16 News

The Morrison Government is providing $40 million in new funding to Teach for Australia (TFA) and La Trobe University’s innovative Nexus program as a central pillar in the Coalition’s plan to lift student outcomes.

The funding will support 700 new TFA teachers and 60 new teachers through the Nexus program. This will enable Teach for Australia to double the number of exceptional teachers it trains and places, focusing on regional and remote areas and STEM subjects – where teacher shortages are greatest.

This new investment in these proven teaching programs is a key commitment in the Morrison Government’s plan for schools, which was released today. The plan outlines how the Government will return Australia to being one of the top education nations – through a strong curriculum, quality teaching and engaged classrooms.

Acting Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert, said the investment in TFA builds on the consistent support from the Coalition Government.

“We have invested in Teach for Australia to place more than 400 new teachers in regional and disadvantaged schools since 2019. Currently, more than 50 per cent of TFA teachers are in regional and remote schools and more than 40 per cent are teaching maths or science subjects,” Minister Robert said.

“This new investment will enable Teach for Australia to double its reach and impact, helping to address teacher shortages and lift student outcomes right across the country.

“Our schools plan makes it clear that only the Coalition Government will give teachers and families the support they need for even stronger schools: with record funding and a commitment to boost standards.”

Today, the Morrison Government releases ‘Our Plan for Raising School Standards’, which includes a clear roadmap for excellence in Australian schools backed in by new investments:

• $40 million to support 700 new Teach for Australia teachers and 60 new teachers through La Trobe’s Nexus program
• $13.4 million to support changes to accreditation standards, including working with state and territory governments to lead a return to the one-year Graduate Diploma of Education, which will reduce the barriers stopping great mid-career professionals from taking their skills and experience to the classroom
• $10.8 million to develop new micro-credentials in classroom management, phonics and explicit teaching, and to support the expansion of the Quality Teaching Rounds program
• $7.2 million to provide professional resources and development opportunities for teachers and school leaders; develop a national data set to build a longitudinal picture measuring the impact of COVID-19; and bring together teachers, school leaders, academics, students and parents as part of a National Summit to discuss the challenges of returning to school after two years of disruption, along with proven strategies on how to improve classroom order.

Along with the funding announced in February to develop a new performance assessment framework for ITE courses, the commitments outlined today bring the Government’s investment in response to Lisa Paul’s Quality Initial Teacher Education Review to more than $70 million.

The new investments announced today build on the Morrison Government’s record schools funding, which totals $318.9 billion to all schools from 2018-2029 under the Quality Schools package.

The Government has nearly doubled schools funding over the past decade, from $13 billion in 2013 to $25.3 billion in 2022. Funding is growing fastest for government schools, at around 4.7 per cent per student each year, compared to per student growth of 3.8 per cent for the non-government sector.Only the Morrison Government has a plan to continue delivering a strong economy and a stronger future for Australians.

A re-elected Morrison Government will establish a new mental health and wellbeing centre for children in Bedford Park, Adelaide.

The $12.6 million Health to Health Kids hub will be the first of its kind in South Australia and the first in a network of 15 centres to be established across the country.

The new Head to Health Kids hub will provide children up to 12 years of age and their parents and carers with a range of high-quality, multidisciplinary mental health and early intervention services.

Minister for Health and Ageing, Greg Hunt, said early intervention was a vital part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and their families.

“We know that proper support can improve long-term outcomes and help children achieve their full potential in life,” Minister Hunt said.

“Through the Head to Health Kids hubs, the Morrison Government is ensuring that parents can get easy access to appropriate mental health care for their younger children.

“The hub will make a complex system more accessible and easier to navigate. By complementing and integrating with existing services, this will ensure multidisciplinary and seamless support for children and their families.”

Head to Health Kids Hubs deliver on a key recommendation included in the Government’s National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which was launched last year.

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said the Strategy was the first of its kind, not just in Australia, but across the world.

“Half of all adult mental health challenges emerge before the age of 14, yet few children below the age of 12 receive professional support,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.

“Our Government is committed to the task of ensuring every Australian gets the help they need to overcome mental ill health through early intervention, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing support.

