NSW leads the way in tackling digital skills shortage

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education

MEDIA RELEASE | 29 November 2023

The NSW Government is joining leaders across government, the digital industry, and education and training providers to address the projected shortage of 85,000 digital workers in NSW by 2030.

Today, the Minister for Skills, TAFE, and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan, officially launched the NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact at NSW Parliament House.

This collaborative effort involves the participation of 37 compact partners, spanning across the highest levels of industry. Combined, compact partners have a reach of 1.7 million students and represent over 340,000 digital workers in NSW.

The compact will promote digital careers across the state to students, parents, and advisors, advancing tech careers in traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, First Nations people, and those residing in regional and remote areas.

The partnership will support industry in developing and implementing new employment pathways, giving new workers on-the-job training experiences to start a long-term career in the digital industry. 

The digital compact aspires to achieve the following milestones:

• Transform the perception of digital careers, enhancing diversity in the sector, fostering welcoming and productive workspaces.

• Collaborate with industry partners to expand and enhance new pathway programs for tech roles, including traineeships and work experiences.

• Extend the reach of mentoring and networking programs to engage a more diverse audience.

• Provide increased opportunities for the people of NSW to reskill or upskill in tech-related roles.

• Establish a collaborative platform with universities, TAFE, school curriculum providers, and industry experts to create a Digital Education Forum dedicated to enhancing tech education and industry partnerships.

• This collaborative effort marks a significant step forward in addressing the digital skills gap in NSW, ensuring a robust and inclusive digital workforce for the future.

For more information visit the NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact.

Government takes next step in fight against scams

Joint Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minster for Communications; and the Hon Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services

MEDIA RELEASE | 30 November 2023

Today, the Albanese Government takes the next step in its commitment to fight scammers, announcing public consultation on proposed tough new, mandatory industry codes for the private sector.

The proposed Scams Code Framework is the next stage in the Government’s fight against the scourge of scams, which cost Australians over $3.1 billion last year.

Government, regulators, and industry have a mutual interest in making sure scams are identified and stopped before they can harm Australian consumers and businesses.

The proposed Framework would set clear roles and responsibilities across the scams ecosystem, with an initial focus on banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms, to make Australia an even harder target for scammers.

The proposed Framework would introduce minimum, consistent obligations for all regulated businesses to prevent, detect, disrupt, and respond to scams. This would be complemented with sector-specific obligations that are tailored to the role of each sector.

Regulated businesses would be expected to have robust measures in place to address the risk of scams on their services. Strong penalties would apply if businesses fail to comply with their obligations.

The consultation paper released today seeks feedback on:

• the design, structure and scope of the proposed Framework

• proposed obligations for regulated businesses to prevent, detect, disrupt and respond to scams, including in the sector-specific codes

• requirements for regulated businesses to develop and maintain an anti-scam strategy

• improving reporting and information sharing arrangements

• establishing clear complaints handling and dispute resolution pathways for consumers, including redress where applicable for consumers when regulated businesses have breached the code

• the role of the regulators that will monitor and enforce the Framework.                                                                                            

The consultation paper can be found on the Treasury website. Individuals interested in participating in the consultation, but who do not wish to make a formal submission, can complete a five-minute survey available here.

Submissions to the consultation and the survey will close on 29 January 2024.

Activating regional, rural and remote communities

Joint Media Release from the Hon Kirsty McBain MP, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and the Territories; and the Hon Catherine King MP, Minster for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

MEDIA RELEASE | 30 November 2023

The Albanese Labor Government continues to invest in the liveability, sustainability and resilience of regional, rural and remote communities – with over $1.5 million in grants flowing to 55 local-led projects across the country.

Delivered through the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s (FRRR) Strengthening Rural Communities program, the grants will support local organisations to uplift their communities, following significant disruption from COVID-19.

From workshops and education programs that will increase community engagement, to improving equipment and facilities at community hubs, – these small-scale projects will be high impact, including:

·         At Beechworth (Victoria), where $10,000 will be used to boost economic and cultural recovery after COVID-19 by holding a festival showcasing public art installations at 15 key locations throughout Beechworth.

·         At Numeralla (NSW), where $9,673 will support the installation of reverse-cycle air conditioning at Numeralla Hall to improve the comfort of this community space.

