Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture

24 October 2025

Who does this notice affect?

This notice affects importers and brokers of fresh whole mangosteens from Indonesia.

What has changed?

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) has updated import conditions in the department’s Biosecurity Import Condition database (BICON) for fresh whole mangosteens from Indonesia to include the option of an approved systems approach to manage ants, mealybugs and spider mites.

The…

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing to authorise the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and other industry participants to develop ways to ensure the continued distribution of cash across Australia.

The ACCC also proposes to allow the parties to take certain steps to ensure cash-in-transit services would continue if Armaguard’s services were suspended or disrupted. Armaguard is the main national distributor of cash in Australia. The implementation of any other measures would be subject to a separate application for authorisation, if required.

Cash-in-transit services form the basis of the cash distribution system, where physical currency is transported, processed and stored across the country. Cash-in-transit companies service the cash-related needs of banks, large retailers and hospitality venues, and also offer cash management services such as banknote refilling for ATMs.

“We are proposing to grant this authorisation to allow the ABA and other relevant parties to discuss and develop responses to ensure consumers and businesses can continue to access cash,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

“Public access to physical currency is incredibly important, especially for consumers who are reliant on cash payments including those in regional and remote areas.”

The ACCC has included three conditions in its proposed authorisation, one of which requires the ABA to develop initiatives to protect access to cash in remote areas, where there are often fewer options for accessing cash services.

Interim authorisation for this conduct has been in place with conditions since October 2024. The conduct has also been subject to previous ACCC authorisations, including an interim authorisation first granted in December 2023.

The ACCC is now seeking submissions on its draft determination.

This draft determination does not relate to the development or implementation of any pricing mechanisms between Armaguard and its major customers. The ACCC’s website will be updated with information relating to those issues when an application for authorisation is received from the parties.

Further information about the ABA’s application and how to make a submission by 14 November 2025 is available on the ACCC’s website.

Note to editors

When competitors act together, they require some form of exemption from the ACCC to avoid the risk of breaching competition laws.

ACCC authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

Broadly, section 91 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) allows the ACCC to grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

Background

The ACCC has granted 4 authorisations relating to cash-in-transit services since 2023:

• On 13 June 2023, the ACCC granted merger authorisation to Armaguard and Prosegur Australia to combine their cash distribution, management and other businesses in Australia, and accepted a court-enforceable undertaking, which is a condition of the merger authorisation. Following this merger, Armaguard became the major supplier of cash-in-transit services in Australia.
• On 27 May 2024, the ACCC granted authorisation with conditions to the ABA, the Customer Owned Banking Association, banks, retailers and other industry participants to allow them to develop responses to support the distribution of cash across Australia.
• On 12 September 2024, the ACCC granted authorisation with conditions to allow the ABA, its member banks, Australia Post, retailers, supermarkets and other industry participants to collaborate so they can ensure there is continuity of cash-in-transit services. The ACCC’s authorisation allows the parties to collaborate and prepare for any suspension or disruption of cash-in-transit services.
• On 25 June 2025, the ACCC granted authorisation with conditions for the ABA, and the major banks and retailers (‘the Funding Parties’) to provide financial contributions to Armaguard and discuss and implement operational sustainability and efficiency measures. The ACCC also authorised the parties to discuss and reach agreement on (but not implement) development of an independent pricing mechanism in respect of each (future) cash services agreement with each of the Funding Parties. Authorisation was granted with conditions until 30 June 2026 but does not extend to the implementation of any pricing proposal – the ACCC expects a further application for authorisation of implementation of the pricing proposal in due course.

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

The Fire Danger Period will commence at 1am Monday, 03 November 2025 for the following municipalities.

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

The ACCC will not oppose Cuscal Limited’s (ASX:CCL) proposed acquisition of payment facilitation supplier Indue Limited after finding that the transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.

The ACCC’s review focused on how closely Cuscal and Indue compete in the supply of payment facilitation services, particularly to small and mutual bank customers and financial technology companies, known as fintechs.

Payment facilitation services allow organisations, such as small banks and fintechs, to offer payment solutions to other businesses or consumers, such as eftpos and debit card processing.

“Consolidation among smaller banks has reduced the number of customers Cuscal and Indue compete for,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

“Payment facilitation services require significant investment. Achieving greater scale can assist suppliers in making the necessary investments to keep up with advancements in technology, and customer and regulatory requirements.”

The ACCC found that Cuscal and Indue each offer a broader range of payment facilitation services than most of their competitors. However, most customers can source their payment facilitation requirements from multiple suppliers.

“While Cuscal and Indue are two of the larger payment facilitation service providers, there remains a range of other suppliers available to customers across the various payment schemes,” Dr Williams said.

The ACCC requested feedback about the likely impacts of the proposed acquisition from a range of market participants, including 30 small and mutual banks.

“Many of the customers most likely to be impacted by the proposed acquisition were in favour of the transaction progressing,” Dr Williams said.

