Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: South Australia Police

“Before Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation came to Mount Magnet, there was pretty much nothing for our children. Now our kids love to keep active, kick the footy, play around and love eating their fruit. And it’s not just footy they’re learning – it’s how to be a team, how to cooperate. They’re learning how to help each other and lead.” – Cecilia Kelly.

Mount Magnet is the hometown of Badimaya woman Cecilia Kelly, Shire Councillor and proud employee of the Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation (GSAC). GSAC runs programs throughout the Midwest, helping Aboriginal children and young people stay active, connected and healthy.

In Mount Magnet, GSAC’s team run the local youth centre, including pool and footy programs tailored for summer and winter. In the colder months, the kids are at footy training two nights per week, with weekend competitions and excursions to towns like Mullewa and Yalgoo for league matches.

Ms Kelly sees the impact firsthand.

Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies

1. Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, met with New Zealand Minister for Trade and Investment, Hon Todd McClay, for the annual Closer Economic Relations Ministerial Meeting in Monarto, South Australia, on 3 October, highlighting the enduring strength of the trans-Tasman trade and economic partnership.
2. Ministers discussed how recent global developments were fueling economic uncertainty and reaffirmed their shared commitment to open markets and the rules-based trading system. They agreed the deep integration of the Australia–New Zealand economic relationship, underpinned by the Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER) and the Single Economic Market (SEM), was more important than ever. As export-driven economies, Australia and New Zealand rely on predictable and transparent trade rules to support jobs and innovation as well as supply chain and economic resilience. They committed to working together to build regional economic resilience, including through diversified trade, resilient supply chains, and the promotion of open markets, and rules-based trade.
3. Ministers welcomed coordination on Australia and New Zealand’s respective productivity, growth, and reform agendas. They welcomed the Prime Ministers’ ambition for a new phase of bilateral economic reform collaboration focused on areas of highest impact and committed to advancing SEM initiatives that deliver tangible benefits to businesses and communities on both sides of the Tasman. Ministers expressed their support for the new Heads of Agreement between Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand to strengthen the alignment of standards.
4. Ministers reaffirmed commitments under the Australia New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement, which include a single competitive procurement market and provides a level playing field for Australian and New Zealand suppliers to tender for government contracts.
5. Ministers also discussed continued collaboration to enhance the operation and effectiveness of the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA) and other efforts to enhance regulatory coherence, services liberalisation and standards alignment – key issues highlighted by business.
6. Ministers agreed to explore options for using Single Economic Market approaches to deepen economic ties across our region and agreed officials should continue to engage on the topic.
7. Ministers discussed their ongoing commitment to strengthen multilateral institutions. They agreed to pursue ambitious reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to improve how the WTO makes decisions, develops new rules, and enforces those rules. They agreed to deepen joint cooperation in this space, including in preparation for the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14). As part of this, the Ministers reaffirmed their intention to enhance engagement with regional partners, particularly ASEAN countries, to support WTO reform efforts. Ministers also reaffirmed their support for restoring a fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system, as well as broadening participation in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) to ensure the enforceability of trade rules.
8. As leading members of the Cairns Group, Ministers also discussed the importance of continued advocacy for an open and equitable global agricultural trading system. They welcomed the entry into force of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and committed to continue negotiations to conclude additional provisions on subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. They also discussed the importance of digital trade and e-commerce, and the need to ensure these frameworks support micro, small and medium enterprises. Underpinning this, Ministers reaffirmed their support for the extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions at MC14, and the ultimate goal of a permanent moratorium. Ministers also welcomed the conclusion of the plurilateral WTO Agreement on Electronic Commence and reaffirmed their commitment to its incorporation into the WTO framework. Ministers agreed on the importance of innovative and inclusive plurilateral agreements as a pathway for WTO rulemaking and to ensuring the WTO keeps pace with modern trade.
9. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to high-standard, inclusive regional trade. They welcomed the opportunity to share perspectives on regional trade architectures and agendas, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Minister Farrell looked forward to welcoming Minister McClay and other CPTPP Ministers to Melbourne in November for the 9th CPTPP Commission Meeting. Ministers celebrated entry into force this year of the upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). Ministers also reaffirmed their joint commitment to implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA). Ministers noted the importance of PACER Plus and reaffirmed their desire to see all Forum Island Countries join PACER Plus.
10. Ministers acknowledged the importance of trade and investment to the net zero transition. They agreed Australia and New Zealand should continue to collaborate closely to support innovative approaches to effectively address the challenges of transitioning to net-zero emissions while maximising the economic and environmental benefits of the transition for both countries and for our region.
11. Ministers acknowledged the value of ongoing engagement with the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF), including at its recent Forum event in Canberra in September. They expressed appreciation for the ANZLF’s facilitation of discussion between business and government. Ministers welcomed and valued the role of business in informing dialogue on policy ideas and shaping practical SEM outcomes, and looked forward to receiving the ANZLF’s recommendations to both Governments.
12. In closing, Ministers reaffirmed their shared vision for a resilient, integrated, and forward-looking trans-Tasman economic relationship, and committed to working together to navigate global challenges and seize emerging opportunities.

