Category: Australian News

Tradies including carpenters, joiners, bricklayers, builders, electricians and plumbers, as well as a raft of other licensed occupations such as teachers and property agents, could find it easier to do business across state and territory borders with a new agreement that will see Council on Federal Financial Relations (CFFR) develop a framework for occupational licences to be automatically recognised across jurisdictions.
Under red-tape reduction reforms agreed to by Commonwealth, state and territory treasurers, automatic recognition will allow individuals who hold an occupational licence in one Australian jurisdiction to undertake equivalent work in another jurisdiction under that licence.
CFFR will prioritise implementation of a uniform scheme to support widespread occupational mobility via automatic recognition, with ambition to take effect from 1 January 2021, subject to the passage of legislation in individual jurisdictions.
The current mutual recognition regime for licensed occupations across Australia is complex, costly, and imposes an excessive regulatory burden on businesses that operate across jurisdictions. Currently, there are over 800 different licences in manual trades alone, with around 20 per cent of workers in the economy required to be licensed.
Automatic recognition will help to address impediments to labour mobility across jurisdictions by allowing a person who is licensed or registered in one jurisdiction to be already considered registered in another in an equivalent occupation.
A uniform scheme will make it easier and less expensive for businesses, professionals and workers to move or operate within jurisdictions and across Australia, thereby creating jobs, increasing output, competition and innovation, and resulting in lower prices for consumers and businesses.
It is vital to ensuring Australians, including displaced workers, can take up new job opportunities wherever they arise as the economy recovers and restrictions on movement are eased from COVID-19.
CFFR will report back to National Cabinet in October 2020 on the progress in delivering a uniform scheme for automatic recognition of licensed occupations to take effect on 1 January 2021.