·         At Dalwallinu (Western Australia), where $10,000 will help vulnerable residents reduce post-pandemic debt by expanding intensive financial counselling to additional Wheatbelt communities.

·         At Wonga Beach (Queensland), where $9,658 will promote post-pandemic social connection by equipping Wonga Beach Primary as a community hub with a defibrillator and outdoor entertaining equipment.

·         At Kingston (South Australia), where $10,000 will support weaving workshops and the creation of a public artwork, led by local First Nations artists – promoting social connection and creative recovery.

·         At Cygnet (Tasmania), where $10,000 will support the Cygnet Living History Museum to purchase new cabinets for the display of cultural artefacts – celebrating and enhancing connections to local history.

·         At Katherine (Northern Territory), where $10,000 will support Camp Quality to deliver educational puppet shows in remote schools – enhancing the wellbeing of children affected by cancer.

The funding is part of the Albanese Government’s $5 million investment from 2022 to 2024 in the Rebuilding Regional Communities stream of the FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities program.

The full list of funded projects and additional information about other grants awarded by the FRRR can be found at: www.frrr.org.au/funding/place/src-rebuilding-regional-communities/

$3 million delivered to help prevent online abuse of women and children

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland, Minster for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 30 November 2023

Seven organisations will share in $3 million in initial grant funding to prevent the abuse of women and children online, as part of a $10 million package funded by the Australian Government.
 
The Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program administered by eSafety supports initiatives aiming to curb technology-facilitated gender-based violence and abuse directed at women and children. This includes abusive technology-facilitated behaviour such as stalking, threats and coercion.
 
Seven grants worth a total of $3 million will be made to a number of community, health and research institutions including:

•  The Settlement Services International’s project to co-design online safety resources for culturally and linguistically diverse women and children;

• The University of Melbourne’s anti-online harassment "AI Ally" software, co-designed with young women to detect and challenge abuse, and link users to victim support services and human-facing resources; and

• The Gippsland Women's Health prevention of violence program, that features a digital platform for community engagement and rural-focused communication and media campaign.

The grant program will deliver $10 million of funding to eligible organisations over at least three funding rounds. eSafety leads the grant program and is responsible for decision-making around successful applications.
 
The Government is also progressing a broader review of Australia’s Online Safety Act to ensure the laws are fit-for-purpose and can meet new and emerging harms. Public consultation on the review will commence in early 2024, and will seek views on any gaps in the existing laws, and what steps Government could take to improve safety online.

More information about the Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program, visit: esafety.gov.au/about-us/what-we-do/our-programs/esafety-grants

Results in on testing fuel consumption in the real world

Media Release from the Hon Catherine King, Minster for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

MEDIA RELEASE | 29 November 2023

The first results of testing to give better information on how much fuel a car may use when it leaves the showroom and goes onto the road have been released.

The Albanese Government is providing $14 million to the Australian Automobile Association over the next four years to test the real-world fuel usage of a range of popular cars, SUVs and utes sold in Australia.

The testing gives consumers information they haven’t previously had about how a car may perform. It is intended to help buyers looking for more efficient and cheaper-to-run cars.

It also helps provide policymakers in Australia and overseas with insights to help develop more accurate laboratory tests for the future.

The first test round of nine vehicles found three vehicles outperforming their lab test results, using less fuel in the real world tests, and five vehicles that used 8 to 13 per cent more than in the laboratory tests.

Three of the vehicles tested produced higher noxious emissions on the road than would be permitted in the applicable laboratory tests for Australian regulated pollutants.

These first tests were conducted in August using strict protocols developed in consultation with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and industry.

Vehicle manufacturers have been consulted prior to the publication of results.

The cars – the first of 200 to be tested – were the Hyundai Kona, Mitsubishi ASX, Toyota RAV4 (petrol) and the Toyota RAV4 (Hybrid), Ford Puma, MG ZS, Hyundai Tucson (diesel), Nissan X-Trail and the GWM Haval Jolion.

The results are available online here.

Modernising Australia's media laws - for all Australians

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 29 November 2023

The Albanese Government is delivering on its election commitment to support access to local TV and free sports coverage in the streaming era, with legislation to establish a new prominence framework and reform the anti-siphoning scheme introduced to Parliament today.
 
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill 2023 marks an important step in bringing the Australia’s regulatory framework for media services into the 21st century.
 