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Investigation into damage at Wybalenna, Flinders Island

Friday, 3 October 2025 – 1:24 pm.

Police have identified three men from Launceston as being persons of interest in the vandalism of a site on Flinders Island which holds heritage and cultural significance for Tasmania’s Aboriginal community.
Investigations into damage at Wybalenna sacred site, on the western side of Flinders Island, are continuing following the initial report earlier this week.
While there have been no charges yet laid in relation to the damage, three Launceston men, aged 26, 28, and 31, will be proceeded against by summons for the theft of firewood from the site.
Tasmania Police Inspector Luke Manhood said the damage at Wybalenna involved a vehicle, or vehicles, being driven on the site in a series of skids and ‘donuts’, which ripped up the ground.
“This behaviour is extremely disappointing and has certainly caused distress for the local community,” Inspector Manhood said.
Wybalenna was the site of an Aboriginal settlement during colonial Tasmania and is known to have been a large Aboriginal burial ground.
Anyone with information about the damage can contact police on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au

Source: Airservices Australia

Introduction

Good afternoon, and welcome to Sydney. It’s a pleasure to host this important dialogue between the CPMI and industry leaders at a time of rapid change in the payments landscape. There is an ever-increasing demand from end users to make payments safer, more efficient, seamless, and capable of integrating into other processes. Technological innovation provides significant opportunities to meet these needs. At the same time, fraud, scams, and cyber threats continue to evolve, giving rise to new challenges to the safety and stability of payment systems. There has never been a more important time to discuss these issues.

Today I would like to share some perspectives for the Asia-Pacific region on some of the key opportunities and challenges, particularly in relation to cross-border payments, the emergence of new forms of digital money, and the resilience of the payments system.

Enhancing cross-border payments in the Asia-Pacific

Businesses and households need efficient, competitive and safe ways to send and receive money across borders. But despite rapid growth in international commerce, cross-border payments services remain expensive, slow and opaque relative to domestic payments. This is of course a global problem, but the strong financial relationships and vast flows of trade and people within the Asia-Pacific region mean that there are substantial gains to be unlocked by enhancing cross-border payments in our region.

Australia is committed to making cross-border payments cheaper, faster, more transparent and more accessible under the G20 Roadmap. We and other regulators have been working together with the Australian payments industry to improve cross-border payment outcomes through a few key initiatives to boost transparency and uplift domestic payments infrastructure.

Australia has made good progress on transparency in recent years through industry adherence to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC’s) Best Practice Guidance on how international money transfer providers should display information to consumers. This, together with greater competition from non-bank providers, has helped to push down costs for international money transfers in recent years. In 2024 the ACCC published revised guidance which should help make it simpler for consumers to compare providers’ price and speed offerings.

A priority for the RBA has been engaging with industry over the adoption of richer data and new capabilities for Australia’s cross-border payments infrastructure. There are two key initiatives with the potential to shift the dial here.

The first is the adoption of the CPMI’s internationally harmonised payments messaging requirements based on the ISO 20022 messaging standard. As you know, global use of richer harmonised messaging will reduce the need for manual intervention, which should in turn lower costs and speed up cross-border payments. The RBA has set an expectation that the relevant Australian payment systems adopt these requirements by the global timeline of end-2027. We are tracking the industry’s progress towards this goal through regular surveys and ongoing engagements, and reporting this information to our Payments System Board.

