Industry News

The ASIC personal finance website MoneySmart launched the Top 4 End of Financial Year Tips.

The tips tell Australians now is the time to get organised, set some goals, consider a first home savings account or sort your super.

Delia Rickard, Senior Executive Leader Financial Literacy said “The end of financial year is not only a time to set up solid financial practices; it is the perfect time to get your super right. Especially since some superannuation benefits will be less generous after 30 June.

“Being ‘MoneySmart’ this end of financial year means thinking beyond receipts to reassessing your finances and planning for your future. This applies no matter your age or life stage,” she said.

Here are MoneySmart’s Top 4 Tips for 2011/2012 end of financial year:

1. Become a master record keeper!

Start sorting out your tax receipts now. If you keep them in one place you'll find them easily at tax time and won't miss out on any tax deductions.

2. Create financial goals

If you didn’t get around to setting financial goals in January, now is the perfect opportunity. MoneySmart’s saving goals calculator helps you work out what it will take to reach your savings goals, how long it will take you and the steps you need to put your plan into action.

3. Sort your super

Get the government to contribute to your super.

If you earn less than $61,920 per year (before tax), you can take advantage of the Government's co-contribution if you make an after-tax contribution to your super. The government will match your contributions, dollar for dollar, up to $1,000 (depending on your income). Be sure to get in before June 30 as the co-contribution matching rate is proposed to decrease to 50c for each dollar next year.

Contribute to your partner's super
If you contribute to your spouse’s super because they’re not working or on a low income, you may be entitled to a tax offset of up to $540.

Sacrifice your salary
Many Australians are not taking advantage of salary sacrificing to top up their super. Only 25% of Australian employees contribute more than the standard 9% and only 20% use salary sacrifice.2

By 'sacrificing' some of your pre-tax salary and putting it into your super, it will only be taxed at the concessional rate of 15%. This may be lower than the tax rate for your regular salary. There is a limit on how much you can put into super each year by salary sacrifice.

4. Open a first home saver account
If you’re thinking of buying your first home and starting a first home saver account, now is the time. For every $1,000 you put in each financial year, the government will give you $170 (up to $935 each year).

The Queensland Government has announced plans to conduct an audit into Queensland Rail’s maintenance after date shows reliability of peak services fell to a three year low in the last few months.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said reliability of the south-east Queensland rail network dropped to 90.01 per cent for peak on-time running in the January to March 2012 period – the lowest result since 2009.

“The interim report of the audit of the city rail network, which I ordered last month, is due at the end of May and will focus on ways to improve reliability,” Mr Emerson said.

The Queensland Government has confirmed it will not look to challenge the Federal Government’s carbon tax in the High Court.

“The LNP is opposed to the introduction of the Gillard Government’s carbon tax because of the negative effect it will have on industry development, jobs and the cost of living for families as companies pass on the cost of the tax,” Mr Bleijie said.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been advised that a challenge is unlikely to be successful, so we won’t waste taxpayers’ money fighting a losing battle.”

Mr Bleijie confirmed the State Government will push for the carbon tax to be costed separately on all residential electricity bills from 1 July. 

A PHD student from the CSIRO and University of Queensland has developed a new software application that will allow greater accuracy in the ‘spell checking’ of genetic sequencing.

Lauren Bragg has completed her work, which featured in prestigious journal Nature Methods, that is expected to assist biologists in better understanding the genetic sequences of their studies.

The Acacia software works similarly to a word processing spell checker, finding errors in the As, Cs, Ts and Gs that form the code of different living organisms.

Ms Bragg's development of Acacia is part of the field of bioinformatics, a blend of computer science, statistics and biology.

"It's exciting to be published in a journal like Nature Methods but I get more satisfaction from hearing how my software is helping biologists fix sequencing errors." Ms Bragg said.

The Victorian Government is encouraging stakeholders to comment on the development of metropolitan planning laws in Victoria.

