Industry News

The Federal Government has announced $40 million in spending over four years to soften the blow of the newly unemployed and assist in making the most of savings while looking for a new job or studying.

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, and Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, today announced that from 1 July 2013, applicants can have up to double the amount in liquid assets before being subject to the waiting period to receive Newstart Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Youth Allowance or Austudy.

The new thresholds will be set at $5000 for a single person (with no dependent children) and $10 000 for a person who is partnered or has a dependent child.

“Unemployment is not something people plan for and reducing that person’s modest savings while they look for more work can put undue financial pressure on them,” Mr Shorten said.

“Previously, new claimants of Newstart Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Youth Allowance or Austudy who were single and had more than $2500 cash in the bank could be required to wait for up to 13 weeks before receiving assistance, and partnered people or parents had to wait for up to 13 weeks if they had more than $5000 cash.

“Around 21 000 people - 14 000 single and 7000 partnered or with dependent children - each year will begin receiving payment up to five weeks earlier under this measure.”

Funding of $4.8 million over four years has been provided through the Federal Budget  to support adult education providers and community organisations to expand the delivery of educational and training courses tailored to the needs of senior Australians (aged 60 and above).

It is anticipated that grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 will be awarded annually, expanding educational opportunities for senior Australians with a focus on community engagement and skills development.

This measure forms part of the Government's response to the recommendations of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians.

The Federal Government ahs announced it will spend $1.1 billion over the next four years to assist people who receive income support allowance payments better manage unexpected cost of living expenses.

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, and Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, today announced that from March 2013 allowance recipients would receive a tax-free, twice-yearly Supplementary Allowance.

“Many Australian households are feeling the pressure on their household budgets and families receiving Government allowances are some of our most vulnerable citizens,” Mr Shorten said.

“Some recipients of allowances can find it hard to manage unexpected costs, such as urgent repairs on the family car or appliances, bills that are higher than expected, or unforeseeable medical or dental costs.

Senator Evans said the $210 a year for a single person ($105 per instalment) and $175 for a person who is a member of a couple ($87.50 per instalment) would be indexed twice yearly by the Consumer Price Index to keep pace with inflation, would not be means tested and is tax-free.

“The Supplementary Allowance will help over one million allowance recipients each year to help them prepare better for unexpected costs,” Senator Evans said.

“Combined with doubling the Liquid Assets Waiting Period thresholds, this measure will help both new and long-term income support recipients to manage, and to be more resilient to, unanticipated expenses.”

The Federal Government has moved to allay growing fears of the cost of the introduction of its carbon tax initiative, with Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet saying the effects on families will be modest.

“Treasury modelling shows that the introduction of a $23 carbon price will only have a 0.7 per cent impact on the CPI. Tax cuts and increases in pensions, allowances and family payments will assist almost six million households to meet their average price impact,” Mr Combet said.

Mr Combet said the tax will see over four million households benefit from an extra buffer with assistance that covers 120 per cent of the expected household impact of the tax.

The Federal Government also announced a suite of Budget initiatives regarding the tax, including:

• $2.8 million in additional funding for a range of building energy efficiency activities, including maintenance and improvement of current building rating tools, information programs and regulatory schemes.
• $37.1 million in funding over four years to introduce a nationally-consistent legislative framework to regulate the energy efficiency of equipment and appliances.
• $3.0 million in funding in 2012-13 to support the development of climate change adaptation policy and risk analysis. Further funding will be determined based on the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s report on adaptation due later this year.
• The Tax Breaks for Green Buildings Program will no longer proceed with a saving of $405.2 million over the forward estimates.

The Australian  Government has announced it will broaden the eligibility of the More Help for Mature Age Workers (MHMAW) program and make changes to the payment structure to help address current levels of unmet demand.

The current MHMAW program supports the recognition of qualifications for mature age workers (aged 50 years and above) at the Certificate III level or above who have trade relevant skills but no formal qualification. It does this by reimbursing employers up to $2,000 for a skills assessment and $2,000 for training costs.