Another way to leverage domestic fast payments systems to enable more seamless cross-border payments is to link those systems up. The RBA has collaborated with industry participants on an exploratory analytical study about the benefits, design considerations and challenges involved. We are also monitoring the advancement of interlinking initiatives closely. Some countries in the Asia-Pacific region have established bilateral connections between their fast payment systems. And several ASEAN countries and India recently launched a multilateral scheme, Nexus Global Payments, to standardise the way that fast payment systems connect to each other.

Enabling access to cost-effective remittances for the South Pacific countries remains a high priority for Australia, as many families in the region rely on remittances as a key source of income. But remittances to our South Pacific neighbours tend to be slow and costly, in part due to a lack of transparency and competition between providers. To facilitate greater transparency, the Australian Government has supported the development of the Send Money Pacific website which allows people to compare providers’ prices and the speed of services to send money to 11 countries in the region.

More broadly, South Pacific countries currently face considerable challenges maintaining access to correspondent banking relationships. A key concern for correspondent banks is the substantial costs involved in providing these services, including complying with regulatory requirements to detect and prevent financial crime. Australian authorities have been supporting Pacific countries in the region with a range of regulatory and banking initiatives, including working together with Australian banks to ensure the ongoing provision of retail banking services in South Pacific countries.

Potential for new forms of digital currencies to boost efficiency of cross-border payments and financial markets

Technological advances are not only improving existing payment processes, they are also enabling the emergence of new forms of digital money.

Central banks across the world are at various stages of exploring the potential role of digital currencies, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in the financial and payments system. The RBA and other Asian central banks have led or participated in cross-country initiatives involving the use of CBDCs. One such initiative was Project Dunbar, led by the BIS Innovation Hub, which explored using CBDCs from multiple countries to facilitate cross-border payments.

Many jurisdictions have also considered the potential use of CBDCs to support financial market transactions. The RBA, for example, is exploring the role of different forms of digital money in domestic wholesale tokenised asset markets through Project Acacia. The learnings will help the RBA to understand the role it can play in supporting the development of tokenised asset markets in Australia. For example, whether there is a role for wholesale CBDC to support settlement, or whether enhancements to existing payments infrastructure are required.

At the same time as CBDC research has been progressing, stablecoins are also gaining prominence. Globally, issuance has so far been dominated by US dollar-denominated coins, but stablecoins linked to Asia-Pacific currencies are also growing. While their origins lie in crypto-asset trading, their potential applications now extend well beyond that space. For example, there has been interest from retailers such as US Amazon for customer payments. And stablecoins are now being used in some jurisdictions for people to get exposure to US dollars without having to hold a US dollar bank account or physical currency. In other words, stablecoins are presenting opportunities in the payments and monetary system.

But stablecoins also present risks. If they are not fully backed by high-quality liquid assets, stablecoins can expose holders to losses. An example is the 2022 collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, which used an algorithm rather than high-quality liquid assets to maintain its value. Addressing the risk of fraud and financial crime is also challenging because of the speed, complexity, opacity and the global nature of the distributed ledger platforms used for stablecoins. Depending on how large the market becomes, there might also be implications for financial stability. The potential impacts on commercial banks and the markets for backing assets, particularly in times of stress, are complex issues that require careful consideration. For some jurisdictions, rising use of foreign currency denominated stablecoins may also raise concerns about the sovereignty of domestic currencies. Large scale currency substitution could be problematic because the interest rates over which a central bank has influence would become less relevant.

So how do we reap the benefits of stablecoins while managing these risks? It will require careful regulation that doesn’t stifle innovation but addresses the risks. Some Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, such as Japan and Singapore, were among the first to develop, and in Japan’s case implement, regulatory frameworks, providing clarity on the role of stablecoins in their financial and payments landscapes. Australia, like several other jurisdictions, is currently progressing its regulatory framework for stablecoins. As these new frameworks develop, there is an emerging question for us, as a global community, around how we drive consistency across regimes. Minimising opportunities for regulatory arbitrage will be important for managing risk and for promoting confidence in stablecoins as a monetary innovation.

Heightened focus on resilience and safety in the payments system

In a recent speech the RBA’s Assistant Governor Brad Jones spoke about the need to uplift resiliency in the payments system, while balancing and enhancing the capability to innovate.

