As part of the continued expansion of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout program, businesses are now able to team up with vaccination providers to administer the jabs to staff at their workplace.
Vaccination providers will be able to seek accreditation to administer COVID-19 vaccines at workplaces – similar to the way flu vaccines are administered – through a Request for Tender program that will kick-start Stage 3 of the National COVID Shield Campaign Plan.
Operation COVID Shield has been constantly engaging with the business community throughout the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and this program is a result of that engagement process.
The program will also facilitate acceleration of a range of other vaccine delivery methods, including additional support to vaccinate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other priority groups.
Pfizer or Moderna will be the primary vaccinations administered through the workplace vaccination programs, however workplaces will be able to order AstraZeneca if required.
Millions of Australians have already heeded the call to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones and the community, and the opening of this tender process will add further momentum as we continue to ramp up our vaccination effort.
With the potential to reach Australians at places they already go to every day, this program – the COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Partners Program – will make it even easier for people to get vaccinated, while recognising the eagerness of businesses to help.
It will allow Australia to further increase the overall size of the COVID-19 vaccination workforce, and to use the many offers of assistance from vaccination administrators and Australia’s business community.
The Vaccine Administration Partners Program will establish a panel of accredited COVID-19 vaccination providers that can be accessed by government entities, businesses and other organisations to support vaccination priorities.
The Australian Government will pay accredited COVID-19 vaccination providers on the panel a fixed price per vaccine dose.
Businesses engaging COVID-19 immunisation providers from the panel will negotiate details of the arrangements directly with vaccination providers on the panel.
As with the broader vaccine rollout, businesses cannot seek any payment from patients for administration of the vaccine.
Full details are available on AusTender.
Boost for Flinders Island Aged Care Service
Staff accommodation will be built at Lady Barron on Flinders Island under a Morrison Government grant aimed at strengthening aged care services in remote communities.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, and Member for Bass, Bridget Archer, welcomed the investment under the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program‘s infrastructure and equipment grants which will see $5.2 million allocated across services to improve the lives of older First Nations people.
The Flinders Island Aboriginal Association (FIAAI) will use $610,000 to build staff accommodation.
FIAAI provides a range of services on Flinders Island including primary health and aged care, housing, youth services and a state-wide “Tackling Smoking Project”.
Ms Archer said the latest investment for Bass would help support the vital work of the Flinders Island Aboriginal Association.
“This funding will not only provide improved accommodation options for staff, but it will also reinforce the important outcomes the association continues to deliver in an isolated region,” Ms Archer said.
Minister Colbeck said the funding underlines the Morrison Government’s commitment to ensure quality of care in remote regions exceeded expectation.
“Whether it is upgrading living spaces, providing quality furniture or installing equipment to fulfil clinical care or security requirements, these grants are an important investment for services in remote and very remote locations across the country,” Minister Colbeck said.
“It is significantly more difficult for these services to upgrade equipment and buildings and maintain accommodation for staff”
Twenty projects, mostly in remote areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania, will receive grants.
This funding is in addition to the annual investment of around $68 million for service delivery under the NATSIFAC Program and $105.7 million over 4 years from 2018-2019 to 2021-2022 for its expansion.
The NATSIFAC Program funds service providers to deliver flexible, culturally safe aged care to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people close to home and community.
Getting your COVID-19 vaccination certificate
This advice is for people elligible for Medicare. If you aren’t – go here to get the best information and advice for you.
Step One:
Create a MyGov account. If you have one already. Log-in and go to step 2.
- To Create a MyGov
- To Login to MyGov
Step Two:
Link your Medicare to your MyGov account. If you’ve done this already go to step three.
To do this you will need your Medicare card.
If you need help getting a new card, you can call Medicare on 132 011
Steps on how to link your Medicare and MyGov are here.
Step Three:
Once it’s all linked, you can check your immunisation history
- Log into MyGov
- Select Medicare under the “Your Services” header.
- Click “view immunisation history” down the bottom of the page
- If your certificate is available, the option to view it will appear at the bottom of the page. You can download this as a PDF or add it to your mobile wallet.
