ABC radio news and current affairs afternoon program reporting on Australia and the world.

There are fears of a return to all out war in the Middle East as the United States and Iran exchange missile strikes and make conflicting claims about the Strait of Hormuz.

An imminent end to the war between the US and Iran is looking even more unlikely after the downing of an American helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

Advocates have told a Senate inquiry that parents of children with disability fear the government's proposed overhaul of the NDIS will see more families in contact with child protection services.

Israel and Iran are trading large-scale missile attacks, prompting fears the fragile ceasefire between the countries will unravel.

The Federal Government has announced it is reviewing its contracts with the consultancy firm KPMG after revelations it accessed client data to win business.

The Prime Minister has condemned the Trump administration's plan to increase tariffs on countries it claims are failing to end the use of forced labour in supply chains.

Australia's economy grew 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, a drop from the last three months of 2025.

Nearly three million workers on low wages are set to get a pay rise after a major decision by the Fair Work Commission.

The Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says rising interest rates and global uncertainty are factors in the property price and clearance slump, not just his proposed tax changes.

The US Vice President JD Vance says a tentative agreement has been reached with Iran, which would extend the ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Police have laid terrorism charges against another woman linked to the Islamic State group. She returned to Australia from a Syrian camp last year.

The Government has announced sweeping changes to how unemployment services operate.

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion hears a poorly worded email may be to blame for the lack of police on hand when the Bondi Beach terror attack began.

Neale Daniher, the 2025 Australian of the Year, beloved AFL figure and Motor Neurone Disease awareness campaigner has died after battling the debilitating disease for more than a decade.

The families of Australian activists who have been abused and humiliated by Israeli authorities say they are outraged by the treatment of their loved ones.

The Federal Government is allocating more than $7 million to roll-out more diphtheria vaccines as the outbreak worsens in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

The Federal Government is preparing a support package to help states and territories manage Australia's biggest outbreak of diphtheria in decades.

The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have spent the day defending the decision to overhaul the country's capital gains tax system.

The Federal Government is fending off claims by the Opposition that it is effectively introducing a "death tax" through its newly-announced changes to a tax on trusts.

The Federal Government is listing one of the nation's neo-Nazi organisations as a prohibited hate group.

The Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will deliver his budget reply speech this evening, including a plan to restrict welfare services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme to Australian citizens.

The federal government's planned changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount are prompting fierce debate after being unveiled in the Budget.

Plans to reform the tax system have been revealed in this year's federal budget.

The Albanese government has released its long-awaited response to a landmark gambling report which called for a complete ban on online gambling advertisements.

Liberal MPs have spent the day talking down the idea the party will be forced to form a coalition with One Nation to have any chance of forming government again.

Three Australian women linked to the Islamic State group have faced court after returning to Australia.

A group of thirteen women and children with links to Islamic state is arriving in Australia after fleeing a refugee camp in Syria.

The Prime Minister has announced the Federal Budget will include a $10 billion fuel security and resilience package to make the nation more self-sufficient.

The Reserve Bank Board has raised interest rates for the third time this year in a bid to curb rising inflation.

On the first day of public hearings at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Jewish Australians have told the inquiry how public abuse is affecting their lives.

The family of Alice Springs five year old, Kumanjayi Little Baby has called for calm after a riot broke out in the outback town last night.

NT Police have found the body of a missing five year old girl who they believe was abducted from a home in Alice Springs five days ago.

The Northern Territory Police believe that someone is helping hide a man wanted in relation to the abduction of a five year old girl in Alice Springs.

The search for a missing five year old girl is continuing in Alice Springs, three days after she was last seen with a man recently released from prison.

More questions are being raised about the security surrounding the United States President after an armed man attempted to get close to Donald Trump and other officials.

The Israel - Lebanon ceasefire has been extended for three weeks as thousands of Lebanese civilians return home.

The Government has defended plans to overhaul the NDIS despite criticism from disability advocates.

The Health Minister has announced plans to reduce the number of participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 150 000 by the end of the decade to cut costs.

Iran is yet to confirm it will attend fresh peace talks with the US as the ceasefire deadline approaches.

Iran has threatened to retaliate after the United States Navy attacked an Iranian container ship.

A fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is in place, but it is not clear if the Iran-backed group Hezbollah will abide by it.

With the nation's fuel supplies under threat because of the Iran war, the Federal Government has described a fire at a Victorian oil refinery, as "a setback".