“Children and young people are a priority population under the recently released National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.

“The National Agreement is a key step in achieving landmark reforms to the Australian mental health and suicide prevention system.”

Establishment of the Adelaide Head to Health Kids hub will begin in 2022-23, with the centre expected to be operational in 2023-24.

Liberal candidate for Boothby, Dr Rachel Swift, welcomed the announcement of the new centre and said the Morrison Government continues to make the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians a national priority.

“It is welcoming news that very shortly the children of South Australia will soon have access to additional mental health services right here in our great state,” Dr Swift said.

“Like the Head to Health centres for adults, Head to Health kids will provide a welcoming, stigma-free entry point for families and their kids to access mental health information, services and supports.

“I encourage all parents, if you are worried about the mental health of your child, please visit this centre. The services are free, and referrals can also be made for more intensive mental health care or social supports if needed.”

The Morrison Government continues to make mental health and suicide prevention a national priority and continues to drive structural reform and real change to deliver better outcomes for all Australians.

Through the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Budgets, the Government is investing nearly $3 billion into the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to drive this reform.

As a result of these investments, funding for mental health and suicide prevention services through the Health portfolio have increased to a record $6.8 billion in 2022-23, more than doubling since 2012-13.

Unlike the Labor Party, which has not given Australians any detail on their plans for mental health, the Morrison Government will continue to ensure that all Australians can access information, advice, counselling, or treatment, when and where they need it.

Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline
(13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.

10 research projects across the country will receive a share of $24 million from the Morrison Government to explore better ways to reduce wait times for Australians presenting to emergency departments (EDs).

These projects will point the way to new approaches to enable EDs to operate more efficiently and more effectively, to provide better health outcomes for all patients.

Flinders University will receive $1.1 million for their project, which will partner with consumers to develop a geriatric urgent care unit, as an alternative to the EDs for older people.

Based on an alternative model of urgent care for older people developed in 2021 by the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, the research will use mixed methods to assess the outcome of this new model for patients, families and the health service, and inform service improvements.

The University of Tasmania will receive $2.9 million to conduct research on the use of clinical pathways (CPs) in acute care to improve patient care and reduce pressure on EDs. This project will use a consumer-driven approach to investigate barriers, develop a strategy and identify priorities to improve care for Australians.

In Western Australia, the University of WA will receive $2.9 million for a project focussed on improving emergency health care for older people with cognitive decline or acute illness. OPERATE: Older Persons Early Recognition Access and Treatment in Emergencies will implement, coordinate and evaluate strategies including better care at home rather than in hospitals, streamlined ED and hospital care when necessary, and ensuring safe discharge and ongoing care.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said this investment was part of the Morrison Government’s commitment to investing in our nation’s brightest medical researchers.

“We know right across the country that Australians are facing increased wait times when presenting to hospitals,” Minister Hunt said.

“These projects will look at alternatives to how we can ensure Australians are getting the best care they can, without having to go to an ED.”

“Our Government has invested record funding in medical research, delivering breakthrough advances in treatments and cures and creating more jobs in our world class medical and biotechnology sector.”

The Morrison Government’s $20 billion MRFF, is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research, helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system.

This is a stark contrast to Mr Albanese and Labor, who when last in Government stopped listing essential medicines and treatments on the PBS, slashed funding for mental health support and tried to rip funding out of medical research.

Further information about the MRFF is available at www.health.gov.au/mrff

MRFF 2022 Models of Care to Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Acute Care Grant Opportunity

