Climate change risks billions in roads, hospitals bills
A state has been warned climate change-linked weather hazards endanger almost a fifth of the value of major infrastructure assets.
health
Aged care price cap reform latest casualty of Iran war
Older Australians will have to wait longer for price limits on home care services as the government cites rising costs and volatility caused by the Iran war.
‘Nightmare scenario’: illegal tobacco impact laid bare
Legitimate tobacco retailers say tax hikes have led to illicit sales decimating their income, with the legal market destined to be wiped out.
WHO declares global health emergency for Ebola outbreak
The United Nations health agency says 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases of Ebola have been reported.
WHO declares Ebola outbreak a global health emergency
The Ebola outbreak in The Congo and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern and there are no approved treatments, the WHO has declared.
One Canadian tests positive for hantavirus
One of four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak has received a presumptive positive test result for the virus.
Pandemic flashbacks as hantavirus group touches down
Scenes heavily reminiscent of the coronavirus pandemic have played out as passengers from a hantavirus-affected cruise ship touched down in Australia.
US reports no hantavirus cases from cruise outbreak
Authorities say more hantavirus cases are expected from the cluster linked to a cruise ship, but stressed it does not pose a pandemic threat.
Family rues cop’s lack of remorse for tasing great-gran
The family of a 95-year-old great-grandmother fatally tasered by police feel the officer who pulled the trigger showed no accountability for his actions.
Cops open to dementia training after gran’s Taser death
Working with a government-backed dementia training provider could be a possibility for police after an officer fatally tasered a 95-year-old grandmother.
Critical period to stop new mums slipping through gaps
The greatest risk of major depression for new mothers is two weeks after giving birth, a study has revealed, sparking calls for better screening and support.
Thousands face tests over dentist HIV, hepatitis risks
A retired dentist who treated thousands of patients over decades may have exposed them to serious bloodborne viruses such as HIV through poor infection control.
French hantavirus patient on life support
A doctor says a French woman being treated for hantavirus after being infected on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung.
Cop could have been ordered not to taser great grandmum
The supervisor of an officer who tasered a 95-year-old woman could have directed him to re-holster the weapon before he fired, an inquest has been told.
Free meningococcal jabs for some but ‘lottery’ persists
A fourth Australian jurisdiction will provide free jabs to some teens for a rare but life-threatening disease as the push for national coverage marches on.
‘No apology’: quarantine for Aussies on virus-hit ship
To prevent the spread of a deadly virus, four citizens and a permanent resident returning from a plagued cruise will be placed in an official isolation centre.
Misconceptions cloud palliative care as population ages
Australians have been urged to start conversations about end-of-life care as the nation's ageing population puts palliative care in the spotlight.
IVF clinic embryo mix-up prompts trauma lawsuit
A couple who donated embryos that were mistakenly switched have claimed they are suffering psychiatric trauma in a lawsuit launched against a major IVF clinic.
Hantavirus-hit cruise ship to head to Spain
Spain is allowing a cruise ship hit by hantavirus and three deaths to dock in the Canary Islands, as authorities investigate if transmission occurred on board.
Vaccine not to be sneezed at as flu season approaches
Australia's leading health practitioners have outlined how dangerous the coming winter flu season could be if vaccination rates don't improve.
Human-to-human hantavirus transfer suspected on cruise
A cruise ship is marooned in the Atlantic Ocean with seven confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases on board, but authorities say the risk to the public is low.
NDIS cuts not just about kicking people off: minister
The minister in charge of the NDIS has defended looming changes to the scheme that will require people with disabilities to be reassessed.
Pressure on states to get behind NDIS changes
States and territories are being lobbied by the federal treasurer to back National Disability Insurance Scheme reforms to handle more people than previously.
‘Just instinct’: farmer loses arm, neighbour steps up
A quick-thinking neighbour has been credited with helping save the life of an elderly Queensland farmer who lost his arm in a horror harvester accident.
NDIS revamp deadline guaranteed as ‘hostages’ exposed
Anthony Albanese has offered assurances to disabled Australians as a premier warns overhauling a federal support scheme will leave the discarded worse off.
States push back on footing bill for NDIS changes
State leaders and ministers say they were kept in the dark on the extent of planned changes to the NDIS and fear they're being left to pick up the tab.
Showers free in aged care reform as health rebate cut
Over-65s will lose a generous private health insurance rebate to help fund at-home support services for aged care recipients after a government backflip.
‘Cuts, cuts, cuts’: NDIS costs slashed in crack down
Tens of thousands of disabled Australians could lose access to support as the government tries to pare back the soaring cost of the NDIS.
War on illegal tobacco needs more ‘boots on the ground’
Huge enforcement gaps between jurisdictions mean illicit cigarettes and tobacco products are still too easy to access, experts warn.
Divers saved after tense 20-hour search in rough waters
After a 20-hour search, emergency services and police crews have found two men who had drifted more than 25 kilometres from their dive site.
Wage increase delivered for midwives, nurses
Thousands of nurses and midwives have won a landmark pay rise for the first time in more than two decades after an industrial umpire ruled in their favour.