Many renters in New South Wales were left to swelter in dangerously hot homes this past summer, with new data showing indoor temperatures in some rental properties reached extreme temperatures of up to 40°C.

Rental advocacy group Better Renting tracked 50 rental homes across the state between December 2025 and March 2026. 

While the World Health Organisation considers indoor temperatures above 25°C to pose an overheating risk, many NSW study participants spent an average of 12 hours per day between 25°C and 30°C. 

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Renters reported extreme levels of fatigue, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and worsening of existing health conditions due to the suffocating temperatures.

The health impacts became so severe that the extreme heat even drove two renters participating in the study to visit the hospital emergency departments.

'It's pretty gross: A renter's nightmare

Bel Langford, 19, was one of the participants in the study.

Langford, a part-time student and worker, lives with a flatmate in a Dulwich Hill apartment, in Sydney's inner west.

The older-style brick unit has large, west-facing windows and no trees for shade.

"For most of summer, from about 11am until sunset, we have direct sun streaming into our windows," she said.

"It's a bit like a pizza oven … it just heats and heats and heats and then it can't cool down overnight either. It's pretty gross"

During the summer, the peak temperature recorded in her apartment was 35.7 degrees.

Langford, who is neurodivergent and takes medication that increases sweating, told nine.com.au the heat became a sensory nightmare which left her physically and mentally exhausted.

Desperate for a bit of relief, Langford said she slept with ice packs and set up three fans in her room.

"Unfortunately for us, most nights, especially in January, were above 25 degrees. During two of the heat waves, it didn't drop below 27.7 overnight for three nights," she said.

Langford resorted to sleeping with ice packs and running three separate fans in her bedroom just to stay regulated. 

But the physical toll was still visible; with Langford developing an uncomfortable heat rash all over her body.

Call for mandatory standards

The report argues that these conditions are a direct consequence of policy failure. New South Wales currently has no mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes, meaning landlords are not legally required to provide basic features like insulation or effective ventilation.

Meanwhile, the ACT implemented mandatory standards for insulation, draught-proofing, and efficient heating/cooling in 2023 and Victoria is set to follow suit in 2027, leaving NSW is under pressure to follow suit.

NSW Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones, has been tasked with investigating how to improve energy efficiency in rental properties.

Bernadette Barrett, Deputy CEO of Better Renting, said it was time for the government to step in.

"After reading survey responses from renters who can't sleep, can't function properly in their homes, and in some cases are ending up in hospital because their homes are too hot, you have to ask — how are we allowing this to continue?" she said.

Barrett said the NSW Government has a clear opportunity to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards so that renters can sleep, work, and live safely. 

Currently, the only way for a tenant to claim a property is uninhabitable due to temperature is to take the matter to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, a process that is often too slow and intimidating for young or vulnerable renters.

Langford said it would come as a huge relief if her landlord decided to install an air conditioning unit in their rental property, but they did not want to ask for it in case it led to an increase in their rent.

"We're very nervous that if we ask for aircon to be installed, that will risk a rent increase, and we just don't want to be priced out of our unit," she said.

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Iran has issued a gloating statement declaring victory over the US after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in their war.

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire hours before a self-imposed deadline to begin destroying civilian infrastructure in Iran.

Now, Iran's Supreme National Security Council has celebrated Trump's actions.

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"The enemy has suffered an undeniable, historic and crushing defeat in its cowardly, illegal and criminal war against the Iranian nation," the council said in a statement.

"Iran achieved a great victory and forced the criminal America to accept its 10-point plan.

"We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory and emphasise that until the details of this victory are finalised, there is still a need for perseverance and prudence on the part of the authorities and for maintaining the unity and solidarity of the Iranian people."

Trump did not address the specifics of the plan, but described it as a "workable basis on which to negotiate".

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Accepting the proposal would mark a dramatic victory for the regime and would leave the US and its allies much worse off than they were at the start of the war.

The plan would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium while forcing the US to withdraw all combat forces from the region.

The plan did not specify what would be counted as "the region", but the US has military bases throughout the Middle East.

It would force the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions on Iran and require a US guarantee of non-aggression.

It would also require "compensation for damages inflicted on Iran".

Iran would retain its $US2 million ($A2.85 million) toll for ships to exit the Strait of Hormuz, under their 10-point peace proposal issued to the US.

The toll would be split between Iran and Oman, the Arabian nation on the other side of the strait.

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Iran said it would use the proceeds of their half of the toll to rebuild the country.

As a consequence of the toll, oil and other exports from the Persian Gulf would be able to be sold, but at a more expensive price. Six weeks ago, ships could pass through the strait without charge.

Iran has made no concessions in its 10-point plan.

"By accepting these conditions as the basis for negotiations, Trump has retreated from his desperate threats and bluffs," a statement from the Supreme National Security Council has read.

Negotiations between the two nations are set to begin this week in Pakistan, the council said.