The new prominence framework will ensure consumers can easily find and access free television broadcasting services and broadcasting video-on-demand services on connected television devices.
 
Free-to-air television broadcasting services play a vital role in reflecting Australian culture and supporting our democratic processes by providing local news, current affairs, emergency broadcasting, sport, entertainment and events of public significance – to all Australians and for free.
 
The prominence framework will introduce ‘must carry’ obligations to reduce the risk of free-to-air broadcasting services being crowded out by the larger, international services operating in the Australian market.
 
Following a transition period, manufacturers of connected television devices will have to meet minimum prominence requirements for new devices supplied to the Australian market. The requirements will not apply retrospectively to existing television sets, and will not affect hardware or other ancillary equipment, such as remote controls.
 
The framework will enhance consumer choice and promote a level playing field for Australian free-to-air broadcasters, but will not constrain device manufacturers from promoting or recommending other content and services, or affect the search or customisation functions of a device.
 
Exposure draft regulations will be released in early 2024 to provide greater detail on the specific prominence requirements.
 
The Government is also taking steps to modernise the anti-siphoning scheme – which has been in place for close to 30 years – with a ‘broadcast safety net’ approach that affirms the ongoing importance of free-to-air broadcasting services for access to televised coverage of iconic sporting events for all Australians.
 
A review of the scheme found that its objective to promote free access to televised coverage of events of national importance and cultural significance remains relevant and appropriate, but that the scheme needs to be broadened to incorporate online services.  
 
Streaming services are not currently subject to the scheme, and there is no legal impediment to them acquiring the rights to iconic sporting events ahead of local free-to-air broadcasters.
 
This regulatory gap risks iconic events slipping behind online paywalls, and means Australians could miss out on sports coverage they might otherwise enjoy for free.
 
The reforms will expand the scope of the restriction on the acquisition of rights under the anti-siphoning scheme to include online services, as well as subscription television broadcasting licensees.
 
The Government also proposes to modernise and expand the anti-siphoning list with respect to women’s sports and Para-sports, consistent with the findings of the review of the anti-siphoning scheme.

To view the Exposure Draft list, visit: https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/publications/broadcasting-services-anti-siphoning-list-instrument-year

Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Amendment Determination 2023

The Australian Government is seeking your feedback on an instrument to amend the Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022.

As the online environment evolves, so too must the expectations on digital platforms to protect Australians online. This is your chance to have a say on the new and amended expectations that the Australian Government has for online service providers.

You can read the draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Amendment Determination 2023 (Amendment Determination) and Consultation Paper, and provide a submission by 5pm AEDT on 16 February 2024

Skills Priority List – Stakeholder Survey

Jobs and Skills Australia are requesting your feedback help better understand the skills profile in Australia, which informs the development of the 2024 Skills Priority List (SPL).

If you have on-the-ground knowledge and experience of recruitment activity in your industry and your participation in this survey will enhance the evidence base used to identify occupations in shortage and produce the 2024 SPL.
 The SPL assists policy makers to understand the skills needs of the Australian economy and informs the Jobs and Skills Australia's analysis and advice on potential policy responses to shortages in the Australian labour market.

You can provide your feedback by completing the Jobs and Skills Australia 2024 Skills Priority List (SPL) Stakeholder Survey. The survey collects information on all occupations in the 2022 Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). More information on ANZSCO classifications and skill levels is available at the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Consumer Affairs Ministers committed to protecting consumers

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading

MEDIA RELEASE | 27 November 2023

Commonwealth, State and Territory Consumer Affairs Ministers met on Friday 24 November 2023 with a renewed commitment to collaboration across borders and to strengthen consumer protections.

Ministers attending the meeting, chaired by New South Wales Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, the Hon Anoulack Chanthivong, discussed and agreed on priorities for future work, which include:

• consumer guarantees and supplier indemnification provisions

• protecting consumers and small business from unfair trading practices across the economy

• improved collaboration to combat scams and online fraud

• establishing a designated complaints mechanism within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for consumer and small business advocacy groups to raise systemic issues under consumer law

• implementation of the unfair contract terms reforms and Australian Consumer Law penalties harmonisation.

“Ministers are committed to ensuring that consumers will benefit from improvements to protections, at a state, territory and national level, as part of a nationally coordinated approach,” Minister Chanthivong said.

