16 News

Veterans are taking up the opportunity to get the skills they need for in-demand jobs as part of the NSW Government’s investment in fee-free training.
 
Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens said the Veterans Skills Program enables veterans and their partners to upskill or retrain for job opportunities in industries like digital skills, community services and construction.
 
“We want to allow veterans to add to their unique skills and attributes so they can get the jobs they want post-service, particularly in industries experiencing skills shortages,” Mr Henskens said.
 
“This program is about working with employers, industry and veterans groups to identify skills gaps and provide training to help people transition to civilian jobs.”
 
Minister for Transport and Veterans David Elliott said more than 550 people have already taken up the opportunity to get the skills they need for the jobs they want.
 
“For those seeking a career change this program can help them learn new skills and obtain qualifications to complement their existing ADF attributes, while for those who want to work in civilian defence-related roles, this training provides them with the chance to develop additional skills and knowledge,” Mr Elliott said.
 
“These types of training programs are vital in helping our veterans have a smoother transition from military service to civilian life.”
 
Thales is one of the companies committed to providing training and development opportunities for veterans through the program. Thales Australia Vice President Above Water Systems Max Kufner said the training was helping veterans go from strength to strength in the workplace.
 
“This program has provided an opportunity for teams across our Garden Island Defence Precinct, Rydalmere and HMAS Waterhen sites to participate in meaningful training opportunities that they may not otherwise have had access to,” Mr Kufner said.
 
“The outcomes from this training have been impressive and some of the team have changed roles and received promotions as a result.”
 
For more information, visit https://education.nsw.gov.au/skills-nsw/veterans.

The Illawarra community will soon see construction start on the new state-of-the-art $700 million Shellharbour Hospital, which will include integrated health services and a multi-deck hospital car park.
 
The NSW Government has acquired the preferred greenfield site for the new Shellharbour Hospital at Dunmore Road, Dunmore under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991, enabling construction to begin by March 2023.
 
“This is a fantastic milestone for one of the state’s biggest health infrastructure projects in the heart of the Illawarra community, which can expect to see its new first class hospital up and running by 2027,” Mr Hazzard said.
 
“This site for the new Shellharbour Hospital was selected after a public site selection process and it provides space for future expansion to meet the healthcare needs of the growing community.
 
“A new multi-deck hospital car park will be built on the Dunmore site which is also well connected to road and rail networks, to ensure easy access for the whole community.”
 
The NSW Government is providing $570 million for the project, with the remaining funding being provided from the Commonwealth Government. The hospital is expected to include:

• Expanded emergency services;
• Increased surgical capacity;
• Rehabilitation and aged care services;
• Acute medical services;
• New mental health services in contemporary, patient-centred facilities;
• Renal dialysis;
• Outpatients and ambulatory care services; and
• A new multi-storey car park and improved public transport links.

 
As part of the integrated project, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District will expand its services at Bulli Hospital and add palliative care and rehabilitation beds at Wollongong Hospital while the new Shellharbour Hospital is being built.
 
Parliamentary Secretary for Wollongong and the Illawarra Peter Poulos announced the site selection process for the new Warrawong Community Health Centre has also now been finalised.
 
“Following significant review of local site options, the brand-new Warrawong Community Health Centre will be built on the existing Port Kembla Hospital site, to the south east of the hospital,” Mr Poulos said.    
 
“This means construction can begin sooner, so the local health district can continue to deliver quality community based health services to the region from this well-known and iconic location.”
 
Mr Poulos said the Port Kembla Hospital, which was opened in 1960, is coming to the end of its useful life and planning continues for the gradual relocation of health services to purpose-built facilities throughout the LHD over the next few years. 
 
“Ongoing consultation with our stakeholders and community members is a vital part of the process and we look forward to working with the community on both exciting projects in the coming months,” Mr Poulos said.
 
The NSW Government is investing a record $11.9 billion in health infrastructure over the four years to 2025-26, with nearly a third of the capital allocation in this financial year going towards regional and rural health facilities.
Since 2011, the NSW Government has delivered more than 180 hospitals and health facilities across NSW, with more than 130 currently underway – of those, more than 90 are in rural and regional areas.

Customers and businesses across NSW can have confidence their tradies are appropriately licenced for the job with an enhanced public register under trial and the Service NSW Business Profile making it easier than ever to check a credential.
 
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said the updated public register website would allow customers to search licence records or business registrations and help ensure they hire an appropriately qualified tradesperson.
 
