The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will introduce tougher serviceability tests on home loans, which will make it harder for potential borrowers to get a mortgage. 

This means by the end of October, the minimum interest rate buffer will be increased from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent, leading to a reduction in borrowing capacity for home loan applicants.

APRA chairman Wayne Byers defends the move, saying the new regulations will reduce risks to currently indebted borrowers. 

​​United Kingdom High Commissioner Vicki Treadell is urging Australia to confirm a more ambitious climate target ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Treadell has described the Morrison Government’s current target of a 28 per cent reduction in emissions as “inadequate,” and would ideally like to see Australia match the global benchmark of 50 per cent, with many countries even pledging net zero.  

Queensland’s research and development sector has announced plans to deliver 80,000 jobs over the next decade.

The development aims to bring $11 billion in revenue, boosting Queensland’s technological developments to a world class standard.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the new jobs in this sector will be vital as Queensland transitions from a short-term economic and health response to a long-term focus on productivity and competitiveness.

The federal government is rejecting Queensland’s calls for additional hospital funding, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, arguing the responsibility of hospital funding lies with the State government.

The request for funding comes after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said local hospitals needed to increase potential capacity should the state experience another COVID-19 outbreak.

Aldermen with the Darwin Council are calling for urgent action to protect a large area of threatened cycad species from Urban development.

The Northern Territory Government plans to build eight hundred homes for Defence Housing in Lee Point, North of Darwin, despite pushback from the local community. 

Darwin Alderman Rebecca Want de Rowe described the destruction as "mindless," and emphasised the importance of green spaces for a cleaner city.

Three scientists have won the Nobel prize for their groundbreaking work in the fight against climate change. 

Japanese-born American Syukuro Manabe, German Klaus Hasselmann and Italian Giorgio Parisi shared the joint prize in Physics, with the acknowledgement being hailed as a sign of a consensus forming around man-made global warming by the UN Weather Agency.

Mr Parisi is known for his earlier climate studies on patterns in gasses and liquids, which he believes can also lead to further developments in neuroscience and machine learning.

Noosa’s 24/7 dementia café is connecting friends and families to form a community

According to research from Dementia Australia, Without medical intervention, dementia rates are set to increase to almost 1.1 million people in less than 40 years.

Noosa’s dementia café is a low-key fortnightly gathering for people affected by dementia within the community.

The not-for-profit group Noosa Care started the café in 2018 with a grant from Dementia Australia in order to ignite a sense of belonging within the community.