“It is important that we remain focused on progressing reforms to the Australian Consumer Law to strengthen protections for consumers and small business and improve consumer confidence.”

“The agreed priorities for 2024 build on the important enhancements to consumer protections that have been delivered in 2023, such as strengthening Unfair Contract Term Protections, increasing penalties for breaches of the competition and consumer laws, and establishing the National Anti-Scam Centre.”

Ministers heard from the Consumers’ Federation Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, about key issues impacting consumers and possible areas for policy and law reform.

Ministers welcomed the impending release of the 2023 Australian Consumer Survey, which contains insights from consumers and businesses into existing consumer issues, including lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the survey will be published on the Australian Consumer Law website (https://consumerlaw.gov.au/launch) in coming weeks.

Ministers further welcomed work to develop industry codes outlining the responsibilities of the private sector in relation to scams.

Australian Ministers also committed to improving transparency for consumers by supporting the introduction of country-of-origin labelling requirements for seafood in hospitality settings.

Australian Ministers further agreed to allow tobacco legislation currently administered under the Australian Consumer Law to be consolidated under a more streamlined national tobacco control legislation.

Ministers look forward to continuing to work together closely on progressing these issues.

Attendees to the meeting included:

• Commonwealth Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones

• Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Yvette D’Ath

• South Australian Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Andrea Michaels

• Tasmanian Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs, Madeleine Ogilvie

• Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gabrielle Williams

• Western Australian Minister for Commerce, Sue Ellery.

Senior departmental officials from the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory were also in attendance.

New planning rules to fast track low-rise and mid-rise housing

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces

MEDIA RELEASE | 28 November 2023

The Minns government is confronting the housing crisis with bold reforms to create tens of thousands of new, well-located, low-rise and mid-rise homes.

The government is announcing changes that will fast-track a greater diversity of homes like residential flat buildings of 3 to 6 storeys, terraces, townhouses, duplexes and smaller 1-storey to 2-storey apartment blocks in suburbs where they are not currently allowed.

The reforms create capacity for industry to deliver up to an estimated 112,000 new homes across the Greater Sydney region, Hunter, Central Coast and Illawarra.

This represents 30% of the number of homes NSW needs to meet under its Housing Accord target of 377,000 new homes by 2029.

Currently, each local council has its own rules for what kind of homes can be built in their area. In many local government areas, these rules do not allow the types of homes that we need for the next generation, housing close to transport, infrastructure and social amenity.

In October the government identified a significant gap in the approval of density, with terraces and 1-storey to 2-storey unit blocks allowed under R2 zoning in only 2 of 32 Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) – that’s just 6% of the LEPs across Sydney.

R2 is a zone for land which is made up of low-density housing.

This ‘missing middle’ has meant that low-rise density has been ignored in the face of a growing housing crisis.

Additionally, 60% of R3 zones across Sydney (where multi-dwelling housing is appropriate and should be encouraged) presently prohibit residential flat buildings of any scale.

Details of the proposed changes include allowing:

• dual occupancies (2 separate homes on a single lot), such as duplexes, in all R2 low-density residential zones across all of NSW.

• terraces, townhouses and 2-storey apartment blocks near transport hubs and town centres in R2 low-density residential zones across the Greater Sydney region, Hunter, Central Coast and Illawarra (the Six Cities region).

• mid-rise apartment blocks near transport hubs and town centres in R3 medium-density zones and appropriate employment zones. This will mean more housing just a short 10-minute walk (800m) from transport hubs, shops and amenities.

The government will amend a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) to enact these changes while simultaneously encouraging councils to add these types of dwellings to their own planning rules.

If a local government’s planning rules match – or go further than – this new NSW Government policy, the state government changes will not apply.

The government has previously written to councils, asking them to review local policy settings to allow for more housing in low-density and medium-density zones across their local government area.

National Housing Accord targets were set at the National Cabinet with all 3 levels of government represented.

The plans will go on public exhibition for public feedback from next week.

Terms of Reference for Optus outage post-incident review

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 28 November 2023

The Albanese Government will undertake a review of what industry, government and the community can learn from the recent Optus outage, with a specific focus on emergency calls, customer communications, and complaints handling.
 