State Planning Minister Matthew Guy urged everyone to contribute to the conversation that will shape the future of Melbourne’s planning and development.

"We need to build on the best of past planning strategies and bring fresh thinking to our consideration of projected growth and change and to how we address the challenges in front of us," Mr Guy said.

"The next 12 months will be critical to the successful development of the metropolitan strategy, as we embark on further consultation across the broader community.

"Strong linkages with the Regional Growth Plans will be key to integrating Melbourne with the rest of the state.

The State Government launched the Metropolitan Planning Strategy website that can be found here

Better protections for workers exercising their rights, a more balanced bargaining system and a range of improvements to economic and workplace conditions to help deliver secure jobs are all at the heart of a dynamic agenda for Australian unions leading into the ACTU Congress.

The ACTU has outlined its vision to create a better future for Australian workers with secure jobs and a stronger, more equitable economy, to be endorsed at the 2012 Congress.

Almost 1000 delegates representing workers from every industry and sector in Australia will attend the ACTU Congress at the Sydney Convention Centre from 15-17 May. ACTU President Ged Kearney said the triennial Congress – often referred to as a “Workers’ Parliament - was the largest and most important gathering of Australian unions.

“We will put forward solutions to counter this employer militancy, through better bargaining powers for workers and stronger representation rights, including a Charter of Delegates’ Rights,” Ms Kearney said.

“But we also have a growing number of workers engaged in insecure work who are often powerless against hostile employers who put profits before workers.

“In response, unions will call on the Government to strengthen the rights for employees in insecure work, and to improve their conditions of employment.

“Improvements need to be made to allow workers to bargain for job security, and to prevent big employers from holding the economy to ransom through their refusal to bargain in good faith,” she said.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has announced the establishment of an Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences to advise the authority on key parts of its strategy.

"The Authority is committed to an ongoing discussion about the science and socio-economic knowledge needed to support the adaptive management of the basin over the next few years.  I see this Committee as an essential part of assisting us with that endeavour,” MDBA Chair Craig Knowles.

"We are keen to establish this independent advisory committee to help us focus our future science and knowledge priorities over the next few years. We are looking for the best and brightest minds in the fields of hydrology, ecology, social sciences and economics."

The recommendations of the CSIRO-led review of the science behind the draft plan will be part of the work of the Advisory Committee. The CSIRO review found that draft Basin Plan represented a sufficient basis to begin an adaptive process of managing the Basin.

The role of the Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences is to provide advice on:

1. The development and implementation of the MDBA's science and knowledge strategy;
2. Science and knowledge priorities to support the MDBA in the implementation of the Basin Plan and related programs including, but not limited to:
   1. Guidance on how to progress the recommendations from the CSIRO review of the hydrological and environmental science bases of the environmentally sustainable level of take;
   2. Guidance on how to progress matters arising from the social and economic synthesis report;
   3. Guidance on any recommendations arising from the current research project on cultural flows;
   4. Guidance on adaptive management, monitoring and evaluation.
3. The communication of science related matters with Basin stakeholders and to the broader community; and
4. Any other research and analysis activities undertaken by the MDBA where requested.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has recently recovered almost $60,000 for dozens of workers in Victoria’s Goldfields region.

The largest recovery was $24,700 for 68 hospitality workers at Ballarat, with underpayments ranging from $11 to $1524.

The Fair Work Ombudsman randomly audited the business and found the workers had been underpaid the minimum hourly rate for almost three years between October, 2008 and June, 2011.

After a Fair Work inspector contacted the business and explained its obligations, the employees were reimbursed without the need for further action against the employer.

Other recent recoveries include:

• $11,700 for a care worker south of Ballarat underpaid the minimum hourly rate and annual leave entitlements,
• $7400 for a retail worker at Maryborough underpaid penalty rates, overtime allowances and annual leave entitlements,
• $5800 for a labourer at Ballarat underpaid the minimum hourly rate,
• $5200 for a food and beverage attendant at Daylesford underpaid the minimum hourly rate, and
• $5000 for a North Ballarat receptionist underpaid termination entitlements.

Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson says that when Fair Work inspectors identify a problem and contact a business, most employers check their records, realise a problem has occurred and fix it immediately.

The Fair Work Ombudsman provides a single point of contact for people working or running a business in Australia to get accurate and timely information about their workplace rights and obligations.

The website has a number of tools and resources, including PayCheckPlus and an Award Finder, to assist business owners to calculate the correct pay for their employees.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Select Council on Climate Change has reached a bipartisan agreement for a national approach to reforming climate change policies and programs.

The council agreed to fast track a range of programs that are not complementary to a carbon price and will ensure no duplication occurs with existing reporting requirements.

“Today we’ve seen the Council agree to seven national priorities for collaborative adaptation action - water resources, coasts, infrastructure, national ecosystems, agriculture, emergency management and vulnerable communities,” Tasmanian Minister for Climate Change, Cassy O’Connar said.

Victorian Environment and Climate Change Minister Ryan Smith welcomed the agreement.

"Victoria will do its fair share towards reducing Australia's overall greenhouse gas emissions with practical measures to achieve this, such as improving energy efficiency,” Mr Smith said.

The CSIRO has warned of drastic changes to volume of Antarctic Bottom Water, the cold dense water that drives global ocean currents, after releasing recent findings.

The CSIRO took detailed measurements of the bottom water and compared the findings with a similar study in the 1970s, finding as much as a 60 per cent reduction in the volume of the water.

The 25-day observing program measured temperature and sailinty at 77 sites between Antarctica and Fremantle and suggest that the densest waters in the world are gradually disapeeearing and being replaced by less dense water.

The amount of dense Antarctic Bottom Water has contracted each time we've measured it since the 1970s," said Dr Steve Rintoul, of CSIRO and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC.

"There is now only about 40 per cent as much dense water present as observed in 1970."

The ocean profiles also show that the dense water formed around Antarctica has become less saline since 1970.

"It's a clear signal to us that the oceans are responding rapidly to variations in climate in polar regions. The sinking of dense water around Antarctica is part of a global pattern of ocean currents that has a strong influence on climate, so evidence that these waters are changing is important," Dr Rintoul said.

The research was carried out by more than 50 scientists on the Australian Antarctic Division's research and resupply vessel Aurora Australis, which sailed to Commonwealth Bay, west along the Antarctic coast, and returned into Fremantle.

Increasingly mums are returning to the workforce when their youngest child begins school, statistics from the ABS show.

For mums whose youngest child was of school-age (6 to 14 years), 79% participated in the labour force in 2010-11, up from 77% in 2006-07.

For mums with school-aged children, 55% were working part-time in 2010-11, and 10% of those mums both wanted to and were available to work more. 

Two-thirds of employed mums with children under 6 years of age were working part-time in 2010-11, and 9% of those mums both wanted to and were available to work more. 

But mums don't just work in a job. In 2006, mums of school-aged children on average spent 5 hours and 9 minutes a day caring for their children, while mums of younger children spent 11 hours and 25 minutes. Those mums employed part-time spent almost 2 hours more per day looking after their children (8 hours and 34 minutes) compared to mums who worked full-time (6 hours and 39 minutes per day).

In 2009-10 there were 1.2 million mothers of children under 6 years, another 1.1 million mothers whose youngest child was aged 6 to 14 years, and a further 1.3 million mothers with older children.

The median age of women having a baby in 2010 was 30.7 years, up from 29.8 years in 2000. The median age of first-time mothers in 2010 was 28.9 years.

To find out more about mothers see the ABS online products: Gender Indicators, Australia (cat. no. 4125.0), How Australians Use Their Time, 2006 (cat. no. 4153.0), Family Characteristics, Australia, 2009-10 (4442.0) and Births, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3301.0).