Not mentioned in either countries' announcements is the position of Israel on the ceasefire.

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Some of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters have turned on him over his overnight comments on Iran.

Trump amped up his rhetoric on Iran in a manner rarely seen by a world leader.

"A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump said.

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Trump's remarks have been hastily condemned by prominent Republicans.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has criticised the president's comments.

"I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them," he said.

And Texas House Republican Nathaniel Moran issued a lengthy statement distancing himself from Trump's comments.

"I do not support the destruction of a 'whole civilisation'," he said. 

"That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America."

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But perhaps the biggest turnaround is coming from the man who was Trump's most prominent booster when he first ran for president.

As a Fox News host and conservative firebrand, Tucker Carlson was an ardent support of Trump.

Now Carlson has given a lengthy broadcast highly critical of the president.

He took particular issue with Trump's foul-mouthed Truth Social post made on Sunday.

"How dare you speak that way on Easter morning to the country?" Carlson said.

"Who do you think you are? You're tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning."

Carlson slammed the president for saying he wanted to take Iran's oil.

"That's not acceptable for Christians. That's not acceptable for Americans or any other civilised people," Carlson said.

"Taking other people's stuff by force cannot be allowed.

"In a civilised country you can't steal without penalty. You can't shoplift, you can't rob banks. You can't invade other countries to steal their stuff."

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Carlson now hosts one of the most popular podcasts in America.

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene, who has already distanced herself from Trump, was highly critical of his Easter post.

"Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump's madness," she said.

"I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.

"Our President is not a Christian and his words and actions should not be supported by Christians. 

"Christians in the administration should be pursuing peace."

Meanwhile, a senior Democrat has filed articles of impeachment against Trump over his actions in Iran.

"Donald Trump has blown past every requirement to be removed from office. And it's getting worse," Connecticut Representative John Larson said.

"His illegal war in Iran is not only driving up prices for American families — it has cost American lives."

Trump declared a ceasefire in the war in Iran this morning shortly before his imposed deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.

READ MORE: Can Donald Trump be charged with a war crime?

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Two cyclones forming over waters near Australia could bring heavy rain and winds to the Queensland coast, though only one is expected to make a potential landfall.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila is in the Solomon Sea, between the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The Bureau of Meteorology says it will move towards north Queensland by the weekend.

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As of about 4am, the cyclone was a category five storm, with sustained winds of 215km/hr near its centre.

"It may cross the Cape York Peninsula during the weekend or early next week," the Bureau's cyclone tracker says.

It's forecast to decline to at least a category three cyclone before then.

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Although not registered on the Bureau's cyclone tracker, Weatherzone has reported Tropical Cyclone Vaianau off Fiji could also bring weather changes to Australia.

"Vaianu is expected to track south during the week, more or less making a beeline towards the North Island of New Zealand," Weatherzone said.

"While it will no longer be a tropical cyclone, it is likely to hit Auckland and nearby areas during the weekend as an "extratropical cyclone", a type of system which can pack as much strength as a category 2 or 3 cyclone in terms of its central pressure and wind speeds."

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The storm is currently category three and is not expected to make landfall in Fiji or Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, a third storm, currently a tropical low, is forming in the Indian ocean off to the north-west of Western Australia and Fiji.

The Bureau rates it a moderate chance to attain cyclone status from mid-next week.

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More Australians are preparing to pull the plug on their petrol cars, with new data revealing a massive 90 percent surge in loans for electric vehicles over the past month.

Petrol prices have climbed by 30 percent since the war broke out in the Middle East on February 28, strangling the fuel supply routes through the Straight of Hormuz.

With the cost of diesel now well over $3 a litre and the price of unleaded fuel hovering at around $2.20 in major cities, the prolonged pain at the bowser is causing motorists to rethink whether they want to remain at the mercy of rising fuel prices and supply issues.

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According to non-bank lender MONEYME, applications for its Autopay EV loans nearly doubled between February and March 2026.

However, the shift isn't just a monthly blip, with EV demand surging 270 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the appetite for traditional fuel-only vehicles has plummeted, dropping 22 per cent in the last month alone.

"What is notable is the speed of change," Clayton Howes, CEO of MONEYME said. 

"A 90 per cent increase in a single month indicates that external shocks, including fuel shortages and price spikes, are accelerating decisions that may otherwise have taken years."

Demand for hybrid vehicles has also risen with the fin-tech lender, climbing 44 per cent year-on-year, and 9 per cent in the last month.

The shift in sentiment towards electric cars is echoed in carsales.com.au data, which showed searches for electric vehicles on the platform tripled in March compared to late February.

According to the carsales data, 55 per cent of Australians would now consider purchasing an EV—a massive jump from the 35 per cent recorded only last November. 

"Australians are responding directly to fuel price volatility and supply uncertainty," Howes added. "Access to finance is becoming a key enabler as more Australians move to secure vehicles that reduce their exposure to fuel price risk."

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