Industry News

The largest study ever undertaken in Australia to investigate and address public perceptions of drinking recycled water will be led by UNSW’s Journalism and Media Research Centre (JMRC).

The research will form the basis of a national education and engagement program which will give Australians access to evidence-based information about the production and consumption of recycled water.

UNSW’s Faculty of Engineering and School of Public Health and Community Medicine, along with 30 national and international organisations, are collaborating on the $10 million research project which is funded by the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence.

Academic leader of the project and Director of the JMRC, Professor Catharine Lumby, said the outcomes of the cross-disciplinary investigation will be significant for the water industry globally.

“Recycled drinking water is already accepted in other countries around the world. In Australia, local policies, stigmas and public perceptions have often prevented recycled water being considered for potable use,” said Professor Lumby.

Professor Judy Motion, a leading expert in science communication based at the JMRC, said the project is designed to engage the public in a dialogue, rather than railroad them into drinking recycled water.

“Our aim is to find the best way of communicating new information to the Australian public, educators and decision makers by exploring the growing role that online and social media play in science communication.”

Associate Professor Greg Leslie of the School of Chemical Science and Engineering acknowledged Australians wanted more information about drinking recycled water and the process of producing it.

“A key part of this project will be investigating what Australians want to know and how scientists can better communicate issues of reliability and quality control,” said Professor Leslie.

 The $10 million funding to UNSW is part of The Australian Government’s $20 million commitment over five years to the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence, through the Water for the Future initiative.

For more information on the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence visit www.australianwaterrecycling.com.au.

Employees take fewer sickies if they have more control over their jobs, according to a new study undertaken by a researcher and orthopaedic surgeon into long work absences due to lower back pain.

Associate Professor Markus Melloh, from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research and The University of Western Australia, was lead author on the internationally collaborative report:  "Predictors of Sickness Absence with a New Episode of Lower Back Pain in Primary Care".

He found the best way to prevent long absences from work (up to six months) due to lower back pain was to give employees a sense of empowerment and to ensure that their GPs followed up with them on a regular basis after their first appointment.

Associate Professor Melloh said patients with first-time lower back pain should see their doctor again after six weeks, otherwise their risk of long-term sickness absence could be missed by their GP and interventions, such as modifying their work situation, would not be implemented.

The study showed that workers with high job control had fewer days of sick leave when suffering from a new episode of back pain than others with lower job control, he said.

"For the first time, the risk of prolonged sick leave for people complaining of back pain can be averted by simple short-term measures such as talking to their supervisor, changing work hours and modifying work breaks.  Long-term measures include greater empowerment within a job, such as more decision-making by the worker.

 "Sickness absence due to an ongoing pain condition is a hot topic in Australia and throughout the world for a number of reasons," Associate Professor Melloh said.

"Australia has a shortage of skilled workers.  Prolonged absence may lead to unemployment and reduced employability of a worker, and also indirect health care costs increase when workers are absent for too long."

The study monitored 310 patients who went to their GPs with back pain and took days off work.  They were interviewed during the initial visit then followed up at three, six and 12 weeks and six months.  At six months, 164 people were still participating and seven per cent were still on sick leave.

Associate Professor Melloh said back pain was a very important issue in Australia because the back was the most common site of pain for people of working age, from young to middle-aged adults.

The research has recently been presented at the World Forum for Spine Research in Helsinki.

Plans by the University of Canberra to offer a new degree in civil engineering have moved a step closer.

In June last year Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker announced the University’s intention to offer the degree from 2014 if a $5 million funding target is reached.

The Bachelor of Civil Engineering in Urban Engineering and Infrastructure will complement the University’s existing suite of disciplines in the built environment, including architecture, urban and regional planning and building and construction management.

It has now been revealed that the University has already received pledges totaling more than $1.78 million towards the degree, with ACTEW Corporation coming on board as the major contributor, pledging $1.2 million over six years.

“We are delighted to have this extensive industry support,” Professor Parker said.

“There is a real need for this degree to help address the skills shortage of engineers that exists not just in Canberra but nationally as well.”