The Terms of Reference released today will provide Optus – and the broader telecommunications industry – the opportunity to proactively address key underlying issues that arose in relation to the network outage, while providing the Government with an evidence base for any potential reforms.
 
The Government has appointed Mr Richard Bean to lead the Review. Mr Bean was the Deputy Chair of the ACMA for over seven years, including a period as the Acting Chair.  He has a long and distinguished history of involvement with the communications sector and is currently serving as an Executive Director for Ad Standards and on the Nominations committee of auDA.
 
The Review will report on and make recommendations regarding: 

1. The functioning of Triple Zero during the Outage, including whether changes are required to ensure continued access to Triple Zero during outages, as well as the interactions between industry participants and the Triple Zero Service;

2. The role of Government in managing and responding to national service outages;

3. The adequacy of requirements for customer communication in national service outages;

4. The adequacy of how customer complaints and compensation processes performed for consumers and small business following the outage;

5. The circumstances in which other networks may be relied on to support a network that is subject to a major outage; and

6. Other telecommunications sector implications, including resilience and interdependencies between telecommunications networks.

The Optus outage impacted approximately 10 million people, causing significant disruption to the ability of Australians to communicate, run small businesses, and left some people unable to call emergency services.
 
The Review will consult widely with industry and consumer stakeholders as well as with Australian Government and state and territory agencies, and will provide a report to Government by 29 February 2024.
 
The independent regulator – the Australian Communications and Media Authority – has commenced an assessment to investigate Optus’ compliance with the existing regulatory framework including with the rules requiring that emergency calls are successfully carried from mobile carriers to the Emergency Call Person (Telstra).

Successful mid-band spectrum auction promotes connectivity

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 23 November 2023

The Federal Government congratulates the independent Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for the successful completion of the 3.4/3.7 GHz bands auction.

574 of the 588 available lots have been allocated to support the rollout of 5G and fixed wireless services in Australia.

Telstra, TPG, Optus and NBN Co all secured spectrum licences as a result of the 3.4/3.7 GHz bands spectrum auction announced today – raising a total of $721.8 million.

Licences for winning bidders in the 3.4 GHz band will commence immediately and will be valid until December 2030. Successful bidders in the 3.7 GHz band will enjoy 20-year licences, commencing in January 2024.

This auction is a great outcome and delivers increased investment opportunity for both 5G mobile services and fixed wireless broadband deployment across Australia. Mid-band spectrum, including the 3.4 and 3.7 GHz bands, is a highly valuable component of mobile and fixed wireless networks, given it can provide a good balance between capacity and coverage in metro and regional areas.

The 3.4/3.7 GHz bands auction was the first spectrum allocation to use the new auction capability funded by the Government in the October 2022-23 Federal Budget. High value spectrum licences are allocated via auction to secure the best outcomes for the Australian economy.

Spectrum is a finite natural resource most electronic devices use to carry information, including smartphones, satellites, tablets, televisions, radio and radars. The Government aims to promote the long-term public interest through the efficient use of spectrum, best achieved through competitive allocation.

The full auction results have been published on the ACMA’s website: www.acma.gov.au.

Fresh approach to funding digital solutions to target housing supply and frontline services

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government

MEDIA RELEASE | 22 November 2023

Community is at the heart of the NSW Government’s reset of the Digital Restart Fund (DRF), with $100 million now aimed at finding digital solutions to address the state’s biggest challenges including housing supply, frontline service delivery and climate change.

As part of a major shift in how the NSW Government prioritises digital investment, funding will be targeted at 5 new focus areas that better align with the needs of the state’s residents as cost-of-living and environmental pressures rise.

Under the changes, digital investment will focus on housing supply, support for frontline and essential workers, efficient energy use and protections for biodiversity and the natural environment, reducing cyber risk, and the accessibility of government services.

Under the changes, projects prioritised for funding under the DRF will include:

• Projects which make it easier, safer, and simpler for frontline and essential workers to deliver services.

• Projects with outcomes targeted at speeding up the supply of housing and acceleration of the housing planning cycle.

• Projects which increase accessibility of government services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, regional, remote and rural communities, seniors, people with a disability, and people experiencing social issues and disadvantage.

• Projects targeted at driving more efficient energy use and supporting biodiversity and the natural environment.

• Projects aimed at reducing cyber security risk.