If you’re fully vaccinated but can’t see your certificate, you may need to ask for proof of your vaccination from your vaccination provider. Head over here to find more specific advice.
Step Four:
Add your certificate to your Mobile Wallet
- Complete ‘Step Three’ from a mobile browser
- An “add to Apple Wallet” or “Save to Phone” option will be available.
City services and facilities COVID-19 lockdown update
Many of City of Newcastle’s publicly facing facilities will be closed to the public in line with the lockdown announced by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for areas of the Hunter, including the Newcastle local government area.
The following City of Newcastle facilities are closed:
- Blackbutt Reserve (other than bush trails for essential exercise)
- City of Newcastle libraries including the return chutes
- City Administration Centre at 12 Stewart Avenue including the customer service centre and the digital library
- City Hall
- Civic Theatre
- Community centres and halls
- Fort Scratchley
- Newcastle Art Gallery
- Newcastle Museum
- Tighes Hill Animal Facility
- Visitor Information Centre
Essential services including kerbside waste collection and patrols of beaches, ocean baths and public areas by City of Newcastle lifeguards and rangers will continue, while Beresfield Childcare Centre will remain open.
City of Newcastle staff will continue to undertake essential construction and maintenance services in a COVID-19 safe manner and in accordance with relevant Public Health Orders.
Summerhill Waste Management Centre is open to all customers including domestic and commercial, and for kerbside collections in line with NSW Government advice. Customers will be required to check-in, wear a face mask and adhere to social distancing. Cashless payments are preferred. If you have a bulk waste self-haul voucher with an expiry date between 5 August and 10 September 2021, its expiry will automatically be extended by two months to give you sufficient time to use your voucher.
Swimming centres remain closed across Newcastle in line with the seasonal schedule.
City of Newcastle will continue to provide customer service via telephone and online web chat between 8.30am and 4pm Monday to Friday.
We encourage our community to follow the Public Health Order and the Stay at Home restrictions.
For information regarding the lockdown or Public Health Orders visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/COVID-19
Information regarding individuals or businesses who are or may be contravening the current NSW Health Order should be reported to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
COVID support payments expanded for workers and vulnerable communities across NSW
The NSW Government today announced an additional $287.5 million in COVID-19 financial support to assist workers and vulnerable communities in metropolitan, regional and rural NSW.
The additional funding will see the COVID-19 emergency hardship payments, test and isolate support payments and community empowerment grants expanded across all of NSW.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the funds will assist workers and vulnerable people under financial strain due to the COVID-19 restrictions across the State.
“The expansion and extension of the emergency hardship payment will provide assistance to people across all of NSW who are under severe financial strain but are not eligible for other support payments and grants,” Mr Barilaro said.
“The test and isolate payment will help people to test early and isolate if they have COVID symptoms. This payment will help take the pressure off if an individual does not have access to leave entitlements or other support payments.
“Grants for culturally and linguistically diverse groups have also been expanded to connect multicultural communities with essential services throughout the pandemic.”
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the new $287.5 million funding commitment is in addition to the NSW Government’s existing commitment of $7.7 billion in COVID-19 support measures.
“As lockdown continues, we want to make sure support is provided where it’s needed and no communities are forgotten,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We’re providing those under severe financial strainmoney in their bank accounts to help them through the lockdown and we’re supporting workers to test early and isolate so we can save lives and livelihoods across the State.
“We’re also supporting multicultural organisations which are best placed to connect migrant communities with vital health services to ensure our vaccination rate keeps climbing – as that’s really key to our State’s recovery.”
The NSW Government’s additional $287.5 million funding commitment includes;
- The emergency hardship, one-off payment of $400 administered by the Red Cross which has been expanded to temporary visa/no visa holders in NSW who are facing severe financial hardship and are not eligible for other government income. To apply visit: https://www.redcross.org.au/get-help/help-for-migrants-in-transition/help-for-migrants-in-transition/nsw-relief
- The test and isolate payment of $320 which has now been expanded state-wide. It is available for eligible workers aged 17 and over, who have symptoms of COVID-19, to get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned. The payment is available to NSW workers who do not have sick, carer’s or pandemic leave. To apply visit: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-test-and-isolate-support-payment
- Community supports grants which have been expanded across NSW to help organisations deliver emergency food relief, promote vaccination and testing services, and provide culturally appropriate support and care to diverse communities.
