Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force responded to a vehicle fire in Alice Springs in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Around 2:30am, police patrols located a Holden Commodore car alight in the carpark of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) lawns.

Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services attended the scene and extinguished the fire.

Two females aged 53 and 47 were located at the scene and were apprehended into police custody. They are assisting police with enquiries.

The Commodore was confirmed by CCTV to have been there for days as an abandoned vehicle.

No injuries were reported.

Investigations are underway to identify the owner of the vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 131 444. Please quote reference number P26093762.

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

Source: South Australia County Fire Service

BOOLEROO CENTRE

Issued on
31 Mar 2026 12:53

Booleroo Centre Haystack Fire

The CFS is responding to a Haystack Fire south of Booleroo Centre and Melrose in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

CFS firefighters on 4 trucks, supported by local landowners and council, are on scene working to break apart and extinguish the approximately 230 hay bales that are burning near Schmidt and McCallum roads, Booleroo Centre.

CFS firefighters have prevented the fire from spreading to a near by hay shed and tree plantation.

The smoke from this fire is expected be highly visible in the surrounding areas for some time, whilst crews break apart and extinguish the fire. Emergency services and heavy machinery may be working on and around roads in the area, and motorists are advised to stay away. If you need to travel on roads in the area, please take care and drive to the local conditions.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be internal combustion of the hay bales, after recent rains in the area. This is a timely reminder that the baling and storing of hay requires careful management to prevent spontaneous ignition caused by moisture within bailed hay. Simple measures to prevent this spontaneous ignition include ensuring that hay is fully cured (dried) before bailing, protecting hay from rain or runoff, maintaining airflow to the haystack to allow heat and moisture to escape, as well as using a calibrated moisture meter to periodically test the ‘dryness’ of the hay bales.

Message ID 0009376

Source: Australian Capital Territory Policing

30/03/26

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

RAF EPSTEIN, HOST: Anthony Albanese is the Prime Minister of Australia. Good morning, thanks for joining us.

< ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< INTERVIEWEE [GRAB]:

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< RAF EPSTEIN: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

Source: Australian Capital Territory Policing

New rental rules begin today, making renting fairer and safer across the state.

These new rules support the Housing Statement reforms that began last year, which included a ban on no-fault evictions and all types of rental bidding.

The changes beginning today are:

• Rental providers and agents must use the new standard form for all rental applications, making it easier and quicker for a renter to apply for a property.
• Rental providers can only ask applicants to provide the information in the standard application form. This is limited to what’s needed to assess the application and verify a renter’s identity and capacity to pay the advertised rent.
• Rental apps and rent payment platforms are banned from charging renters fees for making a rental application or paying rent. Rental providers and agents may still use these platforms, but it is an offence for the businesses that run these platforms to charge a renter these fees.
• Protections against excessive rent increases are strengthened. The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal can now consider additional factors when determining if a proposed rent increase is excessive.

Consumer Affairs Victoria can now issue new fines for some breaches. Fine amounts of over $12,000 for businesses and $2,400 for individuals apply.

Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Renting Taskforce continues to monitor the rental market for compliance with the rental laws. It has issued more than $830,000 in fines since it began operations in 2024.

Along with stronger protections for renters, the new Victorian Renter Rights Program provides more funding to renter support services. The program will start this year.

More information

For more information about rental laws in Victoria, go to Renting or call 1300 55 81 81.

Source: Tasmania Police

Police urge motorist to make the right decisions on the road after two high range drink drivers detected

Tuesday, 31 March 2026 – 11:50 am.

Police are urging motorists to remember the dangers of drink driving, after two high range drink drivers were detected overnight, with one returning a reading six times the legal limit.