In this rapidly evolving landscape, the resilience and safety of our payments system is critical. Both well-established and emerging payment systems depend on complex technology and infrastructure and, often, on a small number of third-party providers. This concentration risk, combined with heightened geopolitical tensions, underscores the need for robust contingency planning. The RBA is working with banks and payment providers to ensure essential transactions can continue even in the face of severe disruption. Interoperability between systems is critical – not only does it give consumers choice in normal times, but it provides fallback options when systems fail. Likewise, managing third-party risk is no longer optional; it is central to maintaining trust in the system. Our goal is to create a payments system that not only withstands disruptions but grows stronger because of them – learning from each challenge to implement measures that continuously enhance resilience.

At the same time, safety remains a top priority. Fraud and scams are a pressing concern around the world. Australians lost around $2 billion to scams last year, down from $2.7 billion in 2023 – a significant improvement, but still far too high. This progress reflects combined efforts of industry, government and the National Anti-Scam Centre, to boost community awareness, share scam data and disrupt specific scam types. Industry measures such as stronger customer alerts and putting higher-risk payments temporarily on hold are also having a positive effect. These steps introduce frictions to the system. But they help to protect consumers and maintain trust in digital payments, which is crucial to fully realise the benefits of our payment systems. Again, we need to balance benefits and costs of fast, efficient payment systems.

One area of promise is the rollout of ‘Confirmation of Payee’ functionality. This feature enables payers to verify that the name of the recipient matches their expectation before funds are transferred, which is important for preventing mistaken payments and reducing the incidence of scams. In Australia this functionality was already in place for NPP payments made using the PayID service, which allows payments to be addressed to an account alias such as a mobile phone number or email address. It is now also being extended to payments addressed to account numbers. At the international level, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has also prioritised this issue, recognising the complexities introduced by cross-border transactions.

Throughout all this, we must remain mindful of balance. Enhancing resilience and safety is essential, but we also need to support efficiency and innovation. Our objectives as regulators of payment systems are to promote safety, efficiency, and competition. These objectives are not mutually exclusive. By embedding resilience and safety into the design of our systems, we endeavour to achieve all three.

Conclusion

The world of payments is changing rapidly, and the opportunities and challenges we’re seeing in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific are not unique. They are mirrored around the world. Whether it’s improving cross-border payments, exploring new forms of digital money, or strengthening system resilience, these are global conversations.

The Bank is committed to continuing to work closely with other central banks, regulators, and the industry to shape the future of money and payments. By working together, we can build payment systems that are safer, more efficient, and future ready.

Thank you.

Source: Australian Capital Territory Policing

More unsafe products have been removed from this year’s Melbourne Royal Show, as Consumer Affairs Victoria spotted yo-yo balls that are permanently banned in Australia.

Inspectors seized 100 of the toys, which have long cords that pose a strangulation risk to children. The products also failed mandatory information standards because they contain button batteries that are not labelled.

The product safety team has been monitoring stalls throughout the 11-day event. In the lead-up to the show last month, they checked 320 showbags and found 15 unsafe and non-compliant items. These were removed or modified where appropriate.

Breaches of the product safety laws may lead to court action and penalties of up to $2.5 million for individuals and $50 million for companies.

Consumer Affairs Victoria is investigating the matter.

If you’re concerned about the safety of a product you’ve purchased or seen for sale, put it securely out of reach of children and report it or call us on 1300 55 81 81.

Source: Mental Health Australia

As holidaymakers make the most of a spring break across the state, motorists heading into regional NSW for the Labour Day long weekend are reminded to factor in extra travel times to ensure they reach their destinations safely.

Source: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

We’ve been at sea for a week now and we’re starting to see lots of pancake ice and snow petrels. The first few days of the voyage were rough – seas to around 8 metres and 40 knot winds – and it was a short sharp lesson in the importance of securing chairs and other objects in cabins and keeping a hand free, at all times, to grab a railing!