Fostering safety and stability for children
People are being encouraged to shine a light on the life-changing work of foster and kinship carers by nominating them for a Carer Recognition Award to mark the start of Foster and Kinship Care Week.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Alister Henskens said more than 18,000 carers across NSW have opened their hearts and homes providing safety and stability to vulnerable children and young people.
“Foster and kinship carers provide vulnerable children with a solid foundation on which they can grow and thrive,” Mr Henskens.
“During the pandemic, they’ve stepped up and taken on extra challenges like remote learning, and the Carer Recognition Awards are an opportunity to celebrate their extraordinary contribution and to say thank you.”
The NSW Government is strengthening support for foster and kinship carers, prospective adoptive parents and guardians through My Forever Family NSW, which provides information, education, training and support to carers.
My Forever Family NSW is also leading a renewed recruitment drive to recruit new adoptive parents, guardians and foster carers.
“We need more people to open their homes and hearts to children in out-of-home care either in a permanent or part-time way,” Mr Henskens said.
“The support you give now can last a lifetime and I encourage anyone who is up for a rewarding and life-changing experience to consider becoming a carer.”
To find out more about the Carer Recognition Awards and for more information about becoming a foster carer, visit https://www.myforeverfamily.org.au/.
Applications open for $10 million COVID-19 Partnership Grants program
Applications have opened for eligible grassroots organisations to share in a $10 million funding package, to support vulnerable people and multicultural communities living in priority areas during the current COVID outbreak.
Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward said the program would support non-Government organisations (NGOs) to link those in need with vital support services, including family and parenting supports, food and essential items, and specialist counselling to address issues such as mental health concerns, drug and alcohol abuse and family and domestic violence.
It will target those needing urgent help in the 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of concern, including those who are required to isolate due to COVID-19.
“This program will boost the delivery of more critical services that vulnerable people and multicultural communities are increasingly relying on,” Mrs Ward said.
“The current outbreak is amplifying hardships for already vulnerable people in our community including recent migrants, young people and seniors.
“We know more emergency support is needed now, and the NSW Government is responding quickly.”
The $10 million COVID-19 Partnership Grants program is part of a $18.8 million emergency relief package being delivered by the NSW Government, a record amount during this current outbreak.
Attorney General and Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Mark Speakman said listening and responding to community feedback during the pandemic has been a top priority for the Government.
“So many are doing it tough right now, and that includes women and children impacted by domestic violence whose abuse may have been exacerbated due to the lockdown restrictions,” Mr Speakman said.
“Importantly, this program will help those who must isolate due to COVID-19, to make sure they can continue to have access to the support services they need at this critical time.”
Eligible organisations, who already provide proven support services to vulnerable members of the community in the 12 LGAs of concern, will be directly invited by the Department of Communities and Justice to participate in the program.
Female Officer charged with DV – North West Metropolitan region
A police officer has been charged with alleged domestic violence-related offences.
Officers from Parramatta Police Area Command commenced an investigation into an alleged domestic-related incident involving two women, aged 44 and 24, at a home in Sydney’s west earlier this month.
Following inquires, the 44-year old senior constable, attached to a specialist command, was issued a court attendance notice for common assault (DV).
She is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday 27 October 2021.
The officer’s duty status is currently under review.
Tertiary education job destruction laid bare
Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that a new report by the Centre for Future Work estimating 40,000 job losses is a devastating exposure of the extent of the insecure work crisis in higher education.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Tens of thousands of job losses amount to nothing less than complete decimation of large parts of our tertiary education sector.
“Workers at our universities and TAFEs have been completely hung out to dry by an uncaring government and, more often than not, neoliberal management.
“Morale across tertiary education is at historic lows. This is in no small part due to casualisation and insecure work, which is rife in higher education and must be combatted.
