Source: Jobs and Skills Australia
Insights into the Jobs and Skills Roadmap for Regional Australia
Michelle Looi
Video
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) have published the recording of the Jobs and Skills Roadmap for Regional Australia webinar.
Cutting the fat: Oat oil breakthrough paves way for industry growth
Source:
21 July 2025
New University of South Australia research is providing evidence of biological triggers of oil production in oats, a discovery that will help processing and potentially drive further demand for Australian-grown oats.
While Australia is the world’s second-largest exporter of oats, high oil content in oat grains creates challenges during milling, reducing processing efficiency and limiting product innovation – particularly in high-demand sectors like oat flour and plant-based proteins.
Researchers from the University of South Australia, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), and the University of Adelaide are collaborating on research designed to better understand the biological processes responsible for oil synthesis in oat grains.
In this study, two contemporary varieties of oats were examined using spatial imaging techniques to track oil build-up during grain development. Researchers then applied ‘omics’ technologies – lipidomics and proteomics – to analyse lipid and protein expression, which provided key insights into the biological mechanisms involved in the actual formation of the grain, including those relating to oil synthesis.
The UniSA findings have provided further evidence of the mechanisms that underlie the amount of oil in an oat grain. These findings will help to guide future breeding efforts for naturally lower-oil oat varieties, improving milling yields and creating new value-added opportunities across the oat supply chain.
UniSA PhD candidate, Darren Lau, says that current oil removal methods are inefficient and that low-oil breeding programs will aid industry growth.
“While oil can be removed from partially milled oat flakes – using supercritical carbon dioxide prior to further milling – this approach is laborious and expensive,” he says.
“Breeding low-oil oat varieties is a cost-effective approach but requires further understanding of oil production in oats. This is where our research is critical.
“Our analysis has identified several key enzymes that are involved in oil synthesis which could be genetically manipulated to lower oil content of oat grains.
“Reducing oil content could also unlock new opportunities in sectors like oat flour and alternative proteins, which could significantly strengthen Australia’s position in the market.”
The economic potential of these opportunities is reflected in the quantity of oats exported globally. For example, in 2022 twenty-six million metric tonnes of oats were produced worldwide, ranking them seventh among cereals in production quantity.
Lowering oil content in oat grains will enhance processing and product versatility, positioning them alongside traditional cereal staples like barley, maize, wheat, and rice, and further driving industry growth.
The UniSA findings are being used by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) oat grain quality consortium to improve suitability for milling and food/beverage ingredient development. Additional research is continuing within the consortium that will build on the study’s findings to further inform breeding efforts aimed at reducing oil content in oats.
“The consortia are currently working on a larger and more diverse oat cohort to further investigate molecular markers and nutrient partitioning of oil in oats,” Lau says.
“The consortia are also investigating one of the key enzymes validated in this study to determine whether manipulating or removing it can lower oil content, and how that affects the growth of the plant.”
SARDI Project Lead Dr Janine Croser, says the study’s findings provide further evidence of key pathways involved in oat oil biosynthesis.
“This research provides important insights into the biological mechanisms underlying varietal differences of oil production in developing oat grains,” Dr Croser says.
“We expect that the development of low-oil lines will improve efficiencies in the flour milling process and potentially lead to novel uses for oats.
“With demand for plant-based foods on the rise, we anticipate the oat grain quality consortium research will help put Australia at the forefront of oat innovation – supporting growers, processors, and exporters alike.”
The full paper, Proteomic and lipidomic analyses reveal novel molecular insights into oat (Avena sativa L.) lipid regulation and crosstalk with starch synthesis during grain development, is available online.
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Contact for interview: Darren Lau E: Darren.Lau@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au
Josh Owen-Thomas E: Josh.Owen-Thomas@unisa.edu.au
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UPDATE: Age correction – Death – Tiwi
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force can confirm that the age of the child who was struck and killed by a palm on Saturday was 4-years-old, while an 11-year-old male was also struck by the palm tree and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The initial age of 7 was incorrect.
Investigations into the tragic incident remain ongoing.