The other founding partners are the ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority pledging $250,000 over five years, Indesco committing $180,000 over six years and the Master Builders Association of the ACT Skills Centre Building Fund Authority pledging $150,000. The University is also close to finalising negotiations with other industry partners.

According to the Australian National Engineering Taskforce, approximately 59 per cent of engineering vacancies go unfilled, the highest of any profession. The taskforce claims Australia needs to produce 105,000 engineers over the next five years.

The new degree will be the first of its kind in Australia focusing on urban engineering and infrastructure.

The ANU Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute has announced $7.5 million in funding to establish three new Centres of Research Excellence in primary health care.

The new centres will focus on three priority areas: access and equity, prevention and management of chronic conditions, as well as quality, governance, performance and sustainability.

Robert Wells, Director of the Institute, said the new centres will conduct research across a range of issues, tackling some of the key health reform challenges facing Australia.

“These three new centres will add significantly to the depth of health care research in Australia. The Centre of Research Excellence in the Finance and Economics of Primary Care will focus on the finance and economics of primary health care, aiming to build an evidence base to support primary care reform. The centre will be evaluating current policies, and using that as an evidence base to inform the development and implementation of new initiatives,” he said.

“The Centre of Research Excellence in Primary Oral Health Care will research the growing concern of oral health care. Oral health is fundamental to overall health and quality of life. Despite this however, over 90 per cent of Australians born before 1970 have some experience of tooth decay, and one in five adults has moderate or severe gum disease. This centre will focus on improving this situation through addressing knowledge gaps and forging links between dental care and primary health care.

“Finally, the Centre for Obesity Management and Prevention Research Excellence in Primary Health Care will focus on another key health issue facing Australia – obesity. The team will provide evidence of the effectiveness of interventions and strategies in primary health care to assist people to improve their lifestyle and achieve and maintain weight goals.”

The Centre of Research Excellence in the Finance and Economics of Primary Care will be based at the University of Technology, Sydney, in collaboration with the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales. The Centre of Research Excellence in Primary Oral Health Care will be based at the University of Adelaide in collaboration with the University of Tasmania. The Centre for Obesity Management and Prevention Research Excellence in Primary Health Care will be based at the University of New South Wales in collaboration with the University of Sydney, Deakin University, the University of Adelaide and the Inala Indigenous Health Service.

Funding for the program comes from the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Health and Ageing.

This week’s turmoil of the country’s media landscape continues after David Leckie announced his retirement from the role of Chief Executive Officer of Seven West Media to transition to a new position as Executive Director, Media for Seven Group Holdings.

Mr Leckie has served in the role for the past nine years, and will continue to be involved in the group as a major shareholder and senior manager of the group’s Seven Network Television arm.

"I am looking forward to this new role. It's been a great honour to lead Seven. We've had fun, kicked some goals and together built a very good media business. But it's time for me to take a career step and I'm looking forward to playing a key role in Seven Group Holdings and further enhancing the company's media presence,” Mr Leckie said.

Replacing Mr Leckie is Don Voelte, the former Managing Director and CEO of Woodside and current serving director of Seven West Media. Mr Voelte will also take up the reins as Managing Director.

“My role is to harness these businesses and its leaders.  Our objectives are clear: leadership in a sector undergoing radical change, develop our management teams, improve our financial performance without impacting the product for our readers, viewers and advertisers, and create opportunities to expand our presence in media,” Mr Voelte said. 

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) has released an Injury Prevention and Management System aimed at assisting employers maintain effective safety protocols within their company.

The tools and resources on the new page aim to assist employers to establish and maintain effective injury prevention and management to improve health and safety outcomes for their workers.

The tools and resources include:

• Workcover case studies and other return to work information and claims
•  Realising the health benefits of work
• Stay at Work, return to work
• Better  Practice in Return to Work Guide
• Return to work assessment checklists, and
• Helping you get the measure of workplace rehabilitation (

The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) has completed its submission to the Australian Law Reform commission’s Issue Paper GreyAreas – Age Barriers to Work in Commonwealth Laws, concluding that the mature-age workforce is central to boosting the country’s productivity.

