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The Daily Mavericki

Health help in Byron Bay

Help close to home, and the help regional locals often don't know about.

Updated

Sunday 25 October 2026 · No. 11

Community. Information. Together again.

Refine to your area

Source: The EchoSCU exhibition marks the end of art and design degreeTwelve emerging Northern Rivers artists will exhibit their work in Lismore tonight at a graduation show marking the last large exhibition of Southern Cross University’s Bachelor of Art and Design degree.Fri, 23 Oct · Read the full story →
One app instead of 40+ (41 here)

= 1 Daily Maverick

Live alerts: 2 weather warnings. See alerts →

Coming up in the sky: Asteroid 2025 UK9 passes closer than the Moon (314,648 km away), Sat, 31 Oct in 6 days. More in the sky →

21°Showers · 24°/20°
100%Rain chance
23 km/hWind from N
5:59 amSunset 7:00 pm
2:00 pmNext low tide
1.1 mSwell
–Moon
BinsSet your bin night

Alerts

In an emergency call 000.

Fire danger today

NONE No rating today. Stay alert.

No Total Fire Ban today. Gas, electric, wood and charcoal BBQs are fine with care: keep an adult on it, water handy and nothing that burns nearby. Burning off or a fire in the open? Check if you need a permit.

Tomorrow: NONE

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire Danger Ratings (Far North Coast). Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Fires within 100 km

No fires listed within 100 km.

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fires Near Me. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Weather warnings

Source: Bureau of Meteorology, NSW warnings. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am.

Roads now

No crashes, floods or fires listed on roads within 40 km.

Roadwork nearby (2)
  • Scheduled Roadwork Tunnel Maintenance: M1 Pacific Motorway, Mcleods Shoot 5 km away · updated 23 Oct, 11:11 am
  • Scheduled Roadwork: Coolamon Scenic Drive, Ocean Shores 16 km away · updated 14 Sept, 7:00 am

Source: Live Traffic NSW (Transport for NSW, open data)

More local stories today

“The good person helps others to bring out what is good in them.”— Confucius, Analects 12.16

More headlines

These stories are written and owned by The Echo, NBN News and, when they mention your area, national outlets like the ABC, SBS and The Guardian, not us. We show the headline (and for local outlets a short summary); tap a story to read it in full on their site. Thank you to them for the hard work they do: we’re a community hub, not a news outlet, and we’re here to send them more readers. means that site may ask you to subscribe. The good, the bad and the ugly are sorted by a free AI from each headline’s topic, not by our opinion. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 9:30 am.

One app instead of 40+

Your page right now: 41 apps and sites you no longer need to check.

No more checking 41 apps and websites every morning: that’s about 41 min back every day, or 4 hr 47 min a week (at about a minute an app). Everything below is on your page or one tap away.

= 1 Daily Maverick, your way

See which feature replaces which app

With 3 locals on board, that’s 123 app checks saved every day.

Emergency wait now

  • 3waiting right now
    Usually 9 at this time · Quieter than usual
    Lismore Base Hospital · 02 6621 8000
    NSW Health figure from 10:00 am
  • 2waiting right now
    Usually 18 at this time · Quieter than usual
    Tweed Valley Hospital · 02 6677 2000
    NSW Health figure from 10:00 am

The number already assessed by a triage nurse and waiting for treatment. The most seriously ill are always seen first. In an emergency call 000.

Byron District Hospital doesn't report wait times to NSW Health.

Not sure you need emergency? Call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, 24/7, to talk to a registered nurse.

Source: NSW Health Emergency Department Waiting Times

Scam watch

Buying from a business you don't know? Check the NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register first: it lists businesses with 10 or more complaints in a month.

Scam watch: report a scam, the tips banks agree on, product recalls →

What's on

Specials, members nights, trivia, live music, markets and events around Byron, in one place.

These venues' websites block automatic reading, so we can't show their specials: Hotel Brunswick (what's on). Check with them directly.

Read from each venue's own website twice a day. Specials can change, so check with the venue before you go. Know a venue we're missing? Tell us.

What’s on in Byron Bay

Nothing listed in 2481 yet. Know something on? Add it free.

+ Add an event (free)

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Births

Welcome to the world.

No recent notices.

Share a birth (free) →

Deaths

Remembering locals who have passed. Our thoughts are with their families and friends.

No recent notices.

All recent notices →

Marriages

Engagements, weddings and big anniversaries.

No recent notices.

