Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to take their second dose of AstraZeneca within eight weeks of their first dose, rather than the recommended twelve weeks.

The Prime Minister made this announcement in a press conference in Sydney yesterday after New South Wales recorded thirty eight new cases overight.

The Lowy Institute has published findings about the appointment of diplomats on overseas missions since 1974 in a comprehensive database.

The findings uncovered that in the past five decades, 880 diplomats have headed Australian missions abroad. 

It also discovered that the Morrison government has appointed a record number of former politicians as diplomats and the number of women leading overseas missions has also increased.

A four year old boy has been reunited with his mother in Australia after being stuck in India for the past two years due to COVID restrictions.

The boy who travelled with his grandparents to visit his father in India in July 2019 was unable to fly back to Australia after the border closure.

The boy is too young to fly alone and the federal government only permits immediate family members of an Australian citizen or permanent citizen to enter the country. 

A Sunshine Coast cafe owner has begun pushing for a safety net for businesses and workers affected by COVID-19 lockdowns.

Maleny’s Shotgun Espresso owner Kelly Robson said that her business and workers were hit hard by Brisbane’s snap lockdown last week.

Ms Robson urged the State Government to adopt a proposed COVID-19 Hotspot Recovery support package, which would offer up to twenty five thousand dollars in financial support if another lockdown occurs.

Queensland Health has announced a ban on unvaccinated healthcare students from participating in clinical placements.

The decision came into effect on Wednesday at 8:00pm and only allows students with two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca to complete clinical placements. 

The decision has impacted students who are due to graduate at the end of the year, but now cannot due to unfinished placements.

The Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence has raised concerns over a lack of housing support for sexual assault survivors.

Director Di MacLeod said that shelters were available for women experiencing domestic violence, but there wasn't a dedicated pathway to housing for survivors who were assaulted by anyone except their partner.

Survivors who need to escape from share housing were having difficulty finding stable housing, according to Ms MacLeod.

Macleay Island residents' water will be turned off for twelve hours overnight due to a pipeline leak.  

Works for a permanent solution are underway; however, temporarily, water is being redirected with the use of a temporary pipeline to carry water to the island.

SEQWater asks residents to expect another water supply shutdown later in the month and to prepare by bottling up water for drinking and to fill up bathtubs to use for flushing toilets.

Donna Ah Chee, the CEO of Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, said the indigenous health organisation has received threats over COVID-19 vaccinations.

After vaccinating many locals in their remote clinics in central Northern Territory, the organisation received two phone calls accusing them of “killing indigenous people”.

This was concerning to Ms Ah Chee, as she was worried some religious leaders were discouraging indigenous Australians from receiving the vaccine.