Many of the scientists on board are busy with underway monitoring. The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) was put overboard last Friday night, where it trawled for 450 nautical miles, collecting plankton on its silk filters. It was then hauled back in for a cartridge change and redeployed for another 450 nautical miles.
Other scientists are monitoring photosynthetic pigments and phytoplankton along the route using a fluorometer, an instrument that measures the intensity of fluorescence in seawater. The seawater is brought into the ship through a pipe called the uncontaminated seawater source.
It’s the first voyage for the pCO2 sensor – an instrument that estimates how much carbon dioxide is in the water – recently commissioned by the AAD in collaboration with CSIRO, IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System) and AAPP (the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership) during sea trials.
“This will help us track how much carbon dioxide is being captured in the Southern Ocean through time,” V1 science coordinator, Dr Patricia Miloslavich said.
“Basically, the uncontaminated seawater source provides the instrument with an adequate seawater supply and that generates data that’s transmitted daily back to the Australian Antarctic Data Centre and to CSIRO for quality assessment and control.
“PCO2 is one of the essential ocean variables we supply to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), which provides data for policy development and for climate change modelling and predictions.”
Scientists and crew have also deployed Argo floats, which form part of a global oceanographic monitoring system.
Time really is a fluid notion out here.  We’ve set our clocks back twice now – an hour on Monday and another hour on Wednesday so we’re operating at UTC (Universal Time Coordinated, once known as Greenwich Mean Time) +8. After Casey, we’ll move back another hour every second day until we’re at UTC +6 for the Heard Island component of the voyage.
The Casey fly off is scheduled for Saturday when we’re about 80 nautical miles from the station. The Master will get the ship as close in as he can, depending on the sea ice, and then 400 kilos of cargo and 14 people will be flown by helicopter to the station – nine from the Traverse team, three working on ice runway preparation at Wilkins aerodrome, and the summer doctor and chef.
The social side of things is giving everyone plenty of options after-hours. There was a good turnout for the AFL Grand Final viewing in the theatrette last Saturday, and a showing of the obligatory 1982 Antarctic-themed horror/sci fi movie The Thing a few days later.
Next up – The Haunting of Hill House – in the run up to Halloween.
This content was last updated 12 hours ago on 3 October 2025.

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

Telstra has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a penalty of $18 million for breaching the Australian Consumer Law after it moved almost 9,000 Belong customers to a lower speed plan without telling them.

In October and November 2020, Telstra migrated 8,897 customers on its Belong brand NBN plans from their current plan which provided a maximum upload speed of 40 Mbps to a service that provided a maximum upload speed of only 20 Mbps. The download speed was unchanged at 100Mbps.

Telstra did not tell customers of the change in maximum upload speed in their service at the time of the change.

“The $18 million penalty sends a strong message to all businesses that they cannot mislead consumers by making changes to key aspects of a service without informing customers of those changes” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

In addition to the penalty, all affected customers have, or will be, remediated by Telstra with a credit or payment of $15 for each month the customer had been on the lower upload speed plan.

The total remediation that Telstra will pay to affected customers exceeds $2.3 million.

“Telstra’s failure to inform customers that their broadband service had been changed denied them the opportunity to decide whether the changed service was suitable for their needs,” Ms Brakey said.

“Misleading pricing and claims in relation to essential services, with a particular focus on telecommunications, is one of ACCC’s current enforcement priorities.”

Telstra made payments to some affected customers prior to the ACCC commencing proceedings. The remaining payments to customers are being made in accordance with a court-enforceable undertaking Telstra has given to the ACCC. Those customers will be contacted by Belong via email.  

The Court also ordered Telstra to pay a contribution to the ACCC’s costs. The Court will publish its reasons for judgment at a later date.

Telstra co-operated with the ACCC by making joint submissions to the Court about orders, including in relation to penalties.

Background

• Belong was launched by Telstra in 2013 as a low-cost mobile and internet service provider, operating semi-independently in a number of areas, including products, marketing, service, billing and parts of IT.
• Upload speed refers to the speed an individual’s internet connection can allow data to be sent from their devices to the internet e.g. sending emails, streaming video calls and conferences.
• In May 2020, NBN Co launched a series of new wholesale consumer speed tiers, including a new 100/20Mbps wholesale speed tier, which provided a maximum download speed of 100mbps and a maximum upload speed of 20mbps. This speed tier costs retail service providers $7 less per month than the 100/40Mbps plan on a wholesale level.
• The ACCC commenced its court action against Telstra on 6 December 2022, and the Federal Court made findings against Telstra on 21 February 2025.

Source: Mental Health Australia

The State Government is delivering on its commitment to restore a reliable crossing over the Kangaroo River, with Transport for NSW confirming a temporary bridge beside Hampden Bridge has been identified as the preferred option

Source: Mental Health Australia

Motorists will soon experience safer journeys between Albion Park and Calderwood, with reduced speed limits to come into place this month on Calderwood Road.