“Whether you’re hiring a plumber or a builder, the NSW Government is improving transparency and the way customers can get the information they need to make informed decisions,” Mr Dominello said.
 
“Supporting the digital licences we have put in the ServiceNSW app such as the Digital Contractor Licence and the Digital White Card which customers can scan the QR code to verify, the enhanced public register makes it quick and easy for customers to check their tradie’s records.
 
“It also includes a timeline capturing licence history and allows customers to view licence activity for approvals and compliance items, such as whether the licence was previously cancelled or suspended.”
 
The enhanced public register includes other trade related licences such as white cards and high risk work licences, which were previously not on the same one-stop public register.
 
Customers across NSW can also use the enhanced public register to check for owner builder permits, conveyancer licences, registered surveyors, security licences, vessel registrations, traffic control work cards, asbestos demolition providers and charitable fundraising organisations, with more licences to be added in coming months.
 
Tradespersons who run a business can use their Service NSW Business Profile to check and manage their licences and those of their employees and sub-contractors to easily stay on top of compliance obligations.
 
Minister for Fair Trading Eleni Petinos said more than 5,600 homebuilding complaints were received in 2021 by NSW Fair Trading, with more than 600 of those related to unlicenced tradies.
 
“It is important consumers and businesses across NSW protect themselves and their investments by making sure they hire the right people for the job,” Ms Petinos said.
 
“We are committed to providing awareness and working with businesses to streamline compliance and make it accessible and convenient.”
 
“The enhanced public register allows business owners to easily manage essential compliance checks and spend more time focused on running and growing their business.”
 
Funded by the Digital Restart Fund, the enhanced public register forms part of the Licensing Program which is working to digitise more than 40 licence categories with the aim of improving customer service, providing convenience and making compliance with legislation easier.
 
The enhanced public register is available at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au/home while the existing public register is still available at www.onegov.nsw.gov.au/publicregister
 
For more information on the Service NSW Business Profile, please visit www.service.nsw.gov.au/business/business-profile or call 13 77 88.

A $600,000 investment to support an Aboriginal koala habitat conservation project is being delivered as one of the first actions in the NSW Koala Strategy.
 
Minister for Environment James Griffin said the project with the Gumbaynggirr community applies cultural lessons from traditional owners.
 
“The traditional custodians of this land intrinsically understand how to care for their Country,” Mr Griffin said.
 
“It makes sense for the NSW Government to be working with Aboriginal communities like Gumbaynggirr to strengthen our existing conservation efforts with their traditional knowledge.
 
“Aboriginal communities throughout NSW have a strong role to play in protecting and conserving the long-term health of koalas and their habitat.”
 
The $600,000 from the NSW Koala Strategy will support the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into koala conservation.
 
The project, known locally as Gumbaynggirr Darruyay Dunggirr Jagun Mangga-Bayilaygam, will support habitat restoration, cultural burning in key koala locations, Aboriginal research projects and the development of cultural training for Aboriginal Rangers.
 
Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said the region is home to rich habitat and this funding would help ensure koalas can survive and thrive for generations to come.
 
“Coffs Harbour is leading the way when it comes to protecting the future of this iconic species and I am proud that we are continuing to support local Aboriginal knowledge in our conservation efforts,” Mr Singh said.
 
“Traditional custodianship of precious habitat here and elsewhere in the state will make a huge contribution to the success of the NSW Koala Strategy.”
 
Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Chris Spencer said Indigenous communities hold knowledge that can help inform conservation work.
 
“As an example of the value this project offers, our first workshop examined the creation story of the Dunggirr Gagu, or Koala Brothers,” Mr Spencer said.
 
“Woven within this story are cultural protocols and lore that can be used to create a framework for ecological management and monitoring processes for koalas and other species that share their habitat.”
 
The $193.3 million NSW Koala Strategy is the largest investment by a government in koala conservation, with more than 30 actions, including habitat conservation, community partnerships, koala health and safety, science and research.
 
Further information is available at NSW Koala Country.

In an Australian first, all NSW and ACT babies will be offered testing for two rare but potentially fatal genetic disorders, thanks to a NSW Government boost of $1.3 million each year.
 
From 1 July 2022, parents of all new babies in NSW and the ACT will be offered free tests for both Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) within 48-72 hours of their baby’s birth.
 
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government is permanently adding the two tests to the NSW Newborn Screening Program following a successful four-year trial as part of a research pilot program at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.
 
“NSW is leading the way in funding newborn screening to ensure treatments can be provided as early as possible to halt the debilitating, sometimes fatal, impact of these disorders,” Mr Hazzard said.
 