The Australian Government will provide an additional $31.9 million to create 15 mental health clinics across Victoria and further enhance essential support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian Government recognises the ongoing Victorian restrictions needed to stop the spread of the virus are having a significant impact on the mental health of individuals and communities in Victoria.
$26.9 million of the new funding will establish 15 dedicated mental health clinics across Victoria, with nine clinics in Greater Melbourne and six in regional Victoria.
The clinics will be located at existing GP clinics, headspace centres or other community sites where people usually access general health care. A list of these locations will be announced within the coming weeks.
The clinics will support GPs by providing access to multidisciplinary teams of mental health workers, including psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers, and alcohol and drug workers.
The clinics will provide on-site mental health support, but may also arrange referrals to more intensive mental health care or social supports if needed. This could include referral into emergency care or into an in-patient facility in a private hospital.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there had been a concerning rise in self-harm injuries presenting to hospital, and a spike in the use of services like Beyond Blue, Lifeline and Kids Helpline.
Data shows there has been a 33 per cent rise in children and young people in Victoria presenting to hospital with self-harm injuries over the past six weeks, compared to a year earlier. In the past 4 weeks, Victorian use was 90 per cent higher than the rest of the country for Beyond Blue, 22 per cent higher for Lifeline and five per cent higher for Kids Helpline.
Victorian demand for Medicare Benefit Schedule mental health services is also up six per cent on this time last year.
“While we’re fighting the spread of this virus in Victoria we also need to guard against the devastating mental health impacts it is having,” the Prime Minister said.
“That’s why I asked Dr Ruth Vine as our Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, and our Mental Health Commissioner Christine Morgan, to look at what else we could do to support the mental health of Victorians in the face of the latest outbreak and the effect it is having.
“This package is about helping people access mental health support as early as possible and as conveniently as possible.
“To assist co-ordination on the ground in Victoria, Premier Andrews and I have agreed to establish a new Victorian Mental Health Taskforce to ensure the latest initiatives are implemented quickly.
“Our investment in these new mental health clinics and targeted digital and phone services builds on the more than $500 million we’ve invested since the start of this year in mental health services and support, including 10 extra Medicare-subsidised psychology therapy sessions, dedicated phone services and the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Plan.”
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, said: “The clinics will play a key role in supporting our emergency departments, hospitals and GPs by providing accessible mental health care.”
Dr Ruth Vine, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, said: “It means when you feel you need to see someone quickly about your mental health, you don’t have to go straight to the emergency department. There will be places in your community you can go. There will be trained professionals ready to help you.”
The 15 clinics will also enable Commonwealth funded Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in Victoria to provide mental health support to older Victorians and those in the aged care system. Residents, their families and carers, will be able to access mental health workers, including psychologists, at these clinics either in person, or via telephone or digital services where needed. This is in addition to the $82.5 million the Australian Government has provided through PHNs for in-reach psychological services in residential aged care facilities.
The Government has already committed $19 million nationally in 2020-21 for PHNs to commission additional mental health nursing services or equivalent support for older people who are experiencing social isolation or loneliness as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government also provided $10 million nationally over two years from 2019-20 to expand the Community Visitors Scheme to further support older Australians to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, with telephone and digital contact provided where physical visits are not possible.
The dedicated mental health clinics will also provide a place to go for those with family and friends in the aged care system who are worried about their loved ones and require mental health support.
The PHNs based in Victoria will be tasked with the establishment of the new clinics, and will work closely with key GP clinics, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO) and designated headspace centres. The clinics will be funded for 12 months.
In addition to the clinics, $5 million in funding will be provided to enhance digital and phone services for specific groups that are experiencing significant challenges during the additional restrictions. This includes those living with an eating disorder where physical isolation at home can greatly exacerbate their mental illness. The funding will ensure services such as the Eating Disorders National Support line, 1800 ED HOPE, have the capacity to provide the specialist support needed. An additional $2 million will help evaluate the impact of this investment and target any emerging mental health needs.
Christine Morgan, CEO of the National Mental Health Commission said: “While the Government has substantially increased funding for national phone lines and online services to meet increased demand during the pandemic, we know that some groups within our population require more specialised online support. This initiative will provide that vital additional care.”
These new measures recognise that many people in areas impacted by the second wave of the pandemic will be facing escalating mental health challenges. They build on the recent additional mental health support provided – including 10 additional Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions for people subject to further restrictions; $12 million to bolster mental health support lines and headspace outreach; and the more than $500 million additional funding for mental health and suicide prevention announced since January, including Medicare subsidies for telehealth consultations.
Our Government has responded early and rapidly to address the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to demonstrate our firm commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, with estimated expenditure for mental health services and suicide prevention to be more than $5.2 billion in 2019-20.

Public and private service providers are invited to apply for grants totalling $45.5 million, to develop regional radiation treatment centres for local cancer patients in ten regions across four states.
The Australian Government is providing the funding to improve access to radiation therapy for thousands of cancer patients in rural and regional areas of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
Currently, cancer patients in these areas have to travel to major centres to obtain their radiation therapy. This can be an exhausting and expensive process, adding to the stress of a cancer diagnosis on the individual, their family and carers.
The Government’s investment will reduce the need to travel outside the region and allow many patients to access all of their cancer treatment services in one place.
Public and private service providers are encouraged to form consortia to apply for the funding, as this will maximise their ability to provide the new or expanded cancer treatment centres.
New and innovative approaches to delivering radiation therapy services in regional Australia are encouraged.
The locations of the new radiation cancer treatment centres were announced in 2019:

• South Coast (Bega /Eurobodalla), NSW.
• Grafton and Clarence Valley, NSW.
• Far North Coast, NSW.
• Mid North Coast (Nambucca, Kempsey), NSW.
• Taree, NSW.
• Armidale, NSW.
• Western NSW (Griffith).
• Gladstone, Qld.
• East Gippsland, Vic.
• Mt Gambier and Limestone Coast, SA.

Funding for this initiative comes from the Australian Government’s Health Infrastructure Program, an important part of our long term health reform agenda.
The program is building, upgrading and expanding vital health infrastructure to ensure Australia’s health system is equipped to meet current and future health needs.
The open competitive grants process for the $45.5 million, which will be provided over five years from 2020-21, will open today at 4pm (Thursday 13 August 2020) for eight weeks and close on Wednesday 7 October 2020.
Full details can be found on GrantConnect.