Man charged with drug and fraud offences in Burnie
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Man charged with drug and fraud offences in Burnie
Monday, 21 July 2025 – 10:35 am.
Police have charged a 37-year-old man with significant drug and fraud offences, following a recent operation in Western Tasmania.
Detective Inspector Michelle Elmer said the operation, which has been running since May 2025, was led by the Western Criminal Investigation Branch and involved a range of specialist police resources.
“The man was arrested on Friday during a planned search of a Burnie residence, where police located a quantity of methylamphetamine, anabolic steroids and two illegal firearms,” she said.
“He was charged with a number of offences including trafficking in a controlled substance, selling a controlled drug, fraud, personation, dealing with the proceeds of crime, and several firearm offences.”
“Police will allege the man committed multiple fraud offences relating to prescription medications and impersonating a general practitioner, through an online business.”
He was remanded in custody to reappear in the Burnie Magistrates Court this morning.
Australian gamemakers level-up with major funding from Screen Australia
Source: AMP Limited
21 07 2025 – Media release
Retopia
New games capture distinctive stories, landscapes and communities from across the country
Screen Australia has today announced the latest games and gaming events to be supported through the agency’s industry-leading funding programs – providing $1.4 million for gamemakers to upskill and develop stand-out projects.
The funding supports 26 games including a hand-drawn puzzle game about a flooded village rebuilding after climate catastrophe, a point-and-click visual novel with small town mysteries to solve, and an action-adventure RPG (Role-Playing Game) about a brave native mouse. It also supports the Freeplay 2025 Events Series, solidifying the agency’s commitment to foster a sector that has both a robust sense of independence and a strong community focus.
In 2024-25, the agency invested $3 million into the tenacious local industry which included support for 49 games and 200 Australian gamemakers. Initiatives like the Future Leaders Delegation and support for ten Festivals and Events provided Australian independent gamemakers the opportunity to showcase over 270 games for national and international audiences.
Minister for the Arts Tony Burke said, “Digital Games are a billion dollar global industry and Australia’s sector is growing every year. This funding ensures that we’re backing home-grown talent in order to be at the top of the leader board.”
Screen Australia Head of Games Joey Egger said, “What struck me about these projects is the depth of talent and the distinctiveness of the content; the diversity of our culture, communities, landscapes and stories really shines through. We’re seeing games being developed all across the country including regional towns such as Wallabadah in New South Wales and Toongabbie in Victoria.”
“It’s also incredibly exciting to see another round of projects transitioning from the Emerging Gamemakers Fund through to the Games Production Fund. It reinforces our unique position as an end-to-end avenue for Australian gamemakers to take their projects from concept to prototype, to production and then launch.”
The past 12 months have seen five games from the Emerging Gamemakers Fund progressing to the Games Production Fund: Monster Snap (WA), Rocketcard Defence (ACT), Wyrmspace Tactics (VIC) and L8R SK8R (QLD), as well as Management in Space (NSW).
Funded games include:
Ashes (VIC): For fans of graphic novels and interactive fiction, seasoned players and those new to games, comes adventure game Ashes. The creative team includes producer/developer Clea Frost, lead developer Nick Loki, 2D artists Phoenix Waddell and Jennifer Reuter and composer Trent Francis. It follows 16-year-old skater Azar Warren who, after witnessing a murder, takes refuge in a rural compound with her estranged grandfather.
Buru and The Old People (NSW): A narrative-driven adventure game set in a vibrant anthropomorphic world rich in Indigenous storytelling. Buru and The Old People is from creative director and recipient of the ‘Rising Star’ award at the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards Benjamin Armstrong, producer Brooke Collard (Yokai), 2D artist Letoya Muraru, and composer Alexander Tulett.
Nothing To Do Summer Vacation – Part 1 (NT): A unique point and click visual novel game from lead programmer Adam Prenger and creative director Mel Stringer, an accomplished illustrator and comic artist making her exciting debut in games. In this game, Summer is bored out of her mind in the small town of Driftwood, until fresh mysteries come calling to be uncovered.