“The screening tests will be provided to around 100,000 babies each year, saving the lives of up to 13 newborns likely to have these genetic disorders, including 10 from SMA and three from SCID.
 
“I urge other states and territories to screen newborns for both these genetic disorders as we are doing in NSW to give babies with SMA or SCID the best chance of survival.”
 
SMA occurs in one in 10,000 births and causes progressive muscle wastage and weakness. It is the leading genetic cause of infant death and, without treatment, newborns have a life expectancy of around nine months.
 
SCID occurs in one in 40,000 births and results in a weakened immune system. It is usually fatal in a baby’s first year of life due to infection. However, most babies with the disorder (around 94 per cent) will survive if they are provided life-saving stem cell treatment before they are three and a half months old.
 
“With newborns receiving these tests for SMA and SCID in their first three days, parents can have greater confidence their baby will thrive in their first year of life,” Mr Hazzard said.
 
For an overview of the panel of tests offered by the NSW Newborn Screening Program, please visit the SCHN website.

NSW students will have stronger pathways from high school to their future careers as part of the NSW Government’s push to overhaul and modernise the HSC.
 
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the next phase of our once in a generation curriculum reform is updating what students learn in their final years at school, as it has been more than 50 years since the HSC was introduced and 25 years since the last major review.
 
“A lot has changed in the past 25 years. We need to bring the HSC into the 21^st Century and make sure senior students develop the skills and knowledge relevant for the jobs of today and the future,” Ms Mitchell said.
 
“In today’s economy we all need analytical, communication and collaboration skills to succeed, regardless of whether we are working as a retail manager, plumber, scientific researcher or politician.
 
“We must start valuing vocational and academic pathways equally, and recognise all students need the skills to thrive in modern workplaces.”
 
Changes underway to modernise HSC curriculum and assessment include:

• Abolishing the current system of classifying HSC courses as Category A or Category B Vocational Education and Training (VET) so more courses can contribute to a student’s ATAR from 2025.
• Piloting more HSC exams online, starting with the new Enterprise Computing and Software Engineering exams from 2025.
• Introduction of a learner profile to showcase a student’s extra-curricular achievements holistically, not just their exam results.
• Clearer course overviews that link skills and knowledge to careers so Year 10 students will have a greater understanding of the skills they will develop when they are selecting their HSC subjects.

 
The timeline has also been updated for the new senior secondary syllabuses, with all on track to be delivered by 2025.
         
Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens said the Gonski-Shergold review of the VET sector identified current HSC and ATAR arrangements as a barrier to developing a pipeline of job-ready high school graduates.
 
“When young people complete VET subjects at school, they get real life skills that set them up for a brighter future when they leave the school gates,” Mr Henskens.
 
“These changes will significantly expand the education and employment pathways available to young people who want to get skilled while still at school and then further their education at a registered training provider or one of our world class universities.”
 
The NSW curriculum reform program is on track to see all K-10 syllabuses delivered by 2024, and all Year 11-12 syllabuses delivered by 2025. The new Year 11-12 Enterprise Computing and Software Engineering syllabuses will be published on the new digital curriculum platform in Term 3, 2022.

The NSW Government is providing extra support to the hospitality industry by extending free refresher courses into next year, in a bid to address staff shortages.

Minister for Hospitality and Racing Kevin Anderson said hospitality venues are doing their best to encourage workers to the sector, but are facing major staff shortages with many skilled hospitality staff leaving the industry during the peak of the COVID pandemic.

“Many who left the sector have seen their mandatory certifications lapse. We want to make it easy for those people to quickly and freely renew those certifications and remove any barriers that are preventing them from re-entering the hospitality sector,” Mr Anderson said.

“It’s not just bar and wait staff who require a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate – others who work or volunteer where alcohol is sold also need it, including security, crowd control and promotional staff.

“The same goes for the Responsible Conduct of Gambling certificate (RCG) – if you work around poker machines you need to have specific training to identify and minimise gambling harm.”

Australian Hotels Association NSW Director of Liquor and Policing John Green said pubs right across NSW are still struggling with staff shortages so this initiative is greatly appreciated.

“Reducing red tape makes it easier for those who worked in the industry to come back and pick up a few shifts at their local – we would especially encourage older workers with their years of experience to step back behind the bar,” Mr Green said.
Anyone whose certification expired from February 2020 can renew their RSA, or RSA and RCG together, for free, until February 2023 without having to retrain in full.

Since February this year more than 16,000 people have completed free RSA and RCG refresher courses through Liquor & Gaming NSW.