Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
If you’ve moved recently, make sure to let Access Canberra know.
If you’ve moved recently, make sure you let Access Canberra know about your address change.
Anyone who has an ACT driver licence, or an ACT registered vehicle must advise Access Canberra of their new address within 14 days of moving.
If you’ve moved from interstate, you have three months to update your details.
Providing Access Canberra with your up to date details means you’ll receive important information – such as licence and registration reminders – promptly.
All address updates can be done online or by calling 13 22 81, you don’t need to visit a service centre.
When updating your details, you can sign up for SMS reminders by providing your mobile number.
When your licence or car registration is up for renewal, Access Canberra will text you directly to remind you to renew.
Remember most Access Canberra services – like renewing your licence – can be completed online at a time that suits you.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Kate Freeman, Canberra Women in Business (CWB) Businesswoman of the Year Award 2022.
Kate Freeman has been in business for the last 12 years, taking the title of the Canberra Women in Business (CWB) Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2022.
With nominations now open for the 2023 Synergy Group, Canberra Women in Business Awards, Kate wants to encourage women to back themselves with a balance of creativity and sensibility.
Kate received the title of 2022 Businesswoman of the Year Award for her work building Canberra’s largest nutrition and dietetics practice, The Healthy Eating Clinic.
“Starting, running and growing a business is striking that balance between creativity and good sense,” she said
“Explore your great ideas with structure around your product or service, it’s marketability, profitability and a very good understanding of your target audience.
“Don’t be afraid to step out on your ideas either,” she said.
“The number of times I’ve done something and thought, ‘why didn’t I do this sooner!’ Do the research, back yourself and go for it,” she said.
In her time in business, she’s said she’s very proud of the team and culture she’s built in her practice over the years.
“It’s one of the things I’m proudest about in the business. My staff say it’s one of the best places they’ve worked. I’ve really worked to create a culture where my staff feel safe to be themselves and that we all operate from a principle of kindness,” she said.
After 12 years in business, Kate said she’s learnt a lot of lessons. Some the hard way too.
“You never know what’s going to happen when you’re in business,” she laughed.
“You have to be prepared for anything! And I realised early on, that you have to be very good at doing a lot of things as a small business owner.
“I’ve worked hard to develop my financial skills over the years,” she said. “It wasn’t something that came naturally to me, but when I could pay my own staff, but couldn’t afford to pay myself, I realised I really needed to sort things out! If I wanted my business to grow…and I wanted to eat,” she laughed.
Kate said the financial element of her business has always been her biggest challenge to manage.
“Even when the business is thriving and we’re doing great financially, it’s always been something I’ve found hard to contain stress and worry around. It’s a work in progress. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it quite right, but improving my financial literacy skills in running a business has certainly made things easier.”
Kate said by far, the most rewarding thing about running her own business, was the creativity and ability to be innovative and bring her ideas to life.
“That’s what I’m doing now with the development of my mobile app. Ayla Health brings together all my work in the practice over the years into a seamless experience for our customers. It’s nutrition education linked to practical action so that you can learn how to eat healthily and build habits that last a lifetime.
“From micro-learning modules to help educate people across various topics, to a meal planner to stay organised, you’ll be given the tools to build the healthy eating pattern that’s right for you. The nutrition strategies if you’ve got endometriosis or gastroenteritis and impaired digestion is different, and the app will have the right strategies for you to tackle any issue and link you to a qualified nutrition professional for further help and support.”
Kate says she expects to launch the app either at the end of this year or early next year.
The ACT Government is proud to be supporting the 2023 Synergy Group Canberra Women in Business Awards this year, and sponsoring the ACT Businesswoman of the Year Award. The ACT Government Small Business Strategy 2023-2026 aims to encourage more women like Kate start their own business.
Visit the CWB website to find out more and nominate.
Nominations close Friday 29 September 2023.
Find out what support and information there is available to help you start, run and grow your business at the ACT Business website act.gov.au/business
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Two new huts will soon be built near the original sites of heritage-listed stockman huts that were destroyed by the Orroral Valley bushfire.
The ACT Government will build two new huts in Namadgi National Park in remembrance of the heritage-listed stockman huts destroyed during the 2020 Orroral Valley bushfire.
Two new huts will be built near the original sites of the Demandering Hut and Max and Bert Oldfield’s Hut.