Project	Recipient	Funding
Giving patients an EPIC‐START: An evidence based, data driven model of care to improve patient care and efficiency in emergency departments	University of Sydney	$2,847,592.26
Working together: innovation to improve Emergency Department (ED) performance, and patient outcomes and experience for five complex consumer cohorts	Macquarie University	$2,836,550.49
Reshaping the management of lowback pain in emergency departments	University of Sydney	$2,818,123.57
StreamlinED – improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Northern Territory (NT) Emergency Departments	Menzies School of Health Research	2,917,464.18
Improved Respiratory Support in Remote Settings for Children: A Paediatric Acute Respiratory Intervention Study (PARIS), PARIS on Country	Griffith University	1,630,153.35
“There must be a better way”: partnering with consumers to implement a digitally enabled geriatric urgent care unit to improve hospitalflow	Flinders University	1,116,756.25
Using a State‐wide Learning Health System for the Rapid Deployment, Evaluation and Translation of New Models of Care in South Australia to Reduce Pressure on Emergency Departments and Acute Care	South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited	2,919,835.57
Improving Acute Atrial Fibrillation Management for better patient outcomes	The University of Adelaide	1,075,421.05
IMplementing clinical Pathways for Acute Care in Tasmania (IMPACT)	University of Tasmania	2,919,107.98
OPERATE: Older Persons Early Recognition Access and Treatment in Emergencies	University of Western Australia	2,918,995.32
	TOTAL	$24,000,000.00

The Australian Government has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on a further 110 individuals in response to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, made up of senior Ukrainian separatists and Russian members of parliament.

The listings include 34 senior members of the Russian-led movements in Ukrainian regions Donetsk and Luhansk, the so-called “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Donetsk” and “People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Luhansk”.

These individuals have violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine through their assertion of governmental authority over areas of Ukraine without the Ukrainian Government’s authorisation. The “People’s Republic of Donetsk” and “People’s Republic of Luhansk” do not hold the status of “state” under international law.

Australia also announces listings on a further 76 Members of the State Duma. Some of these additional individuals voted in favour of the resolution calling for President Putin to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, and the majority subsequently voted in favour of ratifying one or both treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the Russian Federation and the so-called “People’s Republics”.

One additional Duma member, Oleg Matveichev, has been listed for the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda. As a mouthpiece for President Putin, he even argued disingenuously for the payment of reparations for harm caused by Western sanctions and the war itself.

With these announced listings, the Government will have sanctioned 812 individuals and 47 entities in response to Russia’s illegal war. Australia reiterates our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the people of Ukraine.

Monash University researchers have developed customised electronic toolkits to help encourage STEM knowledge, logical thinking and creativity for people living with intellectual disabilities. 

TronicBoards, created by researchers from the Faculty of Information Technology (IT), are a range of customised colour-coded printed circuit boards with large controls and recognisable symbols adapted to facilitate easy circuit making for diverse intellectual abilities.

Lead researcher PhD candidate Hashini Senaratne said a variety of simplified electronics toolkits are increasingly available to help people engage with technology. However, they are often inaccessible for people with intellectual disabilities, who experience a range of cognitive and physical impairments.

“We developed TronicBoards as a curated set of electronic modules to address this gap in accessibility. These boards can be combined with conductive tape and other electronic components, including LEDs, vibration motors, buzzers and push buttons etc. to create and demonstrate working electronic circuits,” Ms Senaratne said.

“The design of TronicBoards was informed by workshops conducted by co-author Dr Kirsten Ellis involving 148 adults living with intellectual disabilities. The participants were guided and supported by the researchers and support workers from various disability support organisations. 

“We found that the participants, with varying degrees of support, were able to logically interact with the boards, complete workable circuits and in some cases were also able to add creativity and craft personally meaningful objects like adding lights to a mirror and a music box that can change melodies with a slide switch.”

Research co-author Dr Swamy Ananthanarayan said the overarching goal of TronicBoards is to provide an opportunity for marginalised communities to move from being passive recipients to actively participating in the design of diverse technologies. 

“We envision a future where the tools and systems are flexible enough so people living with disabilities can craft smart artefacts and potentially their own assistive devices independently or with limited support from caregivers and disability support workers,” Dr Ananthanarayan said. 

Through the workshops data has been gathered to improve future iterations of the TronicBoards. The researchers are working to integrate the next editions of the boards with braille to improve accessibility for people living with visual impairments. 

The research findings will be presented during the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems being held in New Orleans, USA, from 30 April–5 May.  

Lead researcher, Hashini Senaratne, from the Faculty of IT’s Department of Human Centred Computing is available for interviews. 

To read the conference paper, please visit: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3491102.3517483

The Victorian Budget has slashed funding for a highly successful homelessness program which halved rough sleeping in Victoria, with Council to Homeless Persons warning it will leave the most vulnerable out in the cold, and ultimately end up costing the state more in the long run. 

