AAP

Barnaby Joyce will return as the deputy prime minister after defeating Michael McCormack in a Nationals leadership spill.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has declared it is crucial to strive towards achieving net zero carbon emissions.

Shares on the ASX had their fifth consecutive week of gains - the best run this year - and ended the week at a record closing high.

Australia is expecting a short-term slowdown in its already sluggish coronavirus vaccine rollout after new advice on the AstraZeneca jab.

A third of Western Australian aged care workers would quit the industry if forced to get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new survey.

Woolworths is facing legal action for allegedly underpaying managers, with the workplace watchdog hunting more than $710,000 in outstanding back pay

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has denied newly passed superannuation laws will trap millions of Australians in dud products, branding backlash as "scare tactics".

Facebook is tightening its rules for advertisers seeking to drive debate around social issues from immigration to the environment.

Contentious superannuation laws which the government says will boost savings and cut fees have cleared parliament.

Shares had their biggest fall in more than four weeks as a possible rise in global interest rates moves closer.

Seven West executives have forecast full-year earnings that exceed analysts' estimates and say the momentum will continue with its Olympics and Ashes coverage.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has backed the Fair Work Commission's minimum wage decision, saying it means a real wage rise for two million workers.

Resources Minister Keith Pitt has made it clear the Nationals will fight tooth and nail against adopting a target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Western Australia has been forced to rejig its coronavirus vaccine rollout after health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca jab be restricted for those under 60.

Unemployment has fallen to the lowest level since 2013 in Western Australia, with employment of women well above pre-COVID levels.

Australia's banking watchdog has written to the nation's banks, warning there are signs of some increased risk-taking as homebuyers rush to secure loans in a heated housing market.

The federal government will have a close eye on coronavirus hospitalisation numbers during the European summer when it considers a return to opening the border.

Laws to ban serious criminals from accessing secure areas at airports and seaports have passed both houses of parliament.

An urgent push to have Western Australia's former corruption watchdog reappointed to the role has been labelled "arrogance" by the opposition.

Premier Mark McGowan says it was an "oversight" that police had lawful access to data obtained through a contact tracing app.

Australia's share market notched a second consecutive all-time high, but China's continued efforts to lower commodity prices caused mining shares to slump.

Australia's lowest-paid workers will receive a bigger pay rise than last year after the industrial umpire decided on an $18.80-a-week wage increase.

Investors have abandoned the Shaver Shop Group after its full-year earnings forecast failed to match expectations.

Australia's farm production has been forecast to surge past $66 billion with a bumper crop pushing forecasts $400 million higher than expected.

Australia plans to lure more than 10,000 farm workers from South-East Asia under a new agriculture visa farmers have long campaigned for.

Resources giant Rio Tinto is set to trial the use of hydrogen to replace natural gas in a bid to cut emissions from an alumina plant in Queensland.

More Australian beef and lamb will be exported to the UK as import taxes are phased out over a decade under a free trade deal between the two nations.

Commonwealth Bank and CSL shares have helped the Australian share market to a record high but some analysts are tipping the fertile environment will be slowly withdrawn from next month.

The state government will move to protect contact tracing data after it was legally obtained by police to assist a murder investigation.

Australia could take up to four years to start manufacturing cutting-edge coronavirus vaccines like the Pfizer and Moderna jabs.

The Reserve Bank of Australia board believes the economy is transitioning from recovery to expansion with more momentum than previously anticipated.

Australia is not doing enough to reduce carbon emissions and risks being left behind as other countries race to embrace renewable energy.