“As Cuscal and Indue support critical business functions for their customers, many of them considered that the proposed acquisition will deliver efficiencies and support continued investment in products and innovation.”

Also important in the ACCC’s decision was the impact of broader industry trends on competition, including the increasing digitisation of payments that may lower the cost of switching between payment facilitation providers and reduce barriers to entry.

More information on this review can be found here: Cuscal Limited – Indue Limited

Background

Payment facilitation services enable organisations to offer payment solutions to other businesses or end consumers. Payment facilitation may include connection to one or more of the payment schemes (such as Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and BPAY), BIN sponsorship, card and ATM switching, and credit, debit and prepaid card processing, as well as data and fraud mitigation services and back-office support.

Customers of Cuscal and Indue include other financial institutions such as small or medium sized banks, credit unions, corporates, government agencies that issue payment cards and fintech companies which provide specialised financial products.

The legal test which the ACCC applies is in section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act, which prohibits acquisitions that are likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

The Fire Danger period will commence at 1am on Monday, 10 November 2025 for the following municipalities.

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

The Fire Danger period will commence at 1am Monday, 10 November 2025 for the following municipalities in the state’s west and northwest.

Buloke Shire Council

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture

23 October 2025

Smarter Pratique Issuance Enabled by Satellite-Enhanced Vessel Tracking

The Department is pleased to announce a significant enhancement to the Maritime Arrival Reporting System (MARS) that will benefit external maritime stakeholders.

Expanded Coverage with Satellite Support

To improve maritime situational awareness and operational efficiency, the Department has integrated a new vessel monitoring feed into MARS. This feed leverages…

Source: Australian Mines and Metals Association – AMMA

Read Steve Knott’s address to the Tattersalls Club Workplace Relations group IR reform stocktake – and where to from here?

View Steve’s slides here.

Australia’s resources and energy employer group has urged the Albanese Government to take urgent action to restore balance and credibility to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), warning the tribunal is overloaded and losing public confidence.

In an address to the Tattersalls Club Workplace Relations Group in Brisbane (22 October 2025) AREEA Chief Executive Steve Knott AM unveiled two key reform proposals to strengthen governance and improve performance at the national workplace relations tribunal.

“AREEA is calling for a new, tripartite appointments process involving the Minister, the ACTU and business representatives to ensure Fair Work Commission members are chosen on merit, skill and real-world experience,” Mr Knott said.

“This would return balance, transparency and public confidence to the appointments process, which has become far too politicised.”

Mr Knott also called for the statutory retirement age of FWC members to be lifted from 65 to 70, in line with the Federal Court.

“Having 65 as the FWC member age of senility is simply outdated and absurd,” he said.

“We need continuity and expertise, not an arbitrary age limit that forces out capable members. Even the current FWC President, who is a Federal Court judge, will be statutorily barred from continuing at the Commission beyond 65.

“It makes no sense to lose experienced, competent tribunal members at 65 when the scope and workload of the Commission have expanded dramatically.”

FWC ‘drowning’ in employee claims

Mr Knott also warned the Commission is “drowning in employee claims”, pointing to data showing unfair dismissal and general protections cases have surged between 20 and 50 per cent in the past year.

He said inconsistent and lenient decision-making has encouraged a wave of unmeritorious claims and undermined employer confidence.

“Too many members of the Commission are finding otherwise lawful and procedurally sound terminations to be ‘harsh, unjust or unreasonable’,” he said.

“Employers are now afraid to manage conduct or performance without being hauled before the Commission. That’s not fairness, that’s dysfunction.”

Mr Knott said urgent reform is needed to both the unfair dismissal and general protections systems.

AREEA’s proposed fixes include:

• Refocusing unfair dismissal law on fair process, not subjective views of “harshness”;
• Tightening the general protections regime by removing the reverse onus of proof, introducing a reasonable statute of limitations, and capping compensation; and
• Raising the application fee for all employee claims from $89.70 to at least $500 to discourage frivolous filings.

“Right now, the incentive to lodge nuisance claims or extract settlements is enormous,” Mr Knott said.

“Employers are often forced to settle not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because the cost of defending themselves in court is astronomical. That’s not justice – it’s extortion dressed up as industrial law.”

A system at a crossroads

Mr Knott said AREEA will continue pushing for reforms that simplify Australia’s workplace relations framework and restore productivity and confidence in the system.

“Australia’s IR system is at a crossroads,” he said.

“We can keep adding layers of regulation, social activism and bureaucracy, or we can rebuild a framework that values fairness, productivity and cooperation in equal measure.”

Read Steve Knott’s address IR reform stocktake – and where to from here?

Source: Government of Australia Capital Territory

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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force are investigating an aggravated assault that occurred in the  Darwin CBD yesterday evening.

Around 6:20pm, police received reports of an altercation occurring between men on Smith Street, near the intersection of Peel Street.

It is alleged that one man has struck another man in the head with a blunt object before assaulting another male with edged weapon, severely injuring his hand.

Both victims, aged in their 40’s and 