Share your news (free) →

Just for curiosity

Trending baby names

Top 10 across NSW, 2025

Girls

  1. CHARLOTTE =
  2. AMELIA =
  3. OLIVIA =
  4. ISLA ▲1
  5. MIA ▼1
  6. SOPHIA ▲3
  7. CHLOE ▼1
  8. HAZEL =
  9. LILY ▲2
  10. SIENNA ▲3

Biggest climber: LAINEY, up 41 to #56

Highest new entry: AMIRA at #79

Boys

  1. NOAH =
  2. OLIVER =
  3. THEODORE =
  4. LUCA =
  5. LEO ▲1
  6. HENRY ▼1
  7. ELIJAH ▲3
  8. LEVI ▲5
  9. HUDSON ▼1
  10. JACK ▲4

Biggest climber: ELIAS, up 52 to #35

Highest new entry: MATEO at #65

Source: the latest full-year list from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Arrows show the move since 2024. NSW doesn't publish names by town. Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 10:02 am.

See all Births, Deaths and Marriages →

Handy tools

☰ Everything on the Daily Maverick Every page we have, in one place → Community notice board Lost pets, volunteers, clubs and classes. No buy and sell → My home Bin night reminders and a house-sitter sheet to print or share → Why Byron Bay? What 2481 has that nowhere else does, plus the whole area → 🟢 What’s open? Local or visiting: pharmacies, doctors, servos, cafés, mechanics and more. Open ones first → Dog beaches & parks Off-leash spots near you → Dog-friendly cafés & pubs Places happy to see your dog → LGBTQ+ friendly Local places that welcome everyone → What are you binging? Shows, podcasts and channels locals vote for, and why → What's in your fridge? Dinner ideas from what you've already got → Birthday deals Which local places look after you on your big day → Kid Zone Games for kids 12 and under, with a grown-up’s OK. No chat, no ads, nothing collected → Gen Alpha interpreter What did your kid just say? Jimmy Joel translates → Births, Deaths and Marriages Family notices, filtered by what you’re looking for → Renting Every rental site, plus your rights and bond help, in one place → Jobs Every job site in one place, already searched for Byron Bay → School run check Weather and traffic for your school drop-off and pick-up →

Dog friendly

Off-leash beaches, dog parks and places happy to see your dog. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

LGBTQ+ friendly

Local places that welcome everyone. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

Fuel prices in Byron Bay

Loading fuel prices…

Source: NSW FuelCheck

Supermarket watch

The everyday basics at each supermarket today. Green is cheapest, red is dearest. We update these prices twice a day, around 6am and 2pm, so you always know how fresh they are.

Cheapest basket today (milk, bread, eggs, chocolate): Coles at $18.30, Woolworths $20.30.

Woolworths
blocks us
ALDI
blocks us
Coles
blocks us
Full cream milk 2L$3.40$3.39$3.40
White sandwich bread 650g$2.50$2.39$2.50
Free range eggs, 12 pack$6.40$5.99$6.90
Cadbury Dairy Milk 180g$8.00
▲ $5.50
blocked$5.50
special
▼ $8.00
Extra virgin olive oil 750mlblocked$13.99blocked
Weet-Bix 575g$2.50
special
▼ $5.00
blocked$5.00
Bananas$0.81$2.99$0.83

Woolworths and ALDI and Coles don’t let us check their prices. Their websites block automatic price checks, so we can’t show them side by side with the others. That’s their choice, not ours. We show what we can find, and we tell you when we can’t.

You choose what we watch

Suggest something for Supermarket watch, or vote for a local’s idea. 50 votes and it goes up, all by itself.

Loading ideas…

Online prices from each supermarket's own website, house brand where there is one. Checked: Woolworths Fri, 23 Oct, 6:00 am · ALDI Wed, 21 Oct, 2:00 pm · Coles Sat, 24 Oct, 2:00 pm. Prices in store and specials can differ.

Today in numbers

Facts from the sources named, side by side. No opinions: make up your own mind.