"A key element of our response to skills shortages and boosting our productivity has to be the engagement of our mature age workforce," Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said.

“In an ageing population - with recent Census data revealing the average working age is now 39 years old and 14% of the population now 65 years of age or older - there is an obvious need for good policy to support mature-age workers.”

"While many businesses are already leading the way, reform is needed in a number of areas to help simplify the process and make it more attractive to both employers and potential employees.”

AI Group’s full submission can be found here

Mining giant Fortescue Metals has lodged a last ditch challenge against the impending mining and minerals rent tax with the High Court.

Fortescue CEO Nev Power announced the challenge on constitutional grounds, saying that the company has received new advice that shows the tax discriminates between states, curtails State sovereignty and gives prefercne to a single state over another.

"We believe we have a good case for challenging the MRRT on constitutional grounds and we look forward to the resolution of these important issues by the High Court," Mr Power said.

Fortescue has long argued against the tax, with Chairman Andrew Forrest saying the tax will only serve to deter new companies starting, while larger companies such as his will remain relatively unaffected.

The country’s most extensive rail  works, the upgrade to the Interstate Rail Network, has entered the home straight according to Federal Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese.

The replacement of ageing timber sleepers with 3.4 million Australian-made concrete sleepers is due for completion within weeks, and will mark the completion of the major works in the project.

“Funded in part by our successful Economic Stimulus Plan and manufactured by Austrak in Wagga and Rocla in Braemar and Grafton, the new sleepers will increase the Network’s capacity and reliability, allowing it to carry bigger trains at faster speeds including during the hotter summer months,” Mr Albanese said.

“All up, we are currently rebuilding and modernising more than a third of the nation’s 10,000 kilometre Interstate Rail Network. Our aim here is simple: we want more freight on the back of trains. This would not only take the pressure off our highways, but also reduce harmful carbon emissions and boost national productivity.

The Queensland Government has announced it has capped the state’s Solar Bonus Scheme at $54 per year. Effective from 9 July, the scheme will be amended for new applications, with a review taking place into the altered costings.

State Energy Minister Mark McArdle said that the scheme, which begun in 2008, had achieved the desired results of stimulating the solar PV industry and had helped make solar energy more affordable.

“Rising future costs associated with delivering the scheme means change is essential to protect Queenslanders from significant power bill increases,” he said. 

“The Commonwealth Government’s energy white paper found solar schemes were increasing energy costs for energy consumers who could not afford to install solar PV panels.” 

The Minister said modelling of the current solar bonus scheme showed it would cost every household $54 a year by 2014/15. This would cost Queensland about $1.8 billion by 2028 if the bonus scheme remained unchanged at 44 cents per kilowatt hour. 

Changes outlined by the Government to the Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme include: 

• The scheme will close to new applications effective from midnight on 9 July 2012; 
• A replacement feed-in tariff of 8 cents per kilowatt hour will apply from 10 July 2012 and end on 1 July 2014, pending a further review of the scheme; 
• Existing Solar Bonus Scheme participants will continue to receive the current 44 cents per kilowatt hour feed-in tariff as long as they continue to meet eligibility criteria; and 
• The Queensland Competition Authority will conduct a review and make recommendations by early 2013 on a subsidy free “fair and reasonable” solar feed-in tariff for Queensland. 

The Queensland Government has announced it will slash the number of water supply bureaucracies servicing South East Queensland from four to one.

State Minister for Energy and Watter Supply Mark McArdle said the merging of three emerging bulk water entities and the abolition of the Queensland Water Commission would reduce the cost of supplying water across South East Queensland.

“The transition from three bulk water businesses to a single supply authority servicing SEQ will cut board and executive costs as well as administrative charges,” Mr McArdle said.

“We need to get SEQ’s urban water supply system back on track heading towards greater efficiency, less duplication and lower costs for households, small businesses and industry.” 