The new Budget measure expands the MHMAW program to include mature age workers from non‑trade occupations across all sectors of the economy, such as child care and business. Reimbursements to employers will also be restructured with employers eligible to claim $3,000 for the costs of the skills assessment and a further $1,000 upon completion of the gap training by the mature age worker.

To reflect these changes, the MHMAW program will be renamed the Investing in Experience — Skills Recognition and Training program. The cost of the measure will be met from within the existing resourcing of the MHMAW program.

This measure forms part of the Government's response to the recommendations of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians.

The Budget has also abolished the 'Experience+ Training', 'On‑the‑Job Support' and 'Job Transition Support' programs, with a saving of $16.4 million over two years,  as the training and support currently delivered by these programs will now be supported by the Investing in Experience — skills recognition and training program.

Mature age workers who are currently receiving assistance from 'On‑the‑Job Support' and 'Job Transition Support' programs will continue to receive such assistance until they find a job or exit from the program. Employers approved for grants under the 'Experience+ Training' program would also have their grants processed under the original terms of their application.

In another initiative, the Government will provide $25.7 million over four years to assist mature age job seekers aged 55 years and over who are unemployed and would like help to re‑enter the workforce.

Under this measure, approximately 6,700 mature age job seekers on Stream 1, Stream 1 (limited), Stream 2 and Stream 3 of the Job Services Australia program in particular regions or industries, as prioritised by the Government, will receive a 'silver service' for intensive job preparations. This service includes a review of the person's skills and training needs, undertaking IT training including use of social media to support job search, career counselling, financial planning support, and support for resume preparation, interview skills and job search techniques.

This measure also includes incentives of up to $500 per job seeker for items associated with job preparation, for example internet connection or other IT‑related hardware.

The Federal Government has announced $1 billion in spending over four years to start the roll out of the first stage of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The first stage will begin in mid-2013 and will provide care to an estimated 10,000 people living with a significant and permanent disabilities in up to four locations across the country, from mid-2014, the NDIS will be expanded to cover up to 20,000 people.

The spending announced in the Budget was:

• $342.5 million over three years from July next year for individually funded packages for people with significant and permanent disability.
• $154.8 million over three years from July next year to employ Local Area Coordinators to provide an individualised approach to delivering care and support to people with a disability.
• $58.6 million over three years from July next year to assess the needs of people with a disability in the launch locations.
• $122.6 million over four years to start preparing the disability sector for the new way of delivering disability services. Building the capacity of disability organisations to adjust to an NDIS is critical to success, particularly in the launch locations in the first stage of roll out.
• $240.3 million over four years to build and operate an NDIS information technology system.
• $53 million over four years to establish a new National Disability Launch Transition Agency to coordinate implementation and manage the delivery of care and support to people with a disability and their carers in launch locations from 2013–14.

The Australian Government will provide $50.3 million over four years to help ensure the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is adequately resourced.

Funding will be provided, in part, by implementing cost recovery arrangements from 1 January 2013, providing an additional $46.1 million in revenue over the forward estimates.

The additional funding includes:

• $34.5 million over four years to enable ASQA to conduct compliance audits including cross jurisdictional audits;
• $6.9 million over four years to undertake up to three strategic audits per year targeting specific industry sectors or qualifications. Aged care, the early childhood development workforce and VET in schools have been identified as immediate priorities; and
• $9.0 million over four years for the redevelopment of ASQA's information and communication technology system.

The Australian Government will provide $18.1 million over four years for the establishment of three Australian Skills Centres of Excellence (ASCE) to support innovative production processes and teaching and learning methods in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.

The funding will be sourced by the redirection of funds from the National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF) which was established in the 2011-12 Budget as part of the Building Australia's Future Workforce package to support training and workforce development in areas of current and future skills need.

