NSW brings forward Covid freedoms for vaccinated; RBA holds cash rate at record low 0.1% – as it happened

Victoria's daily Covid numbers drop below 1,000; NSW records 173 cases and four deaths. This blog is now closed

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• Vaccine rollout and rates tracker; Cases and data tracker
• Victoria vaccination rate map; NSW vaccination rates map
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Cancer patients and those with acquired brain injuries were among the worst affected by Coalition reforms to the disability support pension that saw an overall increase in denied claims and a blowout in processing times, a new report shows.

The report by management consultants Health Outcomes International, commissioned by the federal government in response to an audit office report, examined the revised pension assessment process brought in under Tony Abbott's prime ministership in 2015.