A survey of health workers, including nurses, doctors and community service workers, has found that they are less confident about their workplace safety than construction workers.

The findings about key workplace attitudes come from a five-year study of over 8,000 workers by the University of Sydney in conjunction with the Australian Research Council and Unions NSW.

Sydney University research director, Professor John Buchanan, said that the findings fly in the face of common misconceptions on workplace safety.

"I think there's a stereotype about what an unsafe workplace is - it's a coal mine which is going to fall on top of people, or they're going to get poisoning of some kind, or fall off a multi-storey building," Professor Buchanan said.

"But the hazards of work are far more subtle these days."

The findings show that a quarter of health professionals feel physically unsafe in their workplaces, compared to 22 per cent of construction employees surveyed.

Being a nurse or doctor in the public health system is one of the most stressful places to be, but most people don't see it like that," he said.

"Most people don't realise that in the health system, it's the good will of those professions which is holding the show together, and they can't do it forever and their health is suffering."

A survey conducted by the ABC has found that regional and rural workers are leaving their areas for fear of their safety.

The survey of 600 rural teachers, police and health workers found that professionals felt increasingly unsafe in the face of rising violence in regional workplaces.

The Working Safe in Regional and Remote Australia is being co-run by a range of groups, including the Rural Doctors Association, Australian Nurses Federation and the Police Federation of Australia.

Chair of the steering group, Dr Jenny May, told the ABC that working in isolation, a lack of funding and a lack of staff all contributed to the gathering exodus.

"We know that feeling safe in a community and particularly in terms of your workplace, or not feeling safe, were correlated well with people deciding to leave our rural and remote communities," Dr May said.

"So there are a number of factors about the rural context, if you like, that make the impact of workplace violence potentially more problematic.

The ACT Government has announced funding for research to map the territory’s general practitioner workforce.

The new ACT GP Workforce Working Group will coordinate the new GP Workforce Scoping Study, which will examine the current and immediate past general practice workforce in the ACT and the accessibility of GP services in the territory.

This information will assist workforce forecasting and forward planning to meet the growing healthcare needs of our residents and city," Chief Minister and Acting Health Minister Katy Gallagher said.

The study will include a snapshot of the current GP workforce including hours of work, basic demographics, a survey of current GPs including trainee GP's to assess their future career intentions, and a full assessment and review of the current workforce including an assessment of new students coming through the ANU and how many remain in Canberra.

ACT Medicare Local Chair Dr Rashmi Sharma said the information gained from the scoping study will assist in determining future workforce needs.

"The study will provide us with the evidence required to accurately predict future general practice workforce needs in the ACT and will also allow the ACT Government and ACT Medicare Local to respond appropriately," Dr Sharma said.

The Federal Government has introduced legislation before parliament that will aim to bolster the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program following the decision of the High Court in the Williams v the Commonwealth of Australia last week.

The High Court ruled that the funding arrangement exceeded Commonwealth powers and funding stood to be blocked.

The Government will introduce legislation to amend the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, and regulations under that act, to provide legislative authorisation for existing programs that have already been approved by the Parliament through the Appropriation Acts.

The legislation will also include a regulation-making power for additional programs that might be identified in the future. Such future regulations would be disallowable by the Parliament.

“Swift passage of this legislation through the Parliament this week will ensure payments under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program can continue. This Program provides support to more than 3500 schools across Australia,” Minister for School Education Peter Garrett said in a statement.  

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has completed its inquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010, concluding that the Federal Government should legislate in favour of marriage equality.

In its final report, the committee backed the move to amend the meaning of marriage to ‘the union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’

The committee, chaired by Labor Senator Trish Crossin, received submissions of support from both spectrums of the political divide.

“Marriage is the only form of legally recognised relationship in which the partners are required to explicitly acknowledge that they are mutually committed to each other as faithful life partners. No other legally recognised relationship provides the same public recognition or guarantees of certainty and security. This significant difference points to the one serious remaining inequality. Heterosexual couples have the option of marrying. Homosexual couples do not,” former Liberal Senator Christopher Puplick AM and Mr Larry Galbraith put it in their submission.