Cost of living

Figures from October 2026

252.6cUnleaded petrol near Byron todayaverage a litre across 3 local servos, Sun, 25 Oct, 8:34 am
vs
179.4cNational average a year agoa litre, October 2025

NSW FuelCheck · Australian Institute of Petroleum, via NT Treasury

Big tech watch

Figures from June 2026

900 millionPeople using ChatGPTevery week (February 2026)
vs
3.6 billionPeople using Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messengerevery day (June 2026)

OpenAI, via TechCrunch · Meta second quarter 2026 results

Figures from March 2026

13.6 millionAustralians using AI tools58% of people 14+, in an average four weeks (Jan to Mar 2026)
vs
about 4.7 millionKids' social media accounts deactivated or restrictedunder Australia's under-16 ban (reported January 2026)

Roy Morgan · eSafety Commissioner, via Associated Press

Figures from June 2026

US$60.8 billionMeta's revenueApril to June 2026
vs
US$15.85 billionMeta's profitApril to June 2026

Meta second quarter 2026 results

Life and death

Figures from December 2021

222Australians killed by horses2001 to 2021
vs
39Australians killed by sharks2001 to 2021

National Coronial Information System, via ScienceAlert

Figures from December 2021

0Australians killed by spiders2001 to 2021
vs
45Australians killed by bees2001 to 2021, all from allergic reactions

National Coronial Information System, via ScienceAlert

AI for good, AI for bad

A recent AI story of each kind from the news, so you see both sides.

AI for good

John Healey pledges to use budget to harness power of AI to bolster Britain’s security
The Guardian · 24 Oct · bolster Britain's security

AI for bad

The datacentre next door: on the frontline of tech’s latest David v Goliath battle
The Guardian · 24 Oct · harming local residents

Headlines from The Guardian and Google News, sorted into good and bad by AI, so check the full story. See every story we've logged.

Learn how AI can help in your everyday life, from your local experts at Maverick Digital →

Grog watch

Beer, wine, spirits, cider: the price at local bottle shops, posted by the shops themselves. Search for anything, or filter by type. Local only, so your money stays in town.

Checking local prices…

Cheapest In between Dearest

Own a local bottle shop? Post your price free

You choose what we watch

Suggest something for Grog watch, or vote for a local’s idea. 50 votes and it goes up, all by itself.

Loading ideas…

Source: prices posted by local shops, with the date they posted. Shown for 30 days. We don't check the big chains: local only. Please drink responsibly.

Banks and the RBA

Home loan rates at the big four, and how quickly each passed on the Reserve Bank's (RBA) rate changes. Numbers only.

Cash rate: 4.60% since 29 Sept 2026

How fast they passed on RBA changes

CommBankWestpacNABANZ
Average days to pass on a rise10.012.010.010.0
Average days to pass on a cut10.014.011.010.0
Rises passed on in full4 of 44 of 44 of 44 of 4
Cuts passed on in full3 of 33 of 33 of 33 of 3

Days from the RBA's decision to the date the bank's new variable rate took effect, for the 7 RBA moves since February 2025.

Every RBA move and what each bank did
RBA decisionCommBankWestpacNABANZ
29 Sept 2026
▲ +0.25 to 4.60%
+0.25
9 Oct 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
9 Oct 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
9 Oct 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
9 Oct 2026 · 10 days
5 May 2026
▲ +0.25 to 4.35%
+0.25
15 May 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
15 May 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
15 May 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
15 May 2026 · 10 days
17 Mar 2026
▲ +0.25 to 4.10%
+0.25
27 Mar 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
31 Mar 2026 · 14 days
+0.25
27 Mar 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
27 Mar 2026 · 10 days
3 Feb 2026
▲ +0.25 to 3.85%
+0.25
13 Feb 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
17 Feb 2026 · 14 days
+0.25
13 Feb 2026 · 10 days
+0.25
13 Feb 2026 · 10 days
12 Aug 2025
▼ -0.25 to 3.60%
-0.25
22 Aug 2025 · 10 days
-0.25
26 Aug 2025 · 14 days
-0.25
25 Aug 2025 · 13 days
-0.25
22 Aug 2025 · 10 days
20 May 2025
▼ -0.25 to 3.85%
-0.25
30 May 2025 · 10 days
-0.25
3 June 2025 · 14 days
-0.25
30 May 2025 · 10 days
-0.25
30 May 2025 · 10 days
18 Feb 2025
▼ -0.25 to 4.10%
-0.25
28 Feb 2025 · 10 days
-0.25
4 Mar 2025 · 14 days
-0.25
28 Feb 2025 · 10 days
-0.25
28 Feb 2025 · 10 days

Integrated Finance Group · Mortgage Professional Australia · Savings.com.au · Canstar · Finder · Savings.com.au · The Motley Fool. Cash rate from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Byron Bay tide times & fishing

Loading…

Tide times are modelled estimates. Not for navigation; check the Bureau of Meteorology before boating.

What are you hoping to catch today?

What's biting in October

  • Snapper peak
  • Pearl perch
  • Tailor, whiting & flathead

Seasons: Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development GoFishing guide (Coffs Coast), the nearest official guide and Coffs Coast tourism.