Penguin Colony (VIC): A stylish action-adventure game from producer Megan Faulkner, audio engineer David Mason and creative director Naphtali Faulkner, the developer behind the Independent Games Festival Grand Prize-winning Umurangi Generation. In Penguin Colony, players explore the depths of Antarctica at their own pace as different penguins – unravelling difficult truths along the way.
Retopia (NSW): From creative lead Jennyfer Ong, lead designer Nicholas King and lead producer James Lockrey, this cosy management game is the latest project from the Australian Game Developer Awards’ 2024 Studio of the Year, Chaos Theory Games. Retopia follows a cast of quirky robot companions as they restore life to a collapsed world by salvaging lost technology, rebuilding community, and nurturing a floating sanctuary in the sky. The game continues Chaos Theory’s tradition of values-driven development after the success of the award-winning Crab God.
Fern: Seed Guardian (WA): An action-adventure RPG from creative director Sophie Till and technical director Jamie Dougall. In a fantastical Australian bushland, a brave native mouse battles an encroaching, mysterious goo. She must overcome not only this encroaching danger but also her deep fears, as the Goo uses them to manipulate her perception of reality.
Slumbering Woods (QLD): An evocative, hand-drawn puzzle adventure game with a unique crafting and building twist from creative director Svitlana Amelina, lead developer Oleg Chernyshenko and sound designer Jane Wei. In a world recovering from a long-past climate catastrophe, players help a flooded village thrive, rebuild and find their way home along the way. Slumbering Woods is financed with support from Screen Queensland’s Games Grants.
Additional projects supported through the Games Production Fund include Bravest Coconut (QLD), Mission Delta (VIC), Dungeon Breakers (NSW) and Rocketcard Defence (ACT).
Additional projects supported through the Emerging Gamemakers Fund include SCAV (VIC), Pixellated (VIC), Dead Zone Mycologist (VIC), Dicot (VIC), Ash and Earth: Wilderness Reclaimed (NSW), Spin Spirits (WA), Eclipsia (NSW), Untitled Cube Game (Working Title) (QLD), Stewards of Nu Juno (QLD), Displaced: Oath of Tomes (VIC),Kaiju Critters (QLD)and Trinket (NSW).
For the full list of funded gamemakers and projects supported throughout the 2024-25FY, please see the Games blocklines here.
Applications for the Emerging Gamemakers Fund and Games Production Fund are now open. For more information about Games funding at Screen Australia and to apply, click here.
For accompanying image assets, click here.
Ashes
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Remote zone tax offset – determining eligibility
Source: New places to play in Gungahlin
Taxpayers may be eligible for tax offsets depending on their individual circumstances. Tax offsets reduce the amount of tax people need to pay.
We’ve recently updated the remote zone tax offset web content to make it easier for you and your clients to understand the eligibility requirements.
Determining eligibility
Taxpayers are generally eligible for the remote zone tax offset when they have resided in a relevant area of Australia for more than 183 days during the financial year in which they are claiming the offset. That is, when their usual place of residence is within a remote zone.
The 183 days does not have to be a continuous period of residency but must be within one financial year unless certain circumstances apply.
Where your client hasn’t resided within a remote zone for 183 days during the income year, they may still be able to claim the offset if their usual place of residence was in a remote zone for a continuous period of less than 5 years, and:
- they were unable to claim in the first year because it was not their residence for 183 days or more
- the total of the days they resided there in the first year and the current income year is 183 days or more
- the period they resided in a zone in the current income year includes the first day of the income year.
Fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) and offshore oil or gas rig workers are generally not eligible to claim the zone tax offset, unless their usual place of residence is within a remote zone for the required number of days.
Temporarily working in a zone, staying at an employer’s camp or provided accommodation does not mean the worker resided in the zone where the worker’s usual place of residence is outside a zone.
Australian zone list
We have a non-exhaustive list of locations that are within a remote zone. There may be other eligible locations that are not included on the list but are geographically within a remote zone.