NSW Government agencies have been asked to submit applications to the DRF with a focus on the new priority areas.

Major projects delivered through the DRF include a project to uplift the digital literacy of western Sydney residents, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to irrigate and cool Sydney Olympic Park and mitigate the ‘Urban Heat Island effect’ in surrounding areas.

A project using AI to help prevent rubbish entering Sydney Harbour has also been funded under the DRF. Smart sensors, which have been rolled out to the Blacktown, Parramatta and Northern Beaches local government areas, detect the types of rubbish entering waterways and inform stormwater managers when rubbish collection points need to be emptied. 

Through the DRF, the NSW Government is working to enhance digital innovation and transform services by streamlining planning, funding, risk mitigation and delivery processes to ensure government agencies meet the needs of NSW residents.

NSW Government announces landmark industrial reforms

Joint Media Release from the NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, and the NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety

MEDIA RELEASE | 23 November 2023

Nurses, paramedics, police, child protection workers, firefighters, cleaners and many more essential workers are set to benefit from landmark industrial reforms that will be introduced into Parliament today.

The reforms will remove the power to cap wages for good, future proofing the New South Wales industrial system against wage suppression.

The reforms will bring in a “mutual gains” model of negotiation, where agencies and unions will be required to sit down together to find mutually agreed improvements to the working lives of essential workers.

It will be supported by the Treasury’s productivity unit to link pay rises to improvements in public services.

The Industrial Relations Commission will instead be required to take into consideration the Government’s fiscal position and outlook.

The Industrial Relations Commission will also facilitate improvements to conditions while taking into account the fiscal position and outlook of the state.

As part of the reforms, an Industrial Court will have the power to bring unions and government agencies together at the negotiating table to resolve disputes.

Specialised judges will be appointed to hear and resolve workplace health and safety matters and underpayments. As of 18 October, 49 people have already died in workplaces in NSW, more than one death a week.

The reforms will lead to safer and more productive workplaces for every person in New South Wales.

Summary of Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2023

• Abolish section 146C which provides the government the power to regulate a wages cap.

• Require the Industrial Relations Commission to consider “the fiscal position and outlook of the New South Wales Government”.

• Establish a specialised Industrial Court and Commission, whose jurisdiction will include:

  • Issuing orders to resolve a dispute and issuing fines to ensure parties comply with those orders

  • Workplace health and safety

  • Underpayments

• Establish a cooperative model of negotiation – “Mutual Gains Bargaining”.

• Introduce a new objective for the Commission to consider attraction and retention issues.

What is Mutual Gains Bargaining?

Mutual Gains Bargaining is a new cooperative negotiation model for the government and the unions which represents the state’s workforce. It will be supported by the Treasury’s productivity unit to link pay rises to innovation and productivity in the delivery of essential public services.

Mutual Gains Bargaining is defined under the Act:

• Mutual gains bargaining is to be a collaborative approach to bargaining

• Parties to the bargaining are to identify and communicate their key needs to reach an agreement that maximises common interests and reconciles conflicted interests

• The negotiations as consensus-seeking and the parties work together to solve problems

• The bargaining aims to create, maintain or strengthen good relationships between parties

National Ministerial forum discusses reforms to prevent child sexual abuse

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Families and Communities

MEDIA RELEASE | 25 November 2023

Federal, state and territory governments have met to discuss a national information sharing scheme to better combat child sexual abuse.

Participants at the one-off National Ministerial Forum on Child Safety on Friday reaffirmed commitment to nationally consistent child safety reforms in response to the shocking allegations brought to light in August by Operation Tenterfield.

The Australian Federal Police investigation led to a former childcare worker being charged with 1623 child abuse offences against 91 children. The alleged offences took place in New South Wales, Queensland and overseas.

Following the revelations, the NSW Premier Chris Minns, NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington and the Queensland Government called for a meeting to discuss ways to strengthen national information sharing arrangements, and to deliver better outcomes for children and young people. 

The National Ministerial Forum on Child Safety was hosted by the Commonwealth Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus.

At the Forum, NSW led discussions seeking jurisdictions’ agreement to improve information sharing across agencies and jurisdictions, as recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Minister Washington highlighted the need to work towards national reform and consistency to improve child safety across Australia.

The NSW proposals were unanimously supported by all jurisdictions at the Forum.

