A disturbing video purporting to show a suicide is reportedly doing the rounds on the popular short video app TikTok, reigniting debate about what social media platforms are doing to limit circulation of troubling material. According to media reports, the video first showed up on Facebook in late August but has been re-uploaded and shared across Instagram and TikTok — reportedly …

Late-stage trials for a leading coronavirus vaccine have been suspended after a study participant suffered a “potentially unexplained illness”. AstraZeneca has put on hold phase three trials of a vaccine being developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The Australian Government last month signed an agreement with the UK-based company to secure the potential COVID-19 vaccine, if its trials prove successful. …

The NSW state government has announced its guidelines for the HSC exams at the end of the year. Exam rooms will be cleaned and sanitised after each use and one person will collect papers at the end of each day. NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said masks will be optional during tests, just as they are in classrooms. Temperature checks for students …

Premier Daniel Andrews says one of the first lockdown restrictions to be eased up is the isolation of single-person and single-parents households. Under Victoria’s roadmap out of current restrictions, single-person and single-parent households throughout the state will be allowed to create a “social bubble” with one other person from September 14. And from October 26, if daily cases continue to decline enough, all Melbourne households will be able …

Free vaccinations for COVID-19 will be made available next year in Australia, depending on the outcome of “promising” drug trials, the Australian Government is expected to announce on Monday. In a statement released late on Sunday, the Federal Government said that contingent on the outcome of ongoing trials, vaccines would be made available “progressively” throughout 2021, following a $1.7 billion …

Google has warned Australians to expect “dramatically worse” services if the Federal Government follows through with plans to make it pay for Australian news content. Two weeks ago the Federal Government released a draft code of conduct for digital platforms and Australian media businesses that would make internet heavyweights Facebook and Google pay for the privilege of hosting Australian news. The …

A security company contracted to provide guards for Melbourne’s COVID-19 quarantine hotels potentially breached its agreement with the Victorian Government, with an email suggesting it failed to inform at least one of its subcontractors of its obligations. Wilson Security then attempted to conceal this failing by asking the subcontractor to backdate documents for the Government. Wilson made the backdating request …

A 12-year-old girl is among three minors caught gambling and drinking at Sydney’s Star Casino, costing the venue $90,000 in fines. Her mother snuck the girl in through the exit doors, took her to the main gaming floor and watched on as the child placed 21 bets on the pokie machines over 17 minutes. The girl and her parents, visiting …

The inquiry into what went wrong in Victoria’s hotel quarantine program has been delayed due to the state’s stage 4 coronavirus restrictions on workplaces. The board of inquiry, headed by former Family Court judge Jennifer Coate, was due to start hearing evidence tomorrow, but this has now been postponed until August 17. It was originally due to report by September …

Queensland will close its border to all of New South Wales and the ACT from 1:00am on Saturday. It comes as the state recorded one new case of coronavirus. The 68-year-old Queensland woman was diagnosed with the virus in the past 24 hours and authorities are still investigating the source of the infection. Two historic cases have also been added …