Where to fish within 20 km

  • Brunswick River rock walls Breakwall
    Known for: mulloway (in season), bream, tailor
    Rock fishing: watch the swell
    Directions
  • Brunswick River Boat Harbour Estuary
    Fishing allowed here (special purpose zone)
    Directions
  • Tallow Beach Beach
    Known for: tailor, mulloway
    Directions
  • Tyagarah Beach (south end) Beach
    Habitat protection zone: fishing allowed
    Directions

Byron Bay, Broken Head and the creeks beside Brunswick Heads have sanctuary zones where you can't fish at all. Check the map before you cast.

Before you cast: licence, limits and no-fishing zones

Know your 2481

The handy stuff, all in one place. Every item is sourced and shown as the source has it. We don’t edit it. We tell you where it’s from and how well the owner keeps it up to date.

Who runs the place
  • Mayor: Cr Sarah Ndiaye · Deputy Mayor: Cr Elia Hauge
  • Councillors: Jack Dods, Delta Kay, Michelle Lowe, Asren Pugh, Janet Swain, David Warth, Michael Lyon. Contact them
  • Council meetings: see what's being decided

Source: Byron Shire Council, Leadership page (not yet updated by council: changes since confirmed by local outlets, Oct 2026). Council doesn’t say when they last updated it. We’ve watched it since 16 Oct 2026: last change spotted 24 Oct 2026.

Bins & rubbish
  • Which bin this week? Get the free Recycle Coach app and search your address
  • Yellow lid: recycling, fortnightly · Red lid: landfill, fortnightly · Green lid: food and garden, weekly (urban)
  • Big clean-up? Each household gets an annual free drop-off at the Byron Resource Recovery Centre (2 × 150 kg household waste or 500 kg green waste)
  • Missed bin? Report it within 24 hours on 1300 652 625
  • Seen illegal dumping? Report it online

Source: Byron Shire Council, Waste guide for new residents. Council doesn’t say when they last updated it. We’ve watched it since 16 Oct 2026: last change spotted 24 Oct 2026.

Got a problem?

Source: Byron Shire Council, Report requests and feedback. Council doesn’t say when they last updated it. We’ve watched it since 16 Oct 2026: last change spotted 24 Oct 2026.

Contact council

Source: Byron Shire Council, Contact us. Council doesn’t say when they last updated it. We’ve watched it since 16 Oct 2026: last change spotted 24 Oct 2026.

Byron in numbers

38,784people, 2025
+8.6%since 2020 (+3,069 people)
43median age
$1,602median household income a week
$520median rent a week
$1,926median mortgage a month
2.5people per household, on average

Figures for the whole Byron Shire Council area, from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics): population is the ABS estimate for 30 June 2025; ages, incomes, rent and households are from the 2021 Census. Shown as the ABS publishes them.

Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

Renting

Looking for a place in Byron Bay? Every rental site, already searched for you.

Every rental site, your rights and bond help →

Jobs

Looking for work in Byron Bay? Every job site, already searched for you.

Every job site, plus council, harvest and local employers →

Local radio

Community radio from around the shire, run by locals, mostly volunteers. Tune in or listen live online.

Tap ☆ to make a station yours: it sits at the top of your page, one tap to listen.

Source: Community Broadcasting Association of Australia list of community stations and each station's own website. Missed a local station? Tell us.

Byron Bay Council watch

Keeping an eye on Byron Shire Council, with every item linked to its source.

Meeting dates are on the council's meetings page.

Is council doing what it said?

Every three months Byron Shire Council reports on its own plan. We'll show its latest report here, in its own words. For now: council's progress reports.

How's council doing?

The unofficial Maverick poll, once a month. Be the first this month. All results

Have your say or make a complaint

🏅 Mini Maverick Award

Maverick Digital encourages digital safety for kids. Every Kid Zone game is designed to help with that: a safe place where kids can play and mums and dads can feel safe.

Each month, the top three kids on the Kid Zone leaderboards win the Mini Maverick Award, for proving they’re little mini Mavericks:

  • 🥇 $25 first place
  • 🥈 $15 second place
  • 🥉 $10 third place

📍 Spent at a local Byron Bay business. No multinationals, no chains, no fast food.

Only a winner’s first name is ever shown, with their parent or carer’s OK.

Play in Kid Zone → · Local businesses: be a place winners spend it

🌳 Get outside this weekend

Things for kids and families to do outdoors, free or under $50 a kid. This weekend: Sat, 24 Oct and Sun, 25 Oct.