Jurisdictions reaffirmed commitment to a suite of child safety reforms, emphasising the need to ensure national consistency to protect Australia’s children. This included:

• prioritising working with children check harmonisation, ensuring this work complements broader worker screening reforms

• adoption and alignment of reportable conduct schemes

• renewed commitment to embedding the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations in legislation, as NSW has done with amendments to the Children’s Guardian Act 2019

• raising awareness and understanding of child safety issues

• possible legislative and administrative arrangements for an information sharing scheme as recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

It is essential that all jurisdictions partner together to educate, prevent and respond to child protection matters.

The Ministerial Forum provided an opportunity to prioritise and shape future policy discussions. This includes commitment to aligning existing reforms to ensure national consistency, and tasking officials to consider additional reforms.

Exploring modular housing to deliver more social homes sooner

Joint Media Release from the NSW Premier, and NSW Minister for Housing

MEDIA RELEASE| 27 November 2023

A new cross government taskforce will meet for the first time today to provide expert industry advice to the NSW Government to explore the use of modular housing to deliver much needed social homes for people in NSW.

Modular housing has been successfully used in NSW, other states and around the world to provide quick and easy housing solutions.

Additionally, the cost of building modular housing is expected to decrease as we scale up and achieve efficiencies of scale in manufacturing.

The NSW Government is committed to looking at how we can use these innovative new ways to build more social housing and help strengthen the safety net for those experiencing housing insecurity.

At the recent state budget, an initial investment of $10 million was set aside at part of a $224 million Essential Housing Package to address the historic neglect of new social housing supply and trial innovative solutions to get people off the social housing waitlist.

That process begins today with the cross-industry taskforce of representatives from peak bodies including PreFab Aus, Shelter NSW, Community Housing Industry Association Local Government NSW, Property Council of Australia, Government Architects, Industry suppliers and union representatives. alongside people with lived experience of social housing.

The taskforce will among other things:

• investigate innovative modern methods of construction (MMC), including modular housing

• advise on the role MMC could play in delivering new housing sooner

• examine the highest standard designs in line with the NSW Land and Housing Corporation’s (LAHC) best-practice guidelines

• investigate a wide range of innovative, high-quality, high-durability and eco-friendly modern construction products.

Modular housing is especially suitable to regional areas as planning regulations are already in place and the offsite construction of modular housing can reduce costs and increase speed of construction.

The taskforce will also actively work with local councils to determine sites for the modular housing.

Exact locations are yet to be settled but there are several local councils who have expressed interest to be a part of this exciting project.

There is also the potential to use surplus public land identified as part of a statewide audit, identifying land that be rezoned for housing and associated uses.

The advisory task force will operate for up to 2 years and be managed by Homes NSW, and forms part of its ongoing work to deliver more homes and better homes for people in need.

Hay swimming like never before

Joint Media Release from the Hon Kristy McBain, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories; Deborah O’Neill, Senator for New South Wales; and Carol Oatway, Hay Shire Council Mayor

MEDIA RELEASE | 27 November 2023

The Albanese Labor Government continues to support Hay Shire Council deliver high priority local road and community infrastructure projects, with the replacement of the amenities building at the John Houston Memorial Swimming Pool in Hay now complete.

The new building will provide modern amenities with dedicated areas, including:

• private change rooms

• swimming club area

• canteen

• kitchen

• medical room

• an office

The replacement was made possible with over $712,000 in funding from the Albanese Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program.

It is part of $2.7 million committed to Hay Shire Council under LRCI – which is supporting a range of projects that create local job opportunities and have long-lasting benefits in this region.

The Government has committed $3.25 billion to the LRCI Program over four phases, with every local government in all 150 electorates across Australia supported through this funding.

For more information on the LRCI Program, visit: https://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/about/local-initiatives/local-roads-and-community-infrastructure-program.

Tens of thousands more fee-free TAFE places for NSW

Media Release from the NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education

MEDIA RELEASE | 23 November 2023

The Federal and State governments today announced a further 147,400 fee-free TAFE places will be available in NSW over the next 3 years, giving more people the opportunity to study for future jobs in areas where the economy needs them most.

The places are made possible through Commonwealth Government funding of $130 million, as the governments partner-up to address persistent skills shortages.