“It’s hard to separate this devastation from the Liberals’ thinly-veiled contempt for tertiary education, and universities in particular.
“Not only were universities excluded from JobKeeper, they were targeted by the so-called ‘Job-ready Graduates’ fee hikes and funding cuts. The consequences of this are now being felt across the country.
“This is having devastating impacts for university staff, students and education now, and the reverberations will be felt for decades to come unless the government provides the investment needed to support and advance the sector. ”
Labor to make climate central to the US alliance
Our collective attention has recently been focused on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the US, and our invoking of the ANZUS Treaty. It has also been absorbed by assessment of the 20-year war in Afghanistan, which arose from the events of September 11, and which so recently came to a painful, if not tragic, end. Such reflection is natural and necessary. But it is important to recognise that the Australia-US relationship has seen incredible change and endured.
The recent 70th anniversary of ANZUS provided an opportunity to look at how the Australia-US alliance will serve our futures in an increasingly challenging world. And with AUSMIN – our regular foreign affairs and defence ministerial talks with the US – on the horizon this week, it is time for ambitious action.
Without our US allies, our efforts and the efforts of many other countries to evacuate thousands of citizens, permanent residents and visa-holders from Kabul in past weeks would have been wishful thinking. US leadership came at great cost – 13 service men and women lost as they sought to help others. We mourn alongside our US friends, and offer our condolences for the many Afghans who were killed and wounded.
But, rather than alliances fraying, what is emerging is a new phase of US-led global collective action on Afghanistan and a shift to looking at how institutions such as the ANZUS relationship can be put to work in our neighbourhood. The geopolitical imperatives that drove the signing of the ANZUS Treaty have changed, but geopolitical imperatives have not gone away. Labor has long recognised the central importance of building and evolving the relationship in the face of changing conditions.
Prime minister Bob Hawke’s 1984 Parliamentary Statement entrenched the “full knowledge and concurrence principle”, since reaffirmed by successive governments. The principle set the foundation for a program of reform directly aimed at new and emerging 21st-century security challenges from space, satellite and defence communications infrastructure to cyber.
Labor governments also upgraded and modernised facilities, including deployment of a new jointly operated US C-Band Radar at the Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station and the relocation of an advanced US Space Surveillance Telescope to Australia.
Prime minister Julia Gillard secured the rotation of US Marines through Darwin, greater use of Australian airfields in our north and west, and the promise of increased US Navy use of our Indian Ocean naval base at HMAS Stirling. The Gillard government also initiated its own Force Posture Review, Australia’s first since the 1980s. Its report in 2012 underpinned the rollout of the new level of alliance defence co-operation we have seen since then.
It was also Labor that adopted Australia’s first National Security Strategy in 2013, a move the Coalition government has failed to repeat, despite calls for this from a wide range of respected national security leaders. The 2020 Strategic Update warned of the rapidly changing circumstances in our region and stressed a 10-year warning time was no longer an appropriate basis for defence planning. This means we can no longer assume Australia will have time to adjust military capability and preparedness gradually in response to emerging challenges.
This, alongside the US’s current Global Force Posture Review, means it is time for Australia, too, to have a closer look at our posture to ensure it is fit for the times. Labor has therefore committed to a new Defence Force Posture Review, something the Morrison government has also failed to do, despite more than nine years passing since the last Labor-led review.
A further manifestation of how our alliance relationship needs to keep evolving is climate change. We know the risk climate bears on our security. We have vividly seen its impact on ADF operations already, whether responding to the 2019-20 bushfire crisis or disaster assistance missions such as Operation Fiji Assist. We also know it will have major impacts in our region, destroying hard-won development gains and increasing fragility.
Australia’s action on climate change will shape whether our interests prosper in partnership with our neighbours and our US ally. On coming to office, I will make comprehensive US-Australia co-operation on climate change a hallmark of our alliance.
Finally, the US as our biggest investor remains central to our economic prosperity and is our key partner in maintaining and building the global rules-based order. Labor welcomes the return of US leadership in that order under President Joe Biden.
The US and Australia have worked closely to build and strengthen this order. But the challenges we face demand we be even more ambitious about what we do together and with our mutual friends across the region.