No kids' events listed for this weekend yet. Running one? Add it free and tick "Good for kids".

Always-good local favourites

  • Railway Park Free
    Playground and shade right in the middle of town.
  • Cape Byron walking track Free
    Loop up to the lighthouse and the most easterly point of mainland Australia. Whale-spotting in season.
  • Arakwal National Park & Tallow Beach Free
    Bush tracks and a long, quieter beach.
  • The Pass & Clarkes Beach Free
    Sheltered end of the bay. Swim between the flags.

Outdoor and affordable, picked by locals. Check times and prices before you go · Suggest one

Trails, World Heritage and only here

The big outdoor reasons to live in, or visit, Byron Bay and the shire.

Cycle and mountain bike trails

  • Bayshore Drive Shared Path, Ewingsdale
    Finished council shared path for walking and riding along Bayshore Drive, Ewingsdale. Source: byron.nsw.gov.au
  • Northern Rivers Rail Trail (Tweed section)
    24 km of mostly compacted gravel from Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek, just over the shire's northern border; suits all ages and abilities. Source: tweed.nsw.gov.au
  • Sandhills Skate Park and Recreation Precinct Shared Path
    Finished council shared path at the Sandhills recreation precinct in Byron Bay. Source: byron.nsw.gov.au

Only here

  • Stand on mainland Australia's most easterly point
    Walk the Walgun Cape Byron track through rainforest and along clifftops to the lighthouse on the mainland's most easterly point. Source: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

World Heritage

  • Nightcap National Park
    Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage park; Minyon Falls lookout is about 45 min drive from Byron Bay. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Sport & field closures

Coming soon

Team Smarketing is on it.

Field closures and local sport. Clubs can post games and closures free via Add an event.

We're building it right, not fast.

Flights at Ballina Byron Gateway Airport

See everything coming and going at Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (live board).

Holidays

Next NSW public holidays

  • Fri, 25 Dec: Christmas Day in 61 days
  • Mon, 28 Dec: Boxing Day in 64 days
  • Fri, 1 Jan: New Year's Day in 68 days
  • Tue, 26 Jan: Australia Day in 93 days

Source: Nager.Date public holidays. Updated Sat, 24 Oct, 8:00 pm.

In the sky, next 14 days

Asteroids passing by

  • Sat, 31 Oct: 2025 UK9, about the size of a car (roughly 3 to 6 m), passes closer than the Moon (314,648 km away) at 7.8 km a second in 6 days
  • Tue, 27 Oct: 2026 TB94, about the size of a bus (roughly 19 to 44 m), passes 5.1 times as far away as the Moon at 11.6 km a second in 2 days
  • Sun, 25 Oct: 2026 UE, about the size of a bus (roughly 18 to 41 m), passes 5.2 times as far away as the Moon at 15.9 km a second today
  • Wed, 4 Nov: 2021 VC4, about the size of a bus (roughly 11 to 25 m), passes 6.0 times as far away as the Moon at 11.2 km a second in 10 days

Source: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 9:30 am. None of these will hit Earth. Most are too faint to see without a big telescope

Next school holidays

  • Summer school holidays: Fri, 18 Dec to Wed, 27 Jan in 54 days
  • Autumn school holidays: Mon, 12 Apr to Fri, 23 Apr in 169 days

Public schools in the Byron Shire. Source: NSW Department of Education · Private schools may differ

🧩 Crossword

Today’s Byron crossword in three levels: 🟢 Easy, 🟡 Medium and 🔴 Hard. Sign in free to keep your streak and best times. Play today’s →

✨ Horoscopes

Your stars for Sunday 25 October. Full moon tonight-ish: big feelings, big fun. This is the Year of the Fire Horse 🐎.


🎂 Add your birthday and we'll set your Western and Vedic signs:

Byron Bay beaches, surf & surf cams

–Water temp
–Waves
–Wind
–UV today

Surf cams

Coastalwatch charges for its live surf cam feed, so we can’t show it here. Nobody pays to be on this site, and we don’t pay to show other people’s paid content either. Have a look on their site: Coastalwatch.

Swim between the red and yellow flags. Patrol times and beach-by-beach info: Beachsafe.

Source: Open-Meteo (modelled, updated hourly). Not for navigation. Which swell and wind suit each beach: surf-forecast.com break guides; patrols from council.

More in Health

PharmaciesOpen ones firstDoctors & clinicsOpen ones firstVetsFor the four-legged localsMedical help you might not know aboutTravel help for city specialist visits (IPTAAS: Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme) and more

Help a brother out

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