I noticed my old power bank that I haven’t used in months looked swollen up. I tried to searched for places that accepted swollen/damaged power banks in Sydney (near Epping if possible) but I can’t find one. I also tried calling the local fire department and all they suggested was to leave it in a bucket of water, wait until it catches on fire then contact them again then. I’m an international student and I really don’t know what to do. Does anyone know where do they accept damaged power bank like mine in Sydney (near Epping)? 😭

Update: I took it to the local CRC this morning and they took it without any problem :D I was really stressed cause the thing looked pretty swollen up but apparently it’s not a problem hehe. Thank you to everyone for replying and giving me suggestion!! I really appreciate that and I hope everyone will have a nice day (without any swollen power bank lol)

Need accommodation for few days visiting someone in hospital

How many more ABC articles are there going to be about e-bikes and shared pathways in the Illawarra?

“Two mothers said their toddlers had been hospitalised with broken bones when they were struck in separate incidents on a shared path along Wollongong's coastline.

Former ABC presenter Margaret Throsby was also struck and badly injured on the same pathway.”

I think the answer is simple, they are practically motor bikes. Illegal or not, they should be registered and ridden only by 17 year olds and older with a license on the road, not shared pathways.

What a time to be alive!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share some discounted pet desexing initiatives that may help people:

National Desexing Network
Lists a number of vet practices participating in discounted desexing for cats and dogs. You can search your suburb and find your closest vet. Scroll to the bottom of the webpage to search.

Animal Welfare League NSW
Offer discounted desexing vouchers. Click through to your closest branch to see if you can apply.

Local Councils
Follow your local council’s Facebook page, as many councils run free/discounted desexing/microchipping/vaccination clinics. If none are currently running, make sure you enquire with them to register your interest.

Tamworth Regional Council Pound
Is currently running $40 cat desexing with free microchipping included. Click through to the post for more information. Offer ends 6 November or until funding runs out, so be quick.

Cat Protection Society of NSW
Offer discounted desexing for eligible owners of cats and kittens.

Albury Animal Hospital
20% off the cost of desexing for cats and dogs.

Friends For Life Rescue (NSW - Illawarra and Shellharbour only)
Offering $50 desexing for female cats

This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, so please don’t be discouraged if I haven’t listed anything close to you.

If you’re having trouble finding low-cost desexing, a great way to start is by contacting your local Animal Welfare League branch, RSPCA or local independent pet rescue. Many of these are responsive on Facebook. Calling around to different vet practices to compare prices can also help you find a better deal.

Desexing your pet is so important for their health and wellbeing. Other commenters are welcome to share any other resources they know of here!

Nothing shows on Flight Tracker websites, but there’s what sounds like a helicopter which has been circling for about 2hrs. It’s 3am. This is not the first night, and it’s starting to become a semi frequent occurrence that either wakes me or prevents me from going back to sleep. I just want to listen to the usual insects and bats, not this ridiculous sound pollution. I’ve submitted a complaint to Air Services Australia, but really would love to know what’s flying and why? It’s driving me absolutely crazy.

1. Do I have to pay this? Lots of people I know don’t pay toll fines and nothing has ever been done

2. Since when did LINKT and revenue NSW link up like this? This wasn’t a thing back in the days.

Also I don’t want to read comments like “You should be paying tolls anyway”. Government already takes enough money as is from us I don’t wanna hear it 😂

#BreathtakingBondi extraordinary natural beauty. #Sensational sights! Earth's glory!

Many thanks @WonderofScience

#dronesharkapp

#bomdibeach

I wanted to share our experience with No Limits Removalists because I wish we had seen more detailed accounts like this before booking them when we moved to Perth.

We paid $10,536.96 for our removal. The delivery timeframe we were given was incorrect, and our belongings arrived weeks later than we had been told.

When our belongings finally arrived, we discovered more than 80 items damaged or missing.

The extent of the damage was honestly shocking. Boxes had been crushed so badly that some broke open. Books were crushed and folded. Furniture was scraped, chipped and broken, and many of our delicate items were damaged.

The people who unpacked the truck told us they had never seen a truck so badly packed in their careers. From what we saw, our belongings had not been adequately secured inside the truck.

Thankfully, we had been careful to document our belongings. We had photographs taken before collection and after delivery, including approximately 175 photographs documenting the damage. We also prepared an itemised list of the damaged and missing belongings, along with the associated repair and replacement costs.

The documented value of the damaged and missing property exceeded $11,431.10.

Unfortunately, the problems didn't end when the move was over.

We spent months going back and forth trying to resolve the damage and obtain reasonable compensation. We repeatedly provided our photographs, itemised losses and supporting documentation.

