VIC

The independent probe will look at ways to strength the response to allegations involving the CFMEU and remove individuals engaged in criminal practices.

There are calls within the poultry industry for backyard chicken owners to become part of a biosecurity plan as avian influenza becomes an increasing threat to Australian birds.

More than 80 firefighters are responding to a fire at a chemical factory in Melbourne's west.

Labor knows getting a major project up without the CFMEU onside is near impossible — it now must walk a tightrope as it works to address the serious allegations thrust into the spotlight this week, writes Victorian state political reporter Richard Willingham.

A cold front moving across south-eastern states is dumping snow, with strong, damaging winds bringing down trees and power lines.

E-scooters will be permanently legalised across Victoria from October, when a range of safety and compliance measures roll out including tougher fines for those not following the rules.

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn will appeal his murder conviction, his lawyer says, after he was found guilty of killing retiree Carol Clay in Victoria's High Country.

Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell's X account has been suspended and a campaign under his name raising money for a "whites-only" community in regional Victoria has been disabled.

Senior government ministers will not say whether donations from the CFMEU's construction division should be banned amid allegations of criminal links.

The Victorian premier says she has zero tolerance for illegal behaviour and slow bureaucracy.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has confirmed moves are underway to suspend the CFMEU's construction division from the state Labor branch, as she faces questions over her handling of previous allegations against the powerful union.

Dying and starving native trees are becoming more common across South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania after months of little rain.

Parts of Melbourne have been swamped with wet weather after the city received nearly 90mm of rain overnight.

The SES has received more than 300 calls for help after heavy rain in the past 24 hours, including from one resident whose house caved in on him when a gumtree fell.

Lifestyle Communities share price plunges more than 18 per cent in the wake of an ABC investigation detailing claims the operator of gated communities for the over 50s is gouging residents with unfair fees including charging the dead rent.

Disease authorities say there is potential for the arrival of a bird flu strain that has already been detected in Asia and Antarctica.

The Victorian premier says she will be looking to toughen anti-bikie laws in the wake of the allegations aired in the media about the Victorian branch of the construction union.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has labelled alleged behaviour by the state's construction union as "thuggish and appalling".

Greg Lacey and his family were foster carers for three years but the mounting pressure on carers felt all-consuming.

Land lease communities, where retirees buy their home but rent the land, are booming, fuelled by a housing affordability crisis and an aging population. But some residents say they feel trapped in a "financial prison" and experts say a lack of legal protections leave some with few options for redress.

The attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania has shocked the world, but US presidents are no strangers to attempts on their lives. 

Investigators used a new technique to identify 95-year-old human remains found in the water at Sandy Point in Gippsland. The forensic breakthrough has raised hopes that more cold cases could soon be solved.

The humble sprout is surging in popularity, with research showing that the highly nutritious brassica bud is Australia's fastest-growing vegetable in terms of value in the past 12 months.

Investigations into the cause of the blaze are ongoing, but police say it isn't being treated as suspicious.

A rapidly deepening low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea will track towards the coast this weekend, the precursor to a bout of severe winter weather across eastern Australia.