The committee also concluded that all political parties should allow their federal senators and members a conscience vote on the issue.

The results were welcomed by the Greens, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young describing it as an ‘historic day in the Senate.’

“The evidence before the committee was overwhelming - marriage equality's time has come. What needs to happen now is for the Opposition Leader to change his mind on rejecting a conscience vote,” Senator Hanson-Young said. 

The Federal Government has announced a new form of financial advice licence that will ‘significantly increase the availability for financial advice for all Australians’ according to Minister for Financial Services Mr Shorten said.

The new limited Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is expected to see up to 10,000 accountants become licensed and able to provide a much broader range of financial advice than they were previously able to.

In addition to being able to advise on self-managed superannuation (SMSF) funds and superannuation generally, licence holders will be able to give "class of product advice" on basic deposit products, general and life insurance, securities, and simple managed investment schemes.

"This new licence will extend the consumer protection provisions of the Corporations Act, such as the best interests duty in the recently passed Future of Financial Advice reforms, to financial advice provided by accountants," Mr Shorten said.

"SMSF audits are an important part of the regulation of the SMSF sector. Auditor registration will increase the assurance that can be placed in the SMSF audit by ensuring that SMSF auditors are competent to detect and report contraventions of the superannuation law.”

Auditors will need to meet the following requirements to be registered as an SMSF auditor:

• hold a tertiary accounting qualification that includes an audit component or have successfully completed study in audit as part of a professional accounting body program;
• meet a fit and proper test;
• hold professional indemnity insurance;
• have 300 hours of SMSF audit experience in the three years prior to registration, subject to transitional arrangements; and
• pass a competency exam, subject to transitional arrangements.

Auditors will be able to apply for registration from 31 January 2013. All auditors must be registered with ASIC by 1 July 2013 to conduct SMSF audits after this time. Auditors required to sit the competency exam will be able to do so from 1 July 2013 and will have until 30 June 2014 to complete the exam and become fully registered.

The Federal Government has announced a $50 million agreement with the Tasmanian Government for the rejuvenation of the Macquarie Point Railyards in Hobart.

The remediation of the 8.4 hectare just outside of the city’s CBD will see redevelopment of the Brooke St Pier support structure is another key component of this project. The redeveloped Pier will be important for future vessel berthing as well as local ferry and cruise services.

“It is rare for such a large public space to present itself in the heart of an established CBD and our priority is to make the very best use of this natural asset, so that it benefits the local community and visitors to this great city,” Federal Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese said.

The $50 million funding agreement follows a recent grant from our Liveable Cities program to help fund the necessary planning groundwork.

Global engineering consultancy company Sinclair Knight Mertz (SKM) has released the results of a landmark study conducted into the investment, employment and carbon abatement effects of using wind turbines.

SKM concluded that for every 50 megawatts of capacity, the average wind farm creates up to 48 direct jobs during construction, and then employs around five ongoing permanent staff.

A typical 50 megawatt wind farm pays host farmers up to $250,000 per year, is constructed by workers who spend $1.2 million locally, and contributes $80,000 annualy to projects.  Every 100 MW of wind power also reduces around 246,200 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

The full report can be found here

The Western Australian Government has announced the approval of Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert Port B works. The approval of the works comes after Rio Tinto outlined a massive multi-billion increase to its domestic iron ore operations.

“Investment on this scale in key port infrastructure is excellent news for the Pilbara and for Western Australia,” Premier Colin Barnett said.

“It underlines the increasingly significant role that expanded iron ore production and a dynamic Pilbara are having in shaping the economic and social future of our State.”

“Construction workers will be accommodated on site, and Rio’s more than $300million plan to expand the nearby Wickham township will provide housing for the operational workforce,” the Premier said.

“The three-year project, and the expanded residential workforce, will create many additional opportunities, both in the Pilbara and across WA for businesses and employment.

The Cape Lambert Port B project received environmental approval in 2010 and the Government approved the first phase of the project earlier this year.