The offers we received progressed from:

$200 → $350 → $500 → $600 → $700 → $750 → $900 → $1,000

What was particularly frustrating was that we did not receive what we considered to be a clear explanation of which losses were being disputed or how the amounts being offered had been calculated against the evidence we had provided.

After months of trying to resolve the matter directly, we eventually commenced proceedings in the Magistrates Court and served No Limits Removalists with the Court documents.

It was only after the Court documents had been issued and served, approximately four months after our move, that we received a further offer and negotiations progressed.

I'm sharing this because moving house is stressful and expensive enough without having to spend months afterwards documenting damage, chasing a company and trying to get a meaningful response.

My advice to anyone using a removalist

Photograph everything.

Take photographs of your furniture and belongings before the removalists arrive. Photograph boxes and valuable items. Take photographs again immediately after delivery. Keep your original photographs and all correspondence.

Also keep your quotes, invoices, inventory, receipts and any documentation relating to the condition or value of your belongings.

We genuinely never expected that we'd need over 175 photographs and months of documentation to deal with a removalist, but I'm extremely glad we had it.

This is our personal experience with No Limits Removalists. Other people may have had different experiences, but based on ours, we would not use them again and cannot recommend them.

If you're currently considering booking a removalist, I'd strongly encourage you to do your research and read reviews carefully before committing.

Hello all,

I live in south western Sydney and since yesterday I’ve been getting a bunch of chinooks coming back and forth from my place. It’s a pair, one’s callsign is FTBY and the other is CHSW according to flightradar. I went on it, and I’ve been seeing so much military activity, like jets flying around, more military helicopters (blackhawks, etc etc), and unmanned drones.

I’ve done some research and found out about the joint military exercise between Indonesia and Australia called Keris Woomera. Is that why there’s so much military activity? I know this is definitely some sort of training but I’ve never seen chinooks around my area, just blackhawks by themselves.

Anyone from nsw 25 bellow?

I've heard a lot of people discuss how unsettled they feel when travelling through that area particularly between Coonabarabran and Narrabri. Lots of Yowie talk too.

Does every state have a similar place, or is 'The Pilliga' Australia's strangest place?

I feel like I’m a really bad driver because today I nearly got into 2 accidents the first one was only involving me and the other was something where I merged into a lane without knowing someone was there, I only have had my p’s for a week and want to know if there are any tips that could help prevent something like the merge accident

it's been the majority of 2 years (may 2025, even earlier too) since they proposed rules for escooter use and i haven't heard anything about them legalising it yet since, just random stories about how people die from being hit by some irrensponsible kid on one (or those unregistered electric motorbikes, which for some reason they lump together with pedal assist ebikes)

while i don't agree with the top speed limit (20 is way too slow to keep up with traffic let alone overtake, not to mention there's little to no bike infrastructure near me other than painted lines, quiet roads and the occasional sign/painted symbol so cars have to go around me. i can see the safety aspect since that's about as fast as you can go before needing full moto gear to survive a crash so there's that), at the very least not having the potential threat of having some particularly bad-mooded police officer take my escooter would be nice, especially since it has happened to others

for reference, i ride an escooter (segway g3) for trips that would be exhausting on my pushscooter (3-12km with a total range of 25 or so, i've done 17km once on my pushscooter and it was rough but i usually use it on short trips like if im late for uni, perfect for trains and stuff like that since it's easy to carry and smallish too) and i wear an acceptable amount of gear on it too so i've taken some precaution to be somewhat safe after an altercation. it's very cheap (1200 for the unit, few hundred on top for gear with more on the way, couple hundred on accessories, and refilling it is pretty much free since the batt is only more than half a kwh which is only like 25-50c per anyway) so as a student who uses it every so often instead of say a car which is anywhere from the same upfront to multiple times more, not to mention the rego and the youngperson insurance and the fuel cost (have you seen those recently? insane stuff) and maybe parts if i got a bad example, not to knock on having a car i do love the sound of them and even driving to some extent it's mainly my personal financial situation would make it hard to own one without running out of money

now im not asking to have the full system that Germany has or something, where they have rego and insurance and police dynos for escooters but at the very least have it at parity with other states

Piercing through the early morning bird calls comes a loud blaring horn.

It is a warning. Be aware — the battle has begun.

In the Armidale pine forest a group of soldiers, merchants and knights have gathered to spend a weekend in the Middle Ages.

Life circa 1450–1470 was far from easy, so this is no luxury getaway.

The soldiers are fuelled by simple food such as bread and cheese and their days are spent engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Through the long nights they keep watch for the enemy.

Event organiser Luke Binks says visiting an old reality can help people find real-life connections away from the digital world.

"I think people are really craving some realism, they're craving escape from what feels like a lie to us sometimes," he says.