Vice-President Kamala Harris and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent Southeast Asia visits were welcome first moves. We hope to see this engagement grow rapidly. Australia has an opportunity and the responsibility to work closely with the new administration as it develops its Indo-Pacific strategy. We should never forget it is Australia’s partnerships and leadership in the Indo-Pacific that are the principal value-add we bring to the alliance.
The recent 70th anniversary of ANZUS provided an opportunity to look at how the Australia-US alliance will serve our futures in an increasingly challenging world. And with AUSMIN – our regular foreign affairs and defence ministerial talks with the US – on the horizon this week, it is time for ambitious action.
Without our US allies, our efforts and the efforts of many other countries to evacuate thousands of citizens, permanent residents and visa-holders from Kabul in past weeks would have been wishful thinking. US leadership came at great cost – 13 service men and women lost as they sought to help others. We mourn alongside our US friends, and offer our condolences for the many Afghans who were killed and wounded.
But, rather than alliances fraying, what is emerging is a new phase of US-led global collective action on Afghanistan and a shift to looking at how institutions such as the ANZUS relationship can be put to work in our neighbourhood. The geopolitical imperatives that drove the signing of the ANZUS Treaty have changed, but geopolitical imperatives have not gone away. Labor has long recognised the central importance of building and evolving the relationship in the face of changing conditions.
Prime minister Bob Hawke’s 1984 Parliamentary Statement entrenched the “full knowledge and concurrence principle”, since reaffirmed by successive governments. The principle set the foundation for a program of reform directly aimed at new and emerging 21st-century security challenges from space, satellite and defence communications infrastructure to cyber.
Labor governments also upgraded and modernised facilities, including deployment of a new jointly operated US C-Band Radar at the Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station and the relocation of an advanced US Space Surveillance Telescope to Australia.
Prime minister Julia Gillard secured the rotation of US Marines through Darwin, greater use of Australian airfields in our north and west, and the promise of increased US Navy use of our Indian Ocean naval base at HMAS Stirling. The Gillard government also initiated its own Force Posture Review, Australia’s first since the 1980s. Its report in 2012 underpinned the rollout of the new level of alliance defence co-operation we have seen since then.
It was also Labor that adopted Australia’s first National Security Strategy in 2013, a move the Coalition government has failed to repeat, despite calls for this from a wide range of respected national security leaders. The 2020 Strategic Update warned of the rapidly changing circumstances in our region and stressed a 10-year warning time was no longer an appropriate basis for defence planning. This means we can no longer assume Australia will have time to adjust military capability and preparedness gradually in response to emerging challenges.
This, alongside the US’s current Global Force Posture Review, means it is time for Australia, too, to have a closer look at our posture to ensure it is fit for the times. Labor has therefore committed to a new Defence Force Posture Review, something the Morrison government has also failed to do, despite more than nine years passing since the last Labor-led review.
A further manifestation of how our alliance relationship needs to keep evolving is climate change. We know the risk climate bears on our security. We have vividly seen its impact on ADF operations already, whether responding to the 2019-20 bushfire crisis or disaster assistance missions such as Operation Fiji Assist. We also know it will have major impacts in our region, destroying hard-won development gains and increasing fragility.
Australia’s action on climate change will shape whether our interests prosper in partnership with our neighbours and our US ally. On coming to office, I will make comprehensive US-Australia co-operation on climate change a hallmark of our alliance.
Finally, the US as our biggest investor remains central to our economic prosperity and is our key partner in maintaining and building the global rules-based order. Labor welcomes the return of US leadership in that order under President Joe Biden.
The US and Australia have worked closely to build and strengthen this order. But the challenges we face demand we be even more ambitious about what we do together and with our mutual friends across the region.
Vice-President Kamala Harris and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent Southeast Asia visits were welcome first moves. We hope to see this engagement grow rapidly. Australia has an opportunity and the responsibility to work closely with the new administration as it develops its Indo-Pacific strategy. We should never forget it is Australia’s partnerships and leadership in the Indo-Pacific that are the principal value-add we bring to the alliance.