out in the High Court after a new embassy in Canberra was denied by the federal government.
US sergeant shot five soldiers before arrest at base
A US Army sergeant shot and wounded five fellow soldiers with his personal handgun before he was subdued by other troops.
Croc egg collector’s tears at reality TV star’s trial
Reality TV star Matt Wright failed to hand over a crashed chopper's maintenance release to air safety agencies and gave orders to "torch it", a jury has heard.
Sex offender MP to face expulsion bid after court loss
A state MP convicted and jailed of rape and indecent assault has been rebuked by a court after losing a rushed bid to prevent his parliamentary expulsion.
Female bodybuilder jailed for drugs and cash on parole
A bodybuilder who won international competitions has been sent to prison for drug possession, years after being released on parole for similar offending.
Wrongly convicted Folbigg ‘failed again’ by $2m offer
A payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg after she was wrongfully convicted of killing her children and jailed for decades has been savaged by her supporters.
‘Felt like forever’: pilot details crash scene at trial
A bush pilot has described the scene after being first to arrive at a fatal helicopter crash at the trial of an Outback Wrangler reality TV star.
‘Disgraceful’ sex offender MP resigns parliament seat
Jailed MP Gareth Ward has resigned after being convicted of sex offences as former parliamentary colleagues prepared to vote on his expulsion.
Patterson husband’s poison fears pre-dated deadly lunch
Erin Patterson's estranged husband feared she was poisoning him on several camping trips in the years before she murdered his loved ones.
Bail for murder-accused man after wife’s kayak death
A man accused of drowning his wife on a kayak trip has been granted bail after a judge found he did not have the financial means to flee overseas long term.
‘Not good enough’: thousands of DV calls go unanswered
Thousands of women have abandoned their calls to a domestic violence helpline after they went unanswered, with a state minister saying it is "not good enough".
‘Utterly brutal’: man’s multiple life term appeal fails
A man who argued he should be given credit for calling an ambulance after subjecting a woman to weeks of torture will continue to serve multiple life sentences.
Transparency gaps cloud $2m Folbigg compensation offer
A high-profile lawyer has called for the release of reasons for a widely criticised $2 million payout offer to wrongfully jailed Kathleen Folbigg.
Longer term urged for brutal killer to send DV message
A young woman's death in a frenzied domestic violence-related attack should result in a sentence that sends a message to other offenders, a court has been told.
‘Disgraceful’: cops who beat up naked woman jailed
Two former police officers who assaulted and pepper sprayed a naked woman while doing a welfare check have been jailed for three years.
Palmer claims $30 million fraud in bid to freeze funds
Businessman Clive Palmer's solicitor allegedly defrauded his companies of $30 million and invested some of the money in real estate, a judge has heard.
Folbigg review push as $2m ‘plucked out of the air’
Mystery surrounds the calculation of a $2 million offer to compensate Kathleen Folbigg for 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, prompting calls for more scrutiny.
Crash pilot a ‘cocaine-using party animal’, court told
A jury has heard flight-time meters were regularly disconnected and paperwork falsified for reality TV star Matt Wright's helicopters before a fatal crash.
‘Toxic’ culture at DNA lab adds to backlog of problems
Ongoing problems at a beleaguered DNA lab have been laid bare by a former Federal Bureau of Investigation expert.
Mercy plea for ‘courageous’ tax office whistleblower
A tax office whistleblower has asked a judge not to impose convictions for crimes that his lawyer said were "grounded in moral courage".
Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to lower-security prison
After speaking with authorities about others involved in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a low-security prison.
Police hunt ex-soldier after four shot dead in US bar
Authorities have launched a manhunt for a 45-year-old former soldier suspected of killing four people in a shooting at a bar in Montana.