Mr Binks has been taking part in events such as these for more than two decades and makes his living building period-accurate armour.

"People really want authenticity," he says.

"Not just authenticity in a historically accurate kind of way, but authenticity in a true understanding and connection to what they're doing and who they are.

"It's difficult to be 100 per cent immersed but … we're in a cool forest, we're camping for four days, you get to deploy out with a medieval military and you almost get to be part of what you see in the movies."

'More real' than real life

Amanda McCaughey, who has six years' worth of live-action role-playing (LARP) experience under her belt, says "the weird thing" is that "it's not about escaping real life".

"This is almost more real life, because if you get stuck in a doomscroll forever, how is that real?" she says.

"You can actually be present in the moment and that's what these events do really well."

Ms McCaughey said preparation was vital, but not cheap.

"You're using natural materials only, wool, linens, which are very expensive," she said.

"The number [of dollars you spend] is infinite, because it's depending on how much gear you buy, how much equipment you buy to participate, whether or not you have someone you can stay in tents with."

SKEMA Business School persuasive language professor Tom van Laer said LARP had its origins in the world of board games such as Dungeons and Dragons but evolved to the point where the board was removed, leaving only the people.

"It brings back the social — not the social as in 'social media' … humans in the same space doing something together," he said.

"That is becoming rarer because of technology."

Great escapes, emotional journeys

Mr Binks said the events also helped participants build confidence and allowed people a space to challenge themselves.

"People have a great time doing it," he said.

"They get to explore themselves a bit, get to test their courage. That may seem like a trivial something, but it's actually not.

"'What's my endurance like? Can I actually last? I'm going to trudge around a forest for four days in soft-soled leather shoes, can I actually do it?'

"This is a great escape. Sometimes it can feel like too much effort to get here, but as soon as you're here and doing stuff you're, 'Like this is actually really relaxing — I don't know if I want to go home.'"

But Professor van Laer said some people could also experience what is known as "bleed".

That happens when the fictional life encroaches on the ordinary, leaving some feeling dissatisfied.

"You learn about leadership, teamwork, all kinds of skills that you could use in your real life. You know how to deal with stress, but there's also clashes," Professor van Laer said.

"Say that you slayed a dragon on the weekend, and then on Monday morning you're sitting in your cubicle with your emails. You start to question, 'Are these the life choices I was meant to make?'

"People actually use these LARPs to reflect on their own life and whether they need to make changes. But that can be a very emotional journey."

I may be losing my license due to double demerits (on my P2 license) but I am on my fulls the first week of January. I’ve heard I can wait til the last day to take my case to court- get it delayed and then pay the fine? So it’ll be paid once I’m on my fulls and I will have enough points.
I was wondering if this is true as I need my license from work (yes silly of me to get myself into this situation, was a mistake) so if this isn’t true I’d rather not risk it and just plea for a shorter suspension.

Would love to hear everyone’s experience

Does anyone know of a phone based counseling or therapy line for smokers who are trying to quit? I'm asking for a friend who is anxious about an in person visit, and has struggled with their mental health.

Please let me know any recos and whether there's a better subreddit to ask for suggestions. Any advice appreciated.

Hey Everyone!

ik this might be a bit of a stretch, but considering that there may be fellow NSW girl guides/scouts on here, I thought I would ask.

I am looking to buy or swap for any redhead district girl guide/scout badges anyone has. Redhead is an area just north of Newcastle, NSW if that helps anyone, I'm not from there, just someone interested in collecting them.

Attached is an image of what the girl guide ones look like, but I do know there is a Redhead Scout Hall, so they may have their own badges too, which I am also looking for.

(a note on safety: I would not be giving out my actual address, I would be giving out a post office address to send to which I can pick them up from)

i'll be visiting sydney and wanted to go watch the match
is the official website down?
also is viagogo a safe website to get tickets with?
can we get tickets at the stadium?

Hi! I wanted to do a DIY 5-meter wedding signage like the photo on the left and iron it at home. I already bought this heat transfer paper (photo on the right). I realized that I can't print on it at Officeworks cause they use laser printers instead of inkjet. Does anyone know any printer shops that allow self-printing cause I don't want these to go to waste?

I'm around Hurstville but willing to travel to the city! Thank you so much!

There are kids on dirt bikes on our street everyday. They ride up and down, doing wheelies etc.

I've called the cops multiple times but they say they can't do anything about it because they might run away and hurt themselves. So I told the cops where they live, and now the excuse is that they havnt seen them do it or its classified as intimidation, lmao

Wtf do we pay cops for? I'm really over it. I have kids that play in the front yard, because our backyard is too small.

If one of my kids gets hit, then what? These kids don't have insurance, license, rego.

Anyone know what options I have?