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Australian families will be able to access six months of paid parental leave by 2026.
New laws passed today will see parental leave increase by two weeks each year until 2026, with four weeks of leave reserved for each parent.
The next step in paid parental leave reform is the addition of superannuation payments, which Labor hopes to pass in the coming months.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the changes will benefit all Australians.
"It's important for women. It's important for parents, and it's important for our economy. Because what we know about paid parental leave, is that it makes a difference to everything. If you're able to stop, work and receive pay, you're more likely to stay connected to your workplace, you're more likely to be able to afford all the costs that go along with having a child, and you're more likely to go back into the workforce."
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The federal government says some Palestinians who had their Australian visas cancelled while fleeing violence in Gaza have had their documents reinstated.
Cabinet Minister Murray Watt has defended the government's actions after visas were cancelled following additional checks, but said further information had prompted checks to be reversed.
Palestine Australia Relief and Action says at least eight of the 12 Palestinians they are supporting have now had their visas reinstated, after their legal team worked with the government.
It was revealed on Wednesday ((13 March)) that several Palestinians attempting to reunite with families in Australia had their visas revoked en route, leaving them trapped in transit countries.
Journalist Rami Eisa, who SBS News understands has not had his visa reinstated, said he and his wife were stranded in Istanbul airport after refusing to part with their children.
"We were surprised that our visas got cancelled, me and my wife. My children, their visas are still valid and also my father, so my father went ahead alone. I couldnt leave him my kids becuse hes's an old man, ill, he has diabetes and he couldn't take care of three children."
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Defence forces are racing to evacuate residents from remote Northern Territory communities before Tropical Cyclone Megan hits.
The cyclone is forecast to batter the N-T coast this evening ((Mon 18 March)) with a warning area spanning hundreds of kilometres, from Groote Eylandt ((GROOHT IGH-luhnt)) to the Queensland border and inland to Borroloola.
N-T emergency services have called in the Australian Defence Force to help evacuate around 700 people from Borroloola, in the path of the category three cyclone, expected to bring gusts of more than 200 km/h and heavy rainfall.
N-T Chief Minister Eva Lawler says the strength of the cyclone has not been underestimated.
"We've been watching it very, very closely. We're watching the tracking of it, and it really has been only in the last few days when we've seen it turn south-westerly. We were thinking it might have kept going straight through and gone through Queensland."
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Taxi drivers who will benefit from a $272 million payout from rideshare company Uber say the result is a victory for small businesses.
Uber has agreed to compensate taxi and hire car drivers who suffered losses when it moved into the Australian market, avoiding a class action meant to begin in the Supreme Court of Victoria today ((Mon 18 March)).
It's the fifth-largest class action settlement in Australian legal history, after a five-year legal battle involving more than 8000 taxi and hire car owners and drivers.
In a statement, Uber has described the complaints of the taxi industry as "legacy issues" which it had put in its past with the proposed settlement.
Nick Andrianakis, a taxi operator and one of the lead plaintiffs, says the result is the first of its kind after unsuccessful cases in Victoria, W-A and Queensland.
"This was a win for small businesses, for mum-and-dad investments, this was a win for taxi drivers, taxi operators, hire-car operators, and the result today I'm very pleased with, as it hasn't been done before."
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An Olympic review has recommended scrapping a controversial plan to rebuild Brisbane's Gabba stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympics.
An independent committee led by former lord mayor Graham Quirk has instead urged for a $3 billion-plus stadium to be built at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane in time for the games.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles announced 60-day infrastructure review in January into plans to demolish and rebuild the iconic stadium, forcing Brisbane's A-F-L and cricket to find a temporary home.
But Mr Quirk says the ageing stadium should be demolished completely and the site repurposed.
"Just to keep it ticking over with no improvements at all, you're looking around the $400 million mark to go through to 2032. If you're going to try and make it code-compliant, that is put some more accessible seating into it, make the structural improvements that need to be made, you're looking at about a billion dollars."
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A number of Indigenous advocates have signed an open letter towards New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, calling his government to drop its plans for tougher laws against youth crime.
The New South Wales government recently revealed its intentions to tighten rules around bail, such as an extra test for older children who had already appeared before the courts and were being charged with serious offences.
The letter, which was signed by hundreds of legal practitioners, community workers and Aboriginal organisations, has described the new rules as a betrayal of Indigenous youth.
It goes on to say that the tougher laws will only lead to more children in detention, with most of them being from Indigenous families.
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In rugby league, Melbourne Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes has accepted a one-match ban for pushing refrree Chris Butler.
Hughes pushed Butler during Saturday night's National Rugby League clash against the New Zealand Warriors, when the Storm were deep in defence.
The Storm could now be without both of their first choice playmakers for Sunday's match against Newcastle, with Cameron Munster still struggling with a groin injury.