About 10.20pm last night, Southern Road Policing officers intercepted a vehicle while conducting a speed reduction operation on the East Derwent Highway at Geilston Bay. The alleged driver of the vehicle, a 34-year-old man, subsequently returned a reading of 0.30 – six times the legal limit. He received an immediate 12-month licence disqualification and will appear before the court at a later date.
About 11.30pm, a vehicle crashed in the 40km/h roadworks zone on the Bass Highway at Ulverstone. The alleged driver of the vehicle, a 29-year-old Irish national, subsequently returned a reading of 0.251 – more than five times the legal limit. She received an immediate 12-month licence disqualification and will appear before the court at a later date.

“Incidents like these are a stark reminder that drink driving isn’t just breaking the law – it puts lives at risk,” said Inspector Justin Lawson, State Road Safety Coordinator.
“Every choice to drive impaired endangers families, friends, and innocent people on our roads.”
“If you’re drinking – plan a safe way home; and if someone you know is about to drive after drinking – stop them.”
“A simple decision can prevent a tragedy.”

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

A delicous cake was enjoyed by all.

On Sunday 29 March the St Andrews community gathered to thank local CFA members and their families.

The ‘Thank the CFA’ event was organised by St Andrews Landcare, St Andrews Men’s Shed and the Wadumbuk Community Centre to acknowledge the efforts of St Andrews Fire Brigade in keeping the local community safe and recognising their efforts throughout Victoria.

The event, which brought together more than 80 attendees, served not only as a tribute to the efforts of the CFA firefighters and auxiliary, but also recognised the demands placed on the families of the firefighters.

The gathering was an opportunity for St Andrews residents to connect, collaborate and share stories of resilience.

A number of speakers talked about their recent CFA experiences in emergency situations and recognised CFA’s efforts throughout the year. Captain Richard Lee-Porcher spoke about calls attended, the role of CFA during and after fires, and opportunities for community members to assist the CFA.

He explained that it is wonderful to be recognised but the firefighters do this volunteer work because they care about the community. He said seeing everyone come together at this event was special.

All who attended were treated to a delicious three-course meal. 

Submitted by	Karen Somers

Source: Airservices Australia

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today published a Conclusions Paper which sets out the final decisions of the Payments System Board (PSB) on the Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging. The PSB has concluded that a package of reforms that includes removing surcharging, reducing interchange fees and increasing transparency would be in the public interest and promote competition and efficiency in the payments system. This follows an extensive public consultation process since the release of a Consultation Paper in July 2025, which sought stakeholder feedback on the PSB’s preliminary policy proposals.

The key decisions of the PSB include:

• removing surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards on the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card networks. The surcharging framework, introduced more than two decades ago, is no longer achieving its intended purpose of steering consumers towards making more efficient payment choices. The increased prevalence of businesses surcharging all cards at the same rate, challenges with enforcing the current surcharging framework, and consumers using less cash have reduced the effectiveness of the surcharging regime. Removing surcharging would make card payments simpler, more transparent and increase competition among payment service providers. Removing surcharging also aligns with the preference of most consumers for payment costs to be incorporated into advertised prices.
• lowering the caps on interchange fees paid by Australian businesses. These changes are expected to lower businesses’ costs when they accept domestic or overseas card payments. Small businesses should benefit the most because they tend to pay fees closer to the existing caps.
• increasing transparency over the fees charged by card networks and payment service providers to strengthen competition. Improving transparency will enhance competition between players within the payments chain, put downward pressure on card payment costs and make it easier for businesses to shop around for a better deal.

Most of these changes will come into effect on 1 October 2026, including the removal of surcharging and reductions in the interchange caps for domestic card transactions. The introduction of an interchange cap on foreign cards and some changes to payment cost transparency will come into effect later, on 1 April 2027, to ensure the payments industry has sufficient time to implement these more complex changes.

The RBA plans to start a public consultation in mid-2026 to assess the public interest case for regulating areas of the retail payments system that were not covered under this Review, including mobile wallets, three-party card networks, ‘buy-now, pay-later’ services and e-commerce platforms.

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

Members of the Belgrave Heights & South Fire Brigade gathered last Sunday 29 March, alongside family and friends, to celebrate 100 years of service to the community.

Submitted by	CFA Media