The two destroyed huts were part of the Namadgi Stockmen’s Huts heritage listing and the remains of the destroyed huts will also be preserved.
The proposal to build the new huts received overwhelming community support with more than 90 per cent of the 800 responses agreeing with the proposal, proving the historical and cultural significance of both these sites.
A historic huts project will be introduced to bring together knowledge and archaeological investigation into build a single archival record that communicates the story of each original hut place.
The new buildings will be designed and constructed to reduce the risk of fire damage.
The ACT Government will work with a heritage architect and the community to finalise the designs and construction plans for both huts.
Learn more about the Namadgi National Park Huts proposal and how the community had their say on the ACT Government’s YourSay project page.
Artist’s impression of the new Demandering Hut. Credit: Colin Small.
Artist’s impression of the new Max and Bert Oldfields Hut. Credit: Colin Small.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Commercial Kitchen Trial is a great way of showcasing the possibilities of a gas-free future.
The ACT Government has launched the Commercial Kitchen Trial to help businesses transition their commercial kitchens from gas to all-electric.
The Australian-first trial offers ACT restaurants and cafes financial support as well as expert advice to ease the changeover.
All-electric kitchens are safer, cheaper to run and better for the environment. And with the ACT Government committed to phasing out fossil fuel gas by 2045, the trial is a great way of showcasing the possibilities of a gas-free future.
Pilot in Ainslie is one business eager to participate and demonstrate the benefits of all-electric cooking.
According to head chef Mal Hanslow and Co-owner Dash Rumble, there are clear benefits to cooking with electric.
“It is more efficient, easy to clean, creates less mess and more comfortable. A Salamander switches on/off and is not on the whole time, taking eight seconds to heat up whereas the gas version takes 15 minutes to heat up,” they said.
The pair list pan-fried fish as one dish they would find easier to cook with electric.
“There is little to no oil flying out of the pan and catching alight as would be the case with gas cooking and flames,” they said.
Mal and Dash are passionate about reducing Pilot’s environmental footprint. However, they recognise transitioning kitchens can be expensive up front, so welcome the trial’s financial support.
To other businesses considering being part of the trial, they said: “If you can afford it, do it. It’s easier, there’s less set-up, it’s more efficient, much easier cleaning, more precision, more organised, less hot and more comfortable.”
The Commercial Kitchen Trial is just one step on the path towards electrifying Canberra, powering homes, businesses and transport in a cleaner, cheaper and healthier way.
Expressions of interest in the trial are currently open until 30 June 2024 or until fully subscribed.
Canberrans can attend an induction cooking demonstration with Pilot’s Mal Hanslow at the Sustainable Canberra Expo on 13–14 October at Thoroughbred Park.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Transport Canberra bus mechanic Stewart Sheill.
Transitioning to a zero-emissions bus fleet in the ACT involves much more than just purchasing electric buses. New vehicles provide opportunities for industry, local jobs, and skills both in workforce and the local economy.
The Zero-Emission Transition Plan for Transport Canberra supports a transition to new skills for public transport workers, including diesel mechanics and other operational staff. Through training courses and on-the job learning, Transport Canberra is making sure staff have the skills they need to maintain and operate a zero-emissions bus fleet.
Stuart ‘Stu’ Shiell has been a mechanic for more than 40 years, spending half of this time as part of Transport Canberra’s servicing team. With 12 new electric buses on the road and another 94 on the way, mechanics like Stu are also transitioning to ensure each new electric bus on the road continues to run smoothly.
“So far there’s a lot less work involved with them. As they get serviced there is very minor things to be changed,” Stu said.
“On an internal combustion engine there is a lot more moving parts, which means there is a lot more adjustments to be made. On an electric bus there is far less.
“In a type of trade if you just stay stagnant you won’t go anywhere, so you have to keep ahead of technology if you want to make yourself viable in the industry.”
Transport Canberra is working closely with staff to ensure they have the training they need to safely and efficiently operate new technology vehicles.
Training has been well received by staff. So far:
89 staff have completed Connect and Disconnect Training
29 staff have undertaken Skillset training
468 staff (Trainers, Drivers, Refuelers, Field Officers Communication Centre) have undertaken Bus Familiarisation training
Certificate III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology for apprentices and trades staff is scheduled to commence in term 4, 2023.
Work is also underway on building charging infrastructure for the new electric fleet.
Six charging units are in use at Tuggeranong bus depot for the 12 battery electric buses already on the road.