The investment also builds on the success of Fee-Free TAFE in 2023, which attracted record enrolments in NSW. As at 30 June 2023, there were:

• over 20,700 enrolments in the care sector  

• over 6400 enrolments in the technology and digital sector

• over 5800 enrolments in the construction sector, and

• over 5200 enrolments in agriculture.

Fee-Free TAFE has resulted in considerable savings for students in NSW. 

Students studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care or a Certificate III in School Based Education Support could save up to $1600, and those looking to build a career pathway through a Certificate III in Individual Support could save up to $1450.  

The investment comes less than a month after a national agreement between the Albanese and Minns governments was reached that will unlock billions of dollars to build the skills and prosperity of NSW.

The landmark 5-year National Skills Agreement (NSA) – which will take effect from January next year – was developed under principles agreed by National Cabinet and will embed national cooperation and strategic investment in NSW vocational education and training sector.

The Albanese government is prepared to invest $3.8 billion, to support the Minns government to expand and transform access to the VET sector, support quality training and implement reforms to address critical skills needs.

New program puts consumers in the driver's seat for safer vehicles

Media Release from Senator the Hon Carol Brown, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport

MEDIA RELEASE | 23 November 2023

The Commonwealth Government has committed $16.3 million to ANCAP Safety to deliver the Australian Government’s New Car Safety Ratings stream, supporting consumers to choose safer vehicle models.

The Car Safety Ratings Program supports independent vehicle safety assessments, which provide information for consumers on the level of safety provided by both new and used vehicles.

Focusing on new vehicles, ANCAP safety ratings show how well a vehicle performs in protecting its occupants from death or serious injury, should a crash occur, and in crash avoidance.

Over the next five years, the program will support ANCAP’s core star ratings for new vehicles including EVs, hybrids and other alternative-powered vehicles.  It will also support new safety gradings for commercial vans and large utility vehicles.

Having published its first safety ratings in 1993, ANCAP is the independent vehicle safety assessment and rating organisation for Australia and New Zealand, conducting crash tests and performance assessments on vehicle safety features and technologies.  This year marks its 30th Anniversary.

The Car Safety Ratings Program is supported by an Australian Government commitment of $16.5 million over five years from 2023-24.

For more information on ANCAP safety ratings visit www.ancap.com.au.

Albanese Government takes major steps forward to improve online safety

Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications

MEDIA RELEASE | 22 November 2023

The Albanese Government will strengthen its online safety expectations and review the effectiveness of existing laws regulating digital service providers, to ensure these protections are fit-for-purpose in a rapidly evolving online environment.
 
The Online Safety Act empowers the online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, to keep Australians safe online. The Act includes the Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) which sets out the Government’s expectations of industry with regard to user safety, and improves transparency and accountability through mandatory reporting.
 
The Government will publicly consult on amendments to the existing BOSE Determination to ensure it remains relevant in response to new and emerging harms.
 
The expanded BOSE Determination will include – among other things:

• Ensuring the best interests of the child is a primary consideration for all services used by children, and that services should implement measures to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate content;

• An express focus on minimising the creation and amplification of unlawful or harmful material through generative artificial intelligence;

• Developing processes for detecting and addressing hate speech which breaches a service’s terms of use; and

• That service providers publish regular transparency reports to explain steps being taken to keep Australians safe online.

The aim is to better protect Australians – including vulnerable groups – from harmful content, while ensuring industry plays its role to keep Australians safe.
 
The consultation on the BOSE Determination complements the Government’s broader work into Safe and Responsible AI, led by Minister Ed Husic. Earlier this month, Australia – alongside 27 countries – signed the Bletchley Declaration affirming that AI should be designed and developed in a manner that is safe, human-centric, trustworthy and responsible.
 
The Government will also bring forward the legislated review of the Online Safety Act as part of a holistic assessment of the framework, with public consultation to commence in early 2024.
 
The Government has appointed Ms Delia Rickard PSM to lead the review. Ms Rickard was Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for more than a decade and has extensive experience in regulating consumer harms.
 
Government invites individuals, civil society groups and industry to have their say on the effectiveness of Australia’s online safety laws through these processes.
 
Public consultation on amendments to the BOSE Determination open today and conclude on 16 February 2024.  To make a submission, visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/have-your-say/online-safety-basic-online-safety-expectations-amendment-determination-2023