The Australian Government is committed to supporting Australians who are hard of hearing through improvements to its hearing services.
The social and economic impacts of hearing loss are significant, and it is vital the Hearing Services Program continues to keep pace with demand and improvements in technology.
As the nation’s population ages, the impact of hearing loss could double, with 7.8 million Australians predicted to be affected in 2060.
In order to address the challenges faced by Australians who are hard of hearing, the Commonwealth is working with State and Territory authorities to implement the 2019 Roadmap for Hearing Health and delivering investment and reforms that align with the Roadmap, including:

• The national rollout of innovative hearing screening tools for primary health care clinics in remote areas, through a collaboration between Hearing Australia and the Royal Flying Doctors Service
• The development of nationally consistent clinical standards for paediatric audiology and teleaudiology by the Ear Science Institute and Audiology Australia
• Roll-out of a free sign language interpreting service for senior Australians, being delivered by Auslan Connections
• Funding the National Acoustic Laboratory to examine the clinical and economic benefits of upgrading sound processors in clients aged over 65
• A review of the Minimum Hearing Loss Threshold used under the Hearing Services Program, also being undertaken by the National Acoustic Laboratory

Minister Coulton reiterated his desire for the Government’s hearing services to be fit-for-purpose, client-focussed, and prepared for the future.
“The client must sit front and centre when we consider how best to deliver the services Australians need.
“Technology is changing, markets are changing, and our population is changing.
“If we are to ensure the best future for all Australians we must identify and address the barriers faced by all Australians in accessing services,” said Minister Coulton.
“It is therefore necessary and timely to conduct a review of settings in the Hearing Services Program.”
The Hearing Services Review, which will examine settings within the Hearing Services Program to ensure its continued performance, will be conducted by an expert panel consisting of Professor Michael Woods and Dr Zena Burgess PhD.
“Both Prof Woods and Dr Burgess bring with them a wealth of experience and understanding and having discussed the Review with them, they are ready and will launch into their work,” Minister Coulton said.
“I encourage all stakeholders, both within and beyond the sector, to contribute to this review to ensure it is informed with the most conclusive evidence it possibly can.”
This review is part of a suite of efforts underway to improve the lives of Australians who are hard of hearing, regardless where.
The Hearing Services Review is underway and will deliver its findings to Government in July 2021.
Further information about the review – including its Terms of Reference – is available at www.health.gov.au/hearing-review

Today is Red Nose Day, a day to remember loss and to spread the message to future mothers that the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death can be reduced.
While there has been a reduction in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in Australia, almost 3,000 young babies still die suddenly and unexpectedly each year.
Of 2,924 babies who died in the perinatal period in 2017, three quarters were stillborn. The others died within four weeks of birth.
Every death of a baby is a devastating event for the family. It can lead to ongoing personal, social and financial consequences for parents and families.
In some cases, stillbirth and neonatal death can be prevented. Last December, the Morrison Government announced that $3 million would be provided for a national awareness campaign to demystify stillbirth and reduce its incidence.
The campaign is expected to begin in late September 2020. It will educate women about the importance of three actions during their pregnancy, which can help their unborn babies:

• being aware of fetal movements and reporting changes to their health professional;
• sleeping on their sides; and
• quitting smoking during pregnancy.