Each ASCE will receive $2.0 million per annum and be administered by a consortium led by a registered training organisation in partnership with industry, state and territory governments and other relevant stakeholders, which will be required to make a co‑contribution to the cost of establishing the centres.

The Federal Government has announced $29.8 million in spending for the creation of a new Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre.

The centre will aim to create, foster and leverage innovative industrial design, engineering and product development through the spread of leading technologies, business processes and technical knowledge.

“This initiative will build on the Government’s existing business capability programs and help businesses realise new market opportunities, particularly in the Asian market,” Minister for Industry and Innovation Greg Combet said.

The Centre will be led by industry through the creation of a small number of sectoral collaborations involving major manufacturers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), public research agencies, including CSIRO, and universities.

The initiative will provide examples of best practice to the rest of industry and utilise major manufacturers and industry arrangements to champion the diffusion of innovation across sectors.

It will also work to facilitate access by manufacturing SMEs to appropriate facilities with the aim of reducing risks associated with product development.

The initiative will assist growing manufacturing SMEs to be better managed, more capable and higher value enterprises. The Centre will support such enterprises to collaborate and innovate more effectively – key ingredients for success in a competitive manufacturing environment.

The Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing will consult with industry on implementation of the initiative.

The Australian Government has announced in the Budget that it will discontinue the $1,500 standard employer commencement incentive payment and increase the standard completion incentive by $500 to $3,000 for existing worker apprentices in non-National Skills Needs List (NSNL) occupations, generating an overall saving to government revenue of $353.6 million over four years from 2012-13.

Commonwealth incentive payments paid to employers of existing workers undertaking an apprenticeship in NSNL occupations and employers of new workers undertaking an apprenticeship in non-NSNL occupations will remain unchanged.

The Government says the measure aims to target employer apprenticeship incentives more carefully and increase focus on skills shortage occupations and higher completion rates. It says that employers incur a range of costs in hiring new staff, and it is therefore appropriate that the incentive payment is lower for existing staff.

This measure will re-target apprenticeship incentive payments to encourage higher completion rates for existing workers in non-National Skills Needs List occupations.

In addition, the Government will achieve savings of $47.8 million over four years from 2012-13 by changing the payment arrangements for the standard apprenticeship commencement incentive. The incentive payment will be made six months after an apprentice commences employment rather than the current three months.

The standard commencement incentive currently provides employers of apprentices at or above the Certificate III level with $1,500 and employers of apprentices at the Certificate II level in nominated equity groups with $1,250.

The Victorian Government has announced a major overhaul and substantial changes to the deployment of staff of  the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) with the aim of refocusing it towards delivering research and development to rural stakeholders.

The plan will involve consolidation of operations in metropolitan offices from Box Hill, Frankston, Footscray, Knoxfield, Werribee and Woori Yallock, while shop fronts in Ararat, Birchip, Camperdown, Cobram, Kyneton, Ouyen and St Arnaud will be wound up and these staff members moved to existing rural DPI offices.

The savings generated will be reinvested into future research and development efforts by DPI.

Three floors of DPI headquarters in the city will be closed – two at 55 Collins Street and one floor at 1 Spring Street. There will also be altered service delivery of DPI operations that will see DPI staff currently based in 15 DSE offices relocated to existing rural and regional DPI offices.

Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh said the refreshed DPI would focus on better supporting Victoria's agricultural industries to ensure future food supply for Victoria and to take advantage of export opportunities such as emerging Asian markets.

"Victoria's food and fibre exports were worth a record $8.07 billion in the 2010-11 financial year, making the sector the state's second-highest export earner representing 28 per cent of Australian agricultural exports," Mr Walsh said.

"There is growing worldwide demand for Australian agricultural exports and Victoria is well-placed to take a lead role, but it is important that DPI is in a position to deliver the most effective support, research and development to farmers as possible.

Mr Walsh said more DPI staff would be located in regional and rural Victoria than based in Melbourne, providing dedicated services for producers.