Construction of the new Woden bus depot is progressing and once completed it is expected that depot will have the ability to charge up to 100 battery electric buses.
Planning has also started for the development of a new zero-emission bus depot in Canberra’s north.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Eoghan Clwyde, with baby Flynn, has benefitted from the Rent Relief Fund
An extension of the ACT Government Rent Relief Fund will provide targeted, short-term emergency support for private renters in low-income households in the ACT.
This extension brings to $2.51 million the total allocated for grants under the fund since it opened in April 2023.
The fund provides support to the most vulnerable households.
It is aimed at preventing evictions, improve their wellbeing and connect them to services that may assist them to improve their financial position over the longer term.
It offers grants for up to four weeks rent capped at $2,500 to help tenants and occupants maintain safe, secure and stable accommodation.
Eoghan Clwyde and his partner never expected to find themselves in need of such support. However, in the lead-up to their first child’s birth, they experienced financial pressures.
They knew baby Flynn would be born prematurely, and so had a great deal of specialist newborn items on the shopping list.
As their costs increased, they found assistance through the Rent Relief Fund – a process Eoghan said was “very straightforward”.
“This program came at terrific timing, and we were able to acquire those extra items that we needed,” Eoghan said.
They were also relieved to avoid asking family for support at a time of widespread cost of living pressure.
To be eligible for a grant, households must be experiencing either rental stress or severe financial hardship.
Applicants also need to meet income limits which vary depending on the number of people in the household.
CARE Inc. will continue to administer the Fund on behalf of the ACT Government.
“We know how valuable this assistance is to people experiencing rental stress,” Carmel Franklin, CARE Chief Executive Officer, said.
“As part of administering the Rent Relief Fund, CARE will continue to provide wrap around support from our range of programs – financial counselling, financial capability, consumer law, community loans and community education, as well as referring people to other local support services as needed,” she said.
In addition to the fund’s extension, the ACT Government continues to work with the Commonwealth Government to improve housing affordability.
It is also investing in a range of measures to increase the supply of affordable rentals in Canberra, with the goal of delivering 600 additional rental dwellings by 2025-26.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
In 2022 the ACT Government announced a significant increase in road maintenance of $153 million over four years to repair and preserve Canberra’s roads.
The ACT Government’s annual road resurfacing program has returned to ensure major arterial roads and suburban streets remain safe.
In 2022 the ACT Government announced a significant increase in road maintenance of $153 million over four years to repair and preserve Canberra’s roads.
This is a 52 per cent increase in expenditure for road maintenance and a 150 per cent increase for asphalting.
The program follows research by the Australian Road Research Board and focuses on road rehabilitation as well as preventative resealing.
In 2022-23, ACT road maintenance teams repaired more than 12,000 potholes across the territory.
Road rehabilitation projects will begin in coming months on David Walsh Avenue in Forde.
There is also design work underway for further works on sections of the Monaro Highway, Kings Highway and Sulwood Drive.
Road resurfacing works are generally undertaken each year during warmer weather conditions.
The service life of a highly trafficked road is over 10 years whilst residential streets often deliver 25 to 30 years of service.
Road resurfacing treatments include road resealing, asphalt resurfacing and microsurfacing which helps to waterproof the road, improve skid resistance and fill cracks in the pavement.
Overnight asphalt resurfacing work was completed this week on sections of the Tuggeranong Parkway at Weston Creek over the Molonglo River.
This follows asphalt patching work that was undertaken in the area earlier in 2023 after Fix My Street requests were received from the community.
Major roads to receive road resurfacing treatment over coming months will include:
Deakin – Adelaide Avenue, between State Circle and Kent Street
Molonglo Valley – Tuggeranong Parkway, southbound between Lady Denman Drive and Cotter Road
Belconnen – Gungahlin Drive, several sections in both directions between the Barton Highway and Glenloch Interchange
Hall – Barton Highway, from Kuringa Drive towards the ACT/NSW border
Watson – Federal Highway, from Antill Street towards the ACT/NSW border
Belconnen – William Hovell Drive, both directions between Bindubi Street and Coulter Drive
City – Akuna Street
Tuggeranong – Anketell Street, several sections
Woden Valley – Various intersections along Hindmarsh Drive.
For more information on road resurfacing, including a map of the full program and daily updates on roads receiving treatment, visit cityservices.act.gov.au
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Concept render of the new Watson health precinct.
