Prosecutors have argued that a so-called “ISIS bride” actively participated in the mistreatment of a woman her family enslaved in Syria, as they fought to prevent her from being released on bail. Warning: Details of sexual assault in this story may distress some readers. Zeinab Ahmad, 31, was among the women arrested when a cohort of women and children returned …

Its recommendations include amending the Child Protection Act to entrench adoption as the third permanency option for all children, regardless of cultural background. The commission also recommended the government start a feasibility study within six months to assess how to deliver “simple open adoption” for appropriate children in out-of-home care. The report notes contemporary adoption operates in a “fundamentally different …

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has told a parliamentary hearing she believes the allegations of Australian activists, who say they were sexually assaulted while detained by Israeli forces. Warning: This story contains content that may be distressing. Eleven Australians were detained while trying to reach Gaza as part of a humanitarian flotilla in May. The Global Sumud Flotilla has since lodged a …

Bondi Beach terror attack hero Ahmed Al Ahmed has been charged with assault. The ABC understands Mr Ahmed, 44, is accused of assaulting his father during an incident at a home in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west in March. “On Wednesday 3 June 2026 a 44-year-old man was served with a Court Attendance Notice for common assault (DV) and stalk/intimidate intend …

The wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67bn in the past year, equivalent to almost $50,000 a minute, according to new Oxfam Australia analysis of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List. The anti-poverty organisation said the total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has reached more than $686bn, while Acoss figures show 3,706,000 people live in poverty, including 757,000 children under …

Australia’s population has reached 28 million, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates. Its population clock forecast the nation had reached the milestone at 6am on Tuesday, based on the growth rate set on 1 July 2025. The growth rate assumes that every minute and 15 seconds, another person is added to the Australian population. Australia’s population growth in …

When it comes to reading political polling, it is worth taking a leaf out of Pauline Hanson’s book. The One Nation leader, whose popularity has soared in the past 12 months, would be the first to say she doesn’t put too much stock in the numbers. That’s not to suggest the results aren’t to be taken seriously, only that a …

It was always Australia’s preference to get three second-hand submarines, a senior defence official has revealed in Senate estimates, as the government faces pressure to renegotiate the AUKUS pact. The revelation casts a new light on changes to the agreement over the weekend, under which Australia will buy three used Virginia-class submarines rather than two used and one new. Defence …

Australia’s housing market has continued to lose momentum, with national home values flatlining in May as higher interest rates, weak confidence and proposed property tax changes weigh on demand. According to new Cotality data, Sydney and Melbourne led the weakness, with dwelling values falling 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively in May. Values also slipped in Canberra, down …

Sometimes, when the online abuse for being a young, African-born, Muslim mayor gets brutal, Mohamed Semra turns to the lesson he learnt on the back of a donkey in Sudan. He was just 10, a city kid from Melbourne on his first trip back to the country his mother fled with her six children when Mohamed was three. His family …