"The Government plans to instill new purpose into the DPI as part of its $213 million investment supporting Victoria's agricultural sector, headlined by the $61.4 million Growing Food and Fibre initiative."

An Australian first and world leading study into the overall health and wellbeing of children of same-sex attracted parents is being led by the University of Melbourne.

The study is the biggest of its kind to investigate the complete physical, mental and social wellbeing of children with same-sex attracted parents, and in particular the role that stigma and discrimination play in their health and wellbeing. 

Researchers aim to recruit 500 families representing around 750 children. To date studies of this type have rarely considered more than 100 children.

The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families (ACHESS) aims to describe all the issues surrounding a child’s health and wellbeing including for the first time, physical aspects and health behaviours including diet and exercise. 

Dr Simon Crouch from the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, The McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health said, “We want our study to inform not only the parents to better understand the health needs of their children but also to inform policy to affect all those who come in contact with them such as teachers and GPs.”

Jason Tuazon-McCheyne has a six-year old son Ruben with his partner Adrian. 

“We are fortunate to have a healthy son. But if we can help researches understand what affects the health and wellbeing of children from families like ours then future same-sex attracted parents will be better equipped to ensure that their children develop healthily.”

The Federal Government has announced $38.8 billion in spending over the next four years to support the move to lift the cap on student places at universities.

The spending coincides with the Federal Government’s latest modelling that shows more than 770,000 students are expected to be enrolled at universities across the country.

“Australia needs a more highly educated workforce and we cannot afford not to tap into the talent of regional and disadvantaged students,” Minister for Tertiary Education Senator Chris Evans said.

“Our reforms mean more students are now aspiring to a tertiary education—one in six students attending university this year are from low socio-economic backgrounds and many are the first in their family to go to university.”

The Federal Budget will increase the amount of loading paid to universities for enabling courses. By 2014, this funding will have increased the value of the loading by 50 per cent to $3068 for each full-time enabling place. These courses are provided free to students who need additional help preparing for a university course.

The spending is broken down as follows:

• $25.8 billion for the Commonwealth Grant Scheme
• $8.4 billion for the Higher Education Loan Program
• $1 billion for equity and access measures
• $765 million for infrastructure
• $217 million to promote and recognise quality teaching and learning
• $2.6 billion in other targeted programs

The Federal Government has outlined an additional $126 million in funding for science and research in universities in 2012-13.

Announced in the Federal Budget, the increase will bring the total investment for university research to $1.72 billion for the 2012-13 year, and $9 billion for research and innovation around the country.

Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, said the funding was critical to ensuring Australia remains internationally competitive.

“We need to maintain our world-class science reputation and invest in research to ensure Australia is well placed to drive innovation in the 21st century,” Senator Evans said.

The government's investment in university research and spending is broken down as follows:

• $656 million for the Research Training Scheme
• $233 million for Research Infrastructure Block Grants
• $345 million for Joint Research Engagement
• $219 million for Sustainable Research Excellence
• $248 million for Australian Postgraduate Awards
• $22 million for International Postgraduate Research Scholarships

“Our funding will support the academies to promote research and scholarships and provide independent, expert advice across government, industry and the community on issues of national and international significance—like science, technology, humanities and the social sciences—for the benefit of all Australians,” Senator Evans said.

“This investment will help Australian scientists and researchers drive innovation and remain competitive in the increasingly complex global economy.”

The Federal Government will provide $9.6 million over four years to set up a new information management system for the Australian Apprenticeships Program.

The Australian Apprenticeships Information Management System (AAIMS) will provide a streamlined electronic system for registering training contracts and processing payments. It will also improve workflow processes, deliver operational efficiencies and facilitate improved data sharing between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments.

The AAIMS will be developed over three years, replacing the existing Training and Youth Internet Management System.