The development application for the new Watson health precinct is now open for public feedback.
New specialist facilities will be built for Marymead CatholicCare’s youth mental health residential service and Ted Noffs Foundation’s alcohol and other drugs youth rehabilitation services.
A new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residential rehabilitation service facility will also be developed in partnership with Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services.
Alcohol and other drug addiction causes significant harm to individuals, families, and communities, with a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The establishment of a 24-bed residential facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans will promote rehabilitation and recovery in a culturally safe and inclusive environment.
New facilities operated by Ted Noffs Foundation and Marymead CatholicCare will offer a modern welcoming environment to encourage positive outcomes for young Canberrans. Planning for the new precinct has accommodated for the future growth of the facilities.
“Detoxing and undergoing a rehabilitation episode at such a young age requires a very specific treatment intervention, and these new facilities will strengthen the current treatment programs on offer,” Ted Noffs Foundation’s National Programs Manager Lachlan Dean said.
“Being able to continue to work on the site we have been on for the last 23 years allows us to stay connected to this community.”
The development application for the precinct is available to view and comment on until 9 October 2023 on the Planning ACT website.
More information about the project is available on the Built for CBR website: builtforcbr.act.gov.au
Artist’s impression of the new facility.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Violet McKenzie was a pioneer in Australian radio and electrical engineering.
A park in Campbell has been named after Violet McKenzie, or ‘Mrs Mac’ – the woman who trained thousands in Morse code, visual signalling and international code during World War II.
The park is located behind the Campbell shops, between White Crescent and Blamey Place.
Violet McKenzie was a pioneer in Australian radio and electrical engineering.
She was committed to technical education and training, especially for women.
McKenzie also established a wireless shop in the Royal Arcade, Sydney.
In the 1930s, she began the Electrical Association for Women and wrote the first ‘all-electric cookbook’.
In addition, she established the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps in 1939, and campaigned to have her female trainees accepted into the Navy, which was all male at the time.
Her voluntary work led to the establishment of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, (WRANS).
The name Violet McKenzie Park was selected following community consultation held last year.
An information sign was unveiled this week by with representatives from the Royal Australian Navy and WRANS ACT in attendance.
The ACT Government would like to thank the local community that has adopted the park and helps maintain it.
Violet McKenzie’s voluntary work led to the establishment of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, (WRANS).
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
GymAware has been awarded 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the Chief Minister’s Export Awards. Image: Canberra Airport.
A Canberra business success story that developed a product now used in gyms around the world has been recognised as the ACT Exporter of the Year.
Each year the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards celebrate the best and brightest in Canberra’s export industry and showcase the success of local businesses in global markets.
Kinetic Performance Technology (GymAware) was awarded the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year for their work as a global leader in velocity-based training solutions. A staggering 89 per cent of its sales are exports, with 80 per cent of these to the USA, 10 per cent to the United Kingdom and 6 per cent to France and China.
The company’s RS and FLEX products are designed to help coaches and athletes of all levels measure and track strength training activities in the weight room. This technology has been a part of weight training for professional athletes across a range of sports, helping hundreds of teams and individuals prepare for their career-defining moments on the field.
The company’s systems are used in weight rooms across 65 per cent of all professional sporting teams in the USA, all teams in elite Australian leagues like the NRL and Super Rugby, as well as respected international teams, such as the New Zealand All Blacks.
“I am honoured that GymAware has been recognised as the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards,” GymAware founder Evan Lawton said.
“GymAware has been a labour of love, and it’s rewarding to see our commitment to excellence being acknowledged in such a meaningful way by our own community in Canberra.”
The ACT Exporter of the Year awards showcased several of emerging and established exporting companies. Category winners included:
Emerging Exporter – Infinity Avionics Pty Ltd
Resources and Energy – Ardexa Pty Limited
Sustainability and Green Economy – The Mullion Group (FLINTpro)
ACT Promising Exporter – Catch the Sun Communications
ACT Promising Exporter – Science Skincare International Pty Ltd
“It was inspiring to see so many businesses with a clear plan for identifying and pursuing valuable export markets – ultimately all Canberrans benefit when local businesses achieve export success,” CEA Technology and ACT Export Awards judge Michael Burton said.
Businesses who are ready to export have access to support through the TradeStart program. Learn more about exporting and the assistance available on the ACT Business website: act.gov.au/business
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