A ministerial power to set international student limits down to the course level at universities and TAFEs should be scrapped from the government’s proposed legislation, a Labor-led Senate committee has recommended. Labor says it plans to bring temporary migration numbers back to pre-pandemic levels and crack down on dodgy education providers by limiting the number of international students able to …

“Millions” of people could fall victim to scams using artificial intelligence to clone their voices, a UK bank has warned. Starling Bank, an online-only lender, said fraudsters are capable of using AI to replicate a person’s voice from just three seconds of audio found in, for example, a video the person has posted online. Scammers can then identify the person’s …

Taxpayers have been urged to check for any lost or unclaimed superannuation, as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) revealed it is holding $17.8 billion worth of unclaimed funds. The ATO also warned people who have already retired, that they too could be in for a retirement savings boost, with $471 million of that unclaimed super being held on behalf of people aged 65 plus. …

The first flight carrying Australian citizens, permanent residents and their family members out of Lebanon has landed in Cyprus. The Australian government is flying up to 500 people out of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on two charter flights as it continues to urge citizens to leave the country. A second federal government-supported charter flight is due to depart Beirut later on …

When US President Joe Biden urged Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites this week, it was taken by many in the international community as the latest sign of his administration’s diminishing influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. The US administration has repeatedly warned Israel, since October 7 last year, against a confrontation with Hezbollah, or …

The Federal Government has hardened its position against changes to property tax breaks, despite calls to wind back the concessions and reach a “sensible middle path”. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has poured cold water on rumours his government may consider taking housing reforms to the next election with a number of his Labor colleagues flat out rejecting the idea.  Discussions …

A record number of Australian suburbs now have a median house or unit value above $1 million, according to a new report. New data from CoreLogic shows 29.3 per cent — or 1,057 — of the nearly 4,800 suburbs surveyed across the country now have a million-dollar median. That’s more than doubled since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, when …

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out changes to negative gearing, saying tinkering with the tax concession could harm housing supply. Negative gearing allows investors to write off their property losses against other income, reducing their overall tax bill. Treasury is reportedly modelling the impact of policy changes, but Albanese was more definite on Thursday when asked if Labor would …

A joint statement from Australia, the United States and other allies is calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border. The proposal was prompted by the deadly fighting between Israel and Hezbollah which many fear could spill into a wider conflict. The statement, which was negotiated by leaders and diplomats at the United Nations General Assembly in New …

Shadow Housing Minister Michael Sukkar used a debate on the ABC’s Q+A on Monday to call out the government’s “unedifying” commentary around interest rate decisions. Last week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said successive rare rates were “smashing the economy” ahead of new data showing barely any growth in the June quarter. “I think it’s been a pretty unedifying display, seeing the government criticising the …