The campaign is being developed by Red Nose Limited and the University of Queensland’s Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence. They are working in partnership with Sands Australia, the Stillbirth Foundation, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The campaign will include elements targeted to groups of women with a higher risk of stillbirth, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, some migrant and refugee women, and women from rural and remote communities.
To support parents and families after the death of a baby or toddler, the Morrison Government also provides funding to Red Nose’s telephone and online support service.
The Red Nose Bereavement Support Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be accessed by contacting 1300 308 307.
The Government has also committed $43.9 million for a new Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program to support the mental health of expectant and new parents experiencing or at risk of perinatal mental illness or grieving the loss of a baby, and $1.3 million to Sands Australia for an intensive support service to families affected by stillbirth. The Sands service provides support in hospital that continues when the family returns home.
We continue to work with states and territories, medical, health professionals, and other stakeholders to finalise the first National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan.
The Plan is expected to be released in late 2020 and will provide a national strategic approach to reducing stillbirth in Australia, as well as ensure families affected by stillbirth receive respectful and supportive bereavement care.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said the federal government’s move to punish students who struggle to find their feet at university is all about saving money, and nothing to do with ‘putting students’ interests first’.
Senator Faruqi said:
“There’s no doubt some students struggle at university, but choosing to punish rather than support them makes no sense.
“We should be resourcing universities to help struggling students, not denying those students government support to finish their studies.
“I’m really concerned this approach will target and harm disadvantaged students, who are already at greater risk of dropping out.
“The Liberals are more concerned about saving money than helping students get through university.
“Years of government cuts have prevented universities from supporting at-risk students. Now the government is trying to blame universities and wash their hands of responsibility.
“We should be investing our time and money in building well-funded, fee-free university and TAFE. Instead, all the Liberals are interested in doing is cutting uni funding, hiking up fees, and punishing students who fall through the cracks,” she said.

With the Liberals needing Senate support for their plans to slash JobKeeper payments to low-income earners, the Australian Greens have described Labor’s approach to JobKeeper cuts as two-faced, urging Labor to stop playing double games and instead fully abandon the opposition’s plans to support the Liberals’ cuts.
After months of campaigning for cuts to payments for people previously earning less than $1,500, on the day that the Morrison government announced cuts to JobKeeper, Anthony Albanese said:
“It’s good that the government’s finally woken up to some of the waste in this scheme” – RN Breakfast 21 July 2020
But today the Australian Financial Review is reporting that “There have been discussions at senior levels in the Opposition about fighting for higher rates” in the new two-tiered system, as apparently “Labor believes supports should not be pulled from the economy when there are nothing to replace them with, especially given the increased volatility caused by the Victorian coronavirus catastrophe.”
“When the government announced JobKeeper cuts last month, Labor was keen to claim credit, having championed cuts specifically to 900,000 of the lowest paid workers,” Greens Leader Adam Bandt said.
“Now we’re to believe that Labor has rediscovered its concern about cutting JobKeeper. Apparently now they still want it cut, but just not quite as much as the Liberals.”
“JobKeeper should not be cut for low-income earners at all. Many of these people were in low-paid, low-hours insecure work, and just as they start getting something close to a living income, Liberal and Labor line up to cut their incomes.
“Instead of playing a double game, feigning opposition to the very JobKeeper cuts they called for, Labor should join with the Greens and oppose any cuts to JobKeeper payments. As the experience in Victoria shows, Australia is still in the middle of fighting this pandemic, and now is not the time to cut support to low-income earners,” Bandt said.

Australian Greens Youth spokesperson, and Australia’s youngest Senator, Jordon Steele-John has called for greater engagement with young people to help shape our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today is International Youth Day and the theme for 2020 is Youth Engagement for Global Action, which seeks to highlight the need for greater engagement with young people to enhance formal institutional politics and process at the local, national and global level.
“This International Youth Day the future has never looked more challenging for young people,” Senate Steele-John said.
“As a result there has never been a better time or a more urgent need to listen to, and engage, with young people than the crossroads we now find ourselves at.
“We must take urgent action on Climate Change within the next decade or it will be my generation, and the generations after mine, that will pay the heaviest price in terms of global heating, mass extinction and resource pressures globally.
“Unemployment is higher than it’s ever been, the workforce is becoming increasingly casualised and long term cuts to the tertiary education sector mean that job prospects for young people are bleak.
“This dual economic and climate crises has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is young people who are feeling it the hardest.
“It’s clear from the lack of action on climate change, sustained political attacks from those in power on funding for, and access to, our tertiary institutions, and the fact that work has never been more insecure that only the Greens care about creating a future for all of us!”
The Greens’ plan to empower young people:

1. Reinstate funding for National Youth Week;
2. Reinstate funding for the national youth peak body;
3. Reestablish a Federal Minister for Youth (independent of Sport)
4. Give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote; and
5. Implement a Youth Jobs guarantee to help young people to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.