Today’s Victorian Budget revealed funding to From Homelessness to a Home (H2H) program has been reduced by $43 million annually, 78% of its earlier budget which translates to 1,440 people missing out on support. 

From Homelessness to a Home (H2H) saves an estimated $13,100 public expenditure for each participant annually, by diverting people away from hospitalisation, acute mental healthcare, and incarceration.  

“The government has failed to seize the opportunity to consolidate the success of From Homelessness to a Home, which effectively halved Victoria’s rates of rough sleeping,” said Jenny Smith, CEO of Council to Homeless Persons. 

“Failing to support people out of rough sleeping only guarantees more pressure on other services, such as hospitals, psychiatric wards, and prisons. It’s not just an economic costs, there’s also a societal cost to not helping our most vulnerable.

“The cut to the majority of the funding means 1,440 people will miss out on life-changing support that provides stability for people with enormous complexity in their lives.

“From Homelessness to a Home showed when we have the political will, we can get a roof over people’s heads as well as the support they need to keep that home, quickly and effectively. This Budget puts the brakes on the significant momentum we saw in sharply reducing rough sleeping.”

During the pandemic, tens of thousands of Victorians without homes were provided with short term relief in hotels, and then supported into private rentals. As part of this, H2H was introduced to meet the ongoing needs of those who’d experienced long-term rough sleeping and had more complex needs. 

The program has provided 1,845 households with stable medium and long term housing and support packages, including counselling, mental health, family violence and health and wellness services. Council to Homeless Persons says it is vital these places are at the very least maintained, and when vacancies occur they are open to more of the 9,000 rough sleepers seen by our homelessness services in Victoria each year.

“One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic was the government’s promise of a home for life and long-term support for rough sleepers. Now, the government’s walked away from that promise and nearly 1,440 of those people will miss out on that life-changing ongoing support.”

The announcement of a $75 million investment in tackling homelessness over three years will provide welcome capital investment and over time some additional services, but the peak body for Victorian homelessness services warned it remained that there was now no soft landing for rough sleepers. 

“Homelessness is more than missing out on a safe bed at night – it creates insecurity which conspires to deprive people of work, education, and social opportunities. 

“One H2H participant described almost being poisoned by the adrenaline of living in constant crisis while on the streets, but a safe, secure home gave him a chance to take a breath and begin to rebuild.”

The From Homelessness to a Home program is inspired by housing first principles, a successful international model ending rough sleeping by housing and supporting people who have experienced long term and recurring homelessness. Key ingredients in the success of housing first is that housing is permanent and support must be available for as long as people need it.

Rising interest rates will put additional pressure on vulnerable Australians already struggling to survive as prices surge, wages stagnate and safe, secure housing slips further from reach.

St Vincent de Paul Society National President Claire Victory said: ‘Today’s rate rise will be another kick in the teeth for Australians living in poverty, who are already stretching every dollar to its limit.

‘The surging cost-of-living, shortage of affordable housing, increasingly insecure work and stagnant wages are making it all-but impossible for a growing number of Australians to survive.

‘Today’s interest rate hike will add to these pressures and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable people in the community, who are already struggling to get by, often with limited family or social support networks,’ Ms Victory said.

The St Vincent de Paul Society has released a suite of simple, compassionate and affordable polices in the lead up to the federal election and is urging parties and candidates to put Australians in need at the heart of their campaigns.

The cost of implementing these policies involves modest reforms to superannuation and taxation, asking only the most well-off and able to afford it, to pay a little more.

‘Vinnies has stood by Australians in need for more than 170 years, providing emergency relief, housing, and other support services,’ Ms Victory said.

‘Our election statement, A Fairer Australia, is informed by our members’ experience meeting and helping Australians in need, and offers practical solutions to address widening inequality in households and communities, and lift many people out of poverty.

‘We are calling on parties and candidates to take urgent action in the remaining weeks of the campaign to support Australians living in, or at risk of falling into, poverty,’ Ms Victory said.

For more information on A Fairer Australia and a fairer tax and welfare system, visit www.vinnies.org.au