The Federal Government has outlined a $515.3 million spending initiative in the 2012-13 Budget aimed at significantly reducing times on public dental waiting lists.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the spending will also direct spending to help boost the public dental health workforce and bolster infrastructure in regional, rural and remote areas.

Ms Plibersek said $345.9 million will be directed to treating patients on waiting lists over the next three years, providing vital services to around 400,000 adults including support for Indigenous Australians. 

“New spending in this Budget will see a blitz on state government waiting lists to help meet the emergency treatment and prevention needs of people who are eligible for public dental care,” Ms Plibersek said. 

Funding injections into two additional programs will help to increase capacity in the dental workforce and boost services in the public sector and other areas of need, providing necessary foundations for continued improvement in dental care. 

“These are significant steps towards a better system of dental care.” 

Ms Plibersek said the Voluntary Dental Graduate Year Program will be increased from 50 to 100 placements per year by 2016 at a cost of $35.7 million over three years. 

The Government also outlined $45.2 million over four years to introduce an Oral Health Therapist graduate year program.

These placements will enable graduates to provide additional preventative dental care and health advocacy to adults and children in areas of need,” Ms Plibersek said.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has received a renewed report on the environmental impact of dredging at the proposed Browse Liquefied Natural Gas processing precinct.

“It is vital the information is adequate and robust prior to being subject to the EPA’s usual rigour and scrutiny expected by the public and the Minister for Environment,” EPA Chairman Paul Vogel said.

Dr Vogel said the proponent had remodelled the impacts of dredging incorporating improved geotechnical, bathymetric and metocean data.

He said the dredge volume had also been revised from 21 million cubic metres to 34 million cubic metres of material, with the duration of foundation dredging activities estimated to increase from 18 to 21 months.

Dr Vogel said the assessment would determine if there were significant different or additional environmental impacts predicted from modelling the effects of dredging using the revised information.

“The Browse LNG proposal is the most significant environmental impact assessment of a strategic proposal ever undertaken under the Environmental Protection Act,” Dr Vogel said.

“The public deserves nothing less than for the EPA to make a fully informed decision and for this reason, the EPA’s report to the Minister for Environment is now expected mid-year.”

The NSW Minerals Council has announced its annual awards for innovation safety in the mining industry.

The 2012 OHS Innovation Award Winners are:

2012 OHS INNOVATION AWARD: BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal (West Cliff Mine), Illawarra/Wollondilly Region

Ultra Lightweight Ventilation Tube: In a first for a NSW underground coalmine, trialling new carbon fibre ventilation tubes in place of traditional fibreglass significantly reduces their weight (from 35-40kg to just 9kg), increasing productivity and minimising heavy lifting risks like muscular-skeletal injuries.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Centennial Coal (Myuna Colliery), Hunter/Newcastle Region

SOTO Tow Hitch Syste: This innovative rigid towing device minimises the risk of safety incidents by increasing control of movement while towing heavy mine equipment underground. It can be used in all conditions and can be operated by just one person.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: BHP Billiton Mt Arthur Coal, Hunter/Newcastle Region

The ‘Marnett’ Belt Lifter Bracke: This specialised bracket allows conveyer belts without a mechanical belt lifter to be periodically changed without manual handling and pinch point hazards. It saves time by around 25 per cent, can be used on any conveyor and costs less than $300 each.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE (Voted by conference delegates): BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal (West Cliff Mine), Illawarra/Wollondilly Region

Ultra Lightweight Ventilation Tube:  (Also winner of the major 2012 OHS INNOVATION AWARD)

ABS Building Approvals show that the number of dwellings approved rose 7.4% in March 2012, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a fall of 8.8% in February.

Dwelling approvals increased for the month of March in New South Wales (49.3%), Western Australia (11.1%) and South Australia (4.2%), but decreased in Queensland (-8.7%), Tasmania (-6.7%), and Victoria (-5.0%) in seasonally adjusted terms. 

