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Good morning. With some one-hour appointments now costing $1,000, today we're taking a deep look at why out-of-pocket fees for specialist doctors are skyrocketing across Australia - and what you can do about it.
Meanwhile, consumer advocates argue that the Australian Taxation Office's contracts with private call centre operators, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are leaving vulnerable taxpayers exposed.
Plus: talkback radio veteran John Laws has died and a native title claim is being lodged over Melbourne by the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. Meanwhile in the UK, senior BBC bosses have resigned amid claims of bias in its news coverage of Donald Trump.
The ban on puberty blockers risking harm to Queensland children
Queensland is now the only state to have banned gender-affirming care for transgender children after the Queensland health minister issued a new order banning the prescription of puberty blockers for transgender patients. Reged Ahmad speaks with Ben Smee and Andrew Messenger about whether Queensland's ban on puberty blockers is ideologically driven.
The Australian Taxation Office has outsourced thousands of call centre roles to private operators that pay workers significantly less than public servants and use call targets that can leave vulnerable taxpayers exposed. Jonathan Barrett explains why some consumer advocates are now sounding the alarm.
In the latest of our Kindness of strangers series, a reader shares her tale of how a chance meeting with a man while on a short trip to New York City helped her land the job that changed her life. It was a "sliding doors moment" in a city where anything feels possible, she says.
Australia has more renewable energy than ever before, but more storage is needed to properly harness that power, ABC News reports. The Marylebone Cricket Club is reconsidering the life ban handed down to one of its members for abusing Australian cricketers at Lords, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. South Australia's farmers are under pressure amid suburban complaints about their legal farming activities, the Advertiser reports.
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And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.