Tamara Clark

In the heart of country Victoria, where banks are shutting their doors, many small retailers depend on cash — but it can be hard to come by.

As the owner of a caravan weighing business, Jarrod Dickinson is meticulous about packing light to meet the country's strict towing load limits, but he says most caravan owners turn a blind eye to the rules. 

When Dale Richards became a paramedic, women weren't allowed to join the service and treating patients often just meant they "threw people onto beds and took them to hospital". He reflects on 43 years as a paramedic.

The cost of living, low rental vacancies and the housing crisis has forced more Australians into homelessness, putting immense strain on support services trying to help.

Operators say they are facing an insurance crisis alongside the growing threat of natural disasters, with premiums up by as much as 300 per cent nationwide.

Luke "Huddo" Hudson, who lives with Down syndrome, says there is always a way to achieve your dreams, even if you have to work out a unique way of getting there.

A snake catcher in north-west Victoria says he was so busy he did not realise a highly venomous reptile had bitten him on the finger. Then he started to lose consciousness.

Mikaela Reading loves her job, but she is one of many regional mothers scared her career is being jeopardised by what she calls a "childcare desert" in north-west Victoria. 

Salami aficionados battle for bragging rights — with secret recipes at the ready — at the Great Murray River Salami Festival.

Lisa Mammone and her husband do all they can for their kids, but they are bracing to make even more sacrifices as interest rates hit a 12-year high.

A Yugerra woman in the Victorian electorate with the strongest No vote wants young Indigenous people involved in education, governance and policy making, after the heartbreak of the referendum outcome.

The Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations group launches a legal challenge against the NSW and federal governments, alleging consultation on the state's Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan was not properly conducted.

Dozens of schools across three states are desperately trying to come up with a plan B after a popular school camp venue was unable to secure insurance to host students.

A rodeo horse was euthanased at an event in north-west Victoria after an incident organisers say would have been upsetting for spectators.

Families of children who have experienced "transformative" results from fenfluramine during a Melbourne trial say they cannot afford the drug, which costs $60,000 a year, if it is not added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Specialists are calling on the Victorian government to consider legalising financial remuneration for sperm donors in a bid to address a lack of supply.

With limited affordable options available, pregnant Courtney Louise and her young family found themselves stuck in a mould-infested house for five long months, seeking help from her real estate provider in vain.

The author of the Hawthorn Football Club cultural safety review and former CEO of the Murray Valley Aboriginal Cooperative has been charged as part of a Victoria Police investigation into alleged financial mismanagement.

Jennifer Blanke's "chaotic and unstable existence" at the time of the offences was taken into account by the court.

A court hears Jennifer Blanke and her deceased partner, who was stabbed to death in Mildura last year, faked four tax claims between them in an attempt to scam the ATO out of $115,000.

A Mildura man has pleaded guilty to child exploitation and the transmission of child abuse material by encouraging a person in Thailand to send him illegal content.

A new public fertility clinic has opened in Victoria's north-west, saving hopeful families hundreds of dollars in accommodation costs and hundreds of kilometres of travel.

AFLW players are pushing for an increase in the number of rounds each season, fairer pay, and enhanced job security.

Australia's largest wine company will close its Karadoc winery on the Murray River due to decline in global demand for commercial wine, announcing its decision to 60 affected workers today.

In the hotly contested Hattah Desert Race, competitors are tested on the tough off-road track, leaving bloodied palms and broken bikes in their wake.