If your client resides at a location that is geographically within a remote zone, it does not need to be on the list in order to claim the offset.
Claiming the offset – address details
Before lodging your client’s income tax return, confirm if there have been any changes to their residential and postal addresses. It’s important to ensure your clients keep their ATO record up to date with their current phone number, postal, residential and email address details.
Six youths have been arrested for arson and police pursuit
Source: New South Wales – News
Six teenagers have been arrested after a pursuit through metropolitan Adelaide and the arson of an Aldinga Beach house this morning.
About 12.50 am Monday 21 July Police and emergency services were called to a house at Pebble Court after reports of fire in the garage and house. Fortunately the occupants were not home at the time. MFS were quickly on scene and extinguished the blaze.
When police arrived, they saw a Subaru station wagon leaving the street. Police recognised the car as a stolen vehicle which had been stolen from a Mitchell Park home last week. Police attempted to stop the car, with the driver refusing to pull over.
The car was pursued by patrols along with the assistance from PolAir and Dog Operations Unit on South Road, along the Southern Expressway, through to the eastern suburbs before making its way to Two Wells where the tyres were successfully spiked by patrols at Port Wakefield Road and Mallala Road.
Six youths ran from the car and were arrested on Artisan Road with the assistance of PD Duke without incident.
The driver, a 17-year-old boy from Ottoway has been arrested for arson, illegal use, dangerous driving to escape pursuit
Four 15-year-old boys have been arrested for arson and illegal use.
One 16-year-old boy has been arrested for arson and illegal use.
All six will appear in the Youth Court later today.
Call for information – Domestic violence – Angurugu
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Northern Territory Police are calling for information after a domestic violence incident that occurred in Angurugu this afternoon.
Around 12:05pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that an 18-year-old female had allegedly been stabbed in the head with a spear by a male known to her.
Police and local clinic staff attended and located the victim conscious, with the spear still embedded. The victim has since been conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital via Care Flight in a serious but stable condition.
The alleged offender remains outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 131 444 and quote reference number P25193995. Anonymous reports can also be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au.
Family rescued from Mount Field National Park
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Family rescued from Mount Field National Park
Sunday, 20 July 2025 – 1:24 pm.
Six people, including three children, have been safely retrieved from the Mount Field area this morning after being caught in heavy snow overnight.
The family raised the alarm with police shortly after 4.30pm on Saturday, after heavy snowfall meant they could no longer access the walking track.
Search Coordinator Callum Herbert said police were able to speak with the group briefly to provide advice.
“The walkers were advised to return to the nearby Newdegate Hut and await the rescue crew,” he said.
“Due to the extreme weather conditions, the helicopter wasn’t able to reach the area, so a search and rescue team of police and Ambulance Tasmania wilderness paramedics was sent in on foot.”
“The rescue team reached the walkers at the hut shortly before midnight, finding them all safe, but cold and wet.”
“Given their condition and the hazardous environment, including strong winds and nearly one foot of snow, we determined it was unsafe to walk them out during the night.”
“Medical assistance, food and sleeping bags were provided overnight to ensure everyone could remain safely sheltered.”
“The helicopter was sent in once conditions allowed this morning, and the group was safely returned to the visitor centre about 10.30am.”
“We are thankful the walkers were able to reach emergency services by phone yesterday, or the outcome could easily have been far worse.”
“The Tasmanian family had set off on a planned day walk, but the turn in weather conditions was significant, and the situation quickly became dangerous.”
Call for information – Structure fire – Braitling
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
NT Police are calling for information following a suspicious structure fire in Braitling on Saturday evening.
Around 6:45pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received multiple reports of a unit on fire at a residential complex on Elliot Street.
Emergency services attended and NT Fire and Rescue Services extinguished the blaze, with a search of the premises confirming no one was inside at the time.
Initial investigations indicate the fire is suspicious, with two mattresses, one on the ground floor and another on the top floor, identified as the points of ignition.
A crime scene was declared, and investigations remain ongoing.
Police urge anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area, or who may have CCTV or dash cam footage around the time of the incident, to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500073181.