In seasonally adjusted terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 3.9% in March with rises in South Australia (16.3%), Western Australia (14.5%), New South Wales (3.5%) and Queensland (1.8%). Victoria fell (-1.0%).

The value of total building approved decreased 8.9% in March in seasonally adjusted terms, following a decrease of 31.7% in February. The value of residential building rose 1.3% while non-residential building fell 23.4%.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at www.abs.gov.au

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has denied recent media reports about aviation safety in, claiming that air travel remains one of the safest forms of travel.

The response follows media reports that Australian air travellers are involved in "dozens of dangerous close calls reported by flight crews and air traffic controllers each week".

The ATSB says that Australia's extensive mandatory reporting scheme sees a broad range of occurrences (incidents and accidents) reported to the ATSB. These include reports from all sectors of the aviation sector, ranging from sport and recreational flying in ultra-lights and gyrocopters, to private flying and other general aviation operations, through to commercial passenger operations.

“The vast majority of aviation safety occurrences reported to the ATSB are minor in nature. Far from 'escaping investigation', these occurrences are assessed as not requiring investigation as they are unlikely to reveal significant systemic safety issues. But it is important that the ATSB is notified of all occurrences as the data helps us to analyse trends, find patterns in transport safety and alert the relevant people to any ongoing problem or risk.

“Importantly, the ATSB has not identified any change in occurrence trends that would suggest overall increasing risk or any systemic safety issues. Given the high level of flying activity on any given day, occurrences are inevitable. These can include mechanical problems, human error or environmental issues such as severe weather or birds and wildlife.

“Aviation systems are designed on the expectation that such issues will occur, and back-up systems or defences exist to minimise the associated risk.

“The ATSB investigates to better understand why occurrences happen and to reduce the risk of them happening again. In combination with the work of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Airservices Australia, airlines, operators, and individual aviation professionals and practitioners, this contributes to the high standard of aviation safety that exists in Australia.”

Winners of the 7th annual Safe Work Australia Awards have been announced, selected from 37 finalists.

The winners and highly commended entries are:

Category 1a
Best workplace health and safety management system—Private sector

Winner

Grocon Constructors – VIC
Grocon Constructors demonstrate a whole of operations approach to safety. The way they have managed to integrate their safety management system across the entire organisation is very impressive. All Grocon staff are involved in the safety management system, from the Senior Leadership Team, to on site workers and subcontractors. Their management system is efficient, innovative and has achieved real results.

Highly commended

Decmil Australia - WA
Decmil Australia has a very strong safety culture which is highlighted in their workplace health and safety management system. They perform monthly safety performance reviews and their management system is relevant for staff at all levels. Decmil has quantifiable safety outcomes and places strong value on safety capabilities and skills.

Category 1b
Best workplace health and safety management system—Public sector

Winner

ENERGEX - QLD
The ENERGEX work health and safety management system has assisted the company to successfully manage large and unpredictable events such as the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi. Energex maintains a strong focus on the safety of their employees as well as personnel from interstate, volunteers and the public.

Highly commended

Public Transport Authority – WA
The Western Australian Public Transport Authority (PTA) is dedicated to safety. It has a no-blame culture which encourages incident and near miss reporting. The safety manager is a dedicated individual and the organisation identifies and supports safety champions. The PTA has also been undertaking ground breaking work to assist drivers to cope with the trauma of suicide.

Category 2
Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue

Winner

The Australian Reinforcing Company - QLD
The Australian Reinforcing Company (ARC) developed innovative solutions to not one but three safety issues that have been challenges in the steel manufacturing industry for some time. Their innovative solutions addressed manual handling, falls and crushing. ARC’s solutions could easily be applied across the steel and construction industry which would benefit many workers.

Highly commended

Wellington Dam Alliance – WA
The Post-tensioning Strand Cutting Module that Wellington Dam Alliance developed is a creative solution to eliminate a significant workplace hazard. It shows thinking outside the box can be both safe and efficient. Wellington Dam Alliance demonstrated outstanding participation and commitment to work health and safety throughout the duration of the project.

Category 3
Best workplace health and safety practice/s in a small business

Winner

The Hub Fruit Bowl – SA
The Hub Fruit Bowl is a family friendly, small business that is passionate about work health and safety. Many young people experience the work environment for the first time with their company and the Hub Fruit Bowl takes their health and safety training seriously. They have a common sense and inclusive approach to health and safety which other retailers could benefit from.

Highly commended

Briar Maritime Services - TAS
Briar Maritime Services workers are on-call and work unpredictable hours. With no appropriate off the shelf solutions available, they developed a tailored self reporting system to manage fatigue. Briar Maritime Services have a genuine belief in managing fatigue and show a strong commitment to safety.

Category 4a
Best individual contribution to workplace health and safety—by an employee

Winner

Leading Seaman Natalie Irvine, Royal Australian Navy – SRCC
Natalie Irvine showed tenacity, persevering to overcome barriers of rank to improve safety both on board the HMAS Parramatta and in the wider fleet. She has demonstrated outstanding personal commitment to work health and safety in difficult circumstances and is a true work health and safety leader.

Category 4b
Best individual contribution to workplace health and safety—by an OHS manager

Winner

Peter Rogers, Jeff Hort Engineering – NSW
Throughout his career, Peter Rogers has gone beyond the call of duty to be a champion of work health safety. He has a genuine passion for safety and regularly communicates with all Jeff Hort workers to ensure safety is at the front of everyone’s mind. For Peter, work health and safety is about more than just compliance, it is a way of life, a passion and an expectation.

ABS Building Approvals show that the number of dwellings approved rose 7.4% in March 2012, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a fall of 8.8% in February.

Dwelling approvals increased for the month of March in New South Wales (49.3%), Western Australia (11.1%) and South Australia (4.2%), but decreased in Queensland (-8.7%), Tasmania (-6.7%), and Victoria (-5.0%) in seasonally adjusted terms. 

In seasonally adjusted terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 3.9% in March with rises in South Australia (16.3%), Western Australia (14.5%), New South Wales (3.5%) and Queensland (1.8%). Victoria fell (-1.0%).

The value of total building approved decreased 8.9% in March in seasonally adjusted terms, following a decrease of 31.7% in February. The value of residential building rose 1.3% while non-residential building fell 23.4%.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at www.abs.gov.au

A report by Monash University, commissioned by  the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, has criticized moves by the National Transport Commission (NTC)  to remove working hour caps for NSW train drivers.

The NTC is proposing to replace the standard 12-hour shift maximum with a work and break plan.

The Monash report finds that even the current 12-hour shift cap is potentially a threat to the safety of drivers and passengers, suggesting that shifts should be no longer than eight consecutive hours.

The report cites international standards, including those in the US, the EU, Canada and Britan, where rail workers’ hours are highly regulated.

Patrick Stevedores has announced the signing of commercial agreements for the development and expansion of Patrick’s Container Terminal at Sydney’s Port Bortany.

Once the company meets its development obligations, Patrick will increase its presence at the port by 39 per cent through the further development of an integrated Container Terminal, which will comprise its existing Container Terminal and the adjoining 17.6 hectare site.

The new Terminal will be designed to balance capacity across the quay line, the container stacking yard and the landside interface. Plans for the new Terminal will more than double Patrick’s capacity to 2.5 million TEUs per annum and include an expansion of quay line to 1400 metres, including four berths capable of accommodating the new panama vessels.

“Today’s announcement is the next step in the major expansion of Sydney Ports Corporation’s container port facilities at Port Botany,” said Mr Grant Gilfillan, Sydney Ports Corporation CEO and Director. 

“As one of the largest port projects to be undertaken in Australia in the last 30 years, we look forward to working with Patrick to deliver increased capacity which caters for long term trade growth.”