VIC

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.    

A man found guilty of bashing an elderly widow to death has continued to maintain his innocence, as a judge prepares to sentence him over the horrific crime.

One of Australia's most expensive environmental policies is changing the way water and land are used to grow our crops and tend to livestock. This is how the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has triggered a mega shift in farmers' thinking.

Offshore gas supplies are running out in the Bass Strait and there are plans to dismantle some of Esso's ocean gas rigs. But the company's intention to leave parts of them in the sea has sparked concerns.

Victoria's environmental watchdog has revealed it carried out multiple inspections and issued two notices to the operators of a factory in Melbourne's west.

It's a Victorian tax hitting up investors sitting on empty residential properties — but analysis suggests it could be missing roughly 90 per cent of so-called "ghost homes" eligible for the charge, less than a year out from a planned expansion of the levy.

More than 180 firefighters have responded to a huge factory fire in Melbourne's west where hazardous material and unknown toxins continue to burn.

Police have charged a 45-year-old man with murder over the death of a woman whose body was found at a Melbourne recycling facility.

Country football clubs in Victoria are warning of a looming crisis in the sport, as cash-strapped teams struggle to compete with their big-budget rivals.