The National Water Commission’s CEO James Cameron, (no, not THAT James Cameron), has called for the improvement and systematic monitoring of water plans to ensure that methods used are effective in meeting their environmental objectives.

Releasing two key reports identifying priorities and resources for improving environmental water performance, Mr Cameron said there is room for significant improvement of water management.

“Getting the appropriate monitoring arrangements in place, focussing on clearly articulated planned ecosystem outcomes, is critical to determining the extent to which water plans are delivering real benefits to the environment and to build community confidence in how well we are using our environmental water,” Mr Cameron said.

“The improved knowledge and lessons learned as a consequence of monitoring are also fundamental to the effective review of plans and consequent adaptive management.”

Mr Cameron called for a broader, national perspective in considering how to best manage water resources, saying more must be done in identifying a broader natural resource management policy framework.

This will ensure that our management of environmental water fully integrates environmental objectives with social, economic and Indigenous water objectives.

‘The Commission hopes that this report on the progress of Australia’s states and territories in managing their environmental water will encourage a national discussion amongst our jurisdictions and promote better practice’, he said.

The Australian environmental water management report 2012 can be found here

Budget allocations in the Transport and Infrastsructure portfolio have included funding to continue evaluation of the High Speed Rail project and support for National Transport Regulator reforms.

The Government will provide $20.0 million over four years to improve national transport planning,  with a particular focus on the High Speed Rail Unit to continue to evaluate a High Speed Rail project on the Eastern seaboard of Australia.

$37.9 million will be provided over three years to establish national transport regulators for heavy vehicles, rail safety and maritime safety.

The measure includes:

• $15.6 million over 2011‑12 and 2012‑13 to establish the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator in Queensland;
• $9.2 million over 2011‑12 and 2012‑13 to establish the National Rail Safety Regulator in South Australia;
• $10.1 million over 2012‑13 and 2013‑14 in capital and expenses to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to develop and purchase a national information system to support its role as the National Maritime Safety Regulator; and
• $1.0 million in 2011‑12 to each of Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory to assist with the costs of implementing the national reforms.

The Federal Budget has withdrawn the Australian Government’s 2009-10 Budget commitment to provide $50.0 million from the Building Australia Fund to the proposed Darwin Port Expansion project, redirecting the funds for road projects in the Northern Territory.

This funding will be applied to current projects on the Central Arnhem Road and Port Keats Road designed to provide access to Indigenous communities, and projects on roads impacted by the Ichthys LNG project being undertaken by the INPEX Corporation.

The Federal Government has announced a $3.56 billion injection into the Nation Building Program, which, if matched by the NSW Government, could see the completion of the full duplication of the Pacific Highway by the end of 2016.

Federal Minister for Infrastrucrue and Transport Anthony Albanese said the Federal Government is willing to match whatever spending the NSW Government makes on the project.

“We are simply asking the NSW Government to fulfil the commitments they gave prior to last State election and to honour the funding arrangements originally put in place in 1996 and reconfirmed in 2007 by former Prime Minister John Howard,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.

Federal Labor is prepared to step up and match any new funding which the NSW Government allocates to this vital nation building project on a dollar for dollar basis up to a limit of $3.56 billion. Getting this job done will require an equal partnership between both levels of government.

The announcement comes after the NSW Roads and Maritime Services estimated an additional $7.1 billion will be required to complete the works.

The Federal Government has announced an extra $225.1 million in Budget spending over four years in child care assistance to assist parents train and re-skill to enter or return to the workforce.

The Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JETCCFA) will provide assistance with child care fees for parents on income support, most single parents, while they are studying or training.

The Government has also announced that the Child Care Rebate has been increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of out-of-pocket expenses up to $7500 per child per year.

In addition to receiving increased funding, the JETCCFA program will also be better targeted to help those parents who need it most and the rules for eligible courses changed to make sure that JETCCFA better supports training and study that most improves job prospects.

For further details visit www.deewr.gov.au