Mridula Amin

As south-west Sydney continues to record the bulk of COVID-19 cases, scared essential workers — like those employed in local supermarkets — say they are putting their lives at risk every day.

From doing deep cleans at exposure sites to picking up abandoned face masks, these are the people who say they are “blessed” to keep Sydney operating amid a COVID crisis.

Australia’s most populous state has reached a grim COVID-19 milestone — here are the stories behind some of those who have died during the Delta outbreak.

A group of volunteers from all walks of life in Sydney steps up to help terrified Afghan women escape the Taliban, after its leaders demanded a list of girls over the age of 15 for “marriage”.

With international borders closed, businesses in Little India in the Western Sydney suburb of Harris Park were booming. The lockdown took a heavy toll, but it was the hotspot tag that hit the hardest.

After months of harsh restrictions, many in Western Sydney were keen for some retail therapy, waiting in line as shops reopened on the stroke of midnight.

It was in the bazaars of Mumbai, India where NSW Australian of the Year Veena Sahajwalla first saw what was possible with other people’s trash.

Gillian Sneddon helped put paedophile politician Milton Orkopoulos in jail, but she believes police missed opportunities to investigate before he committed more crimes.

A growing crisis of school refusal is gripping Australia, leaving families in a hidden struggle.

There's no easy solution, and every kid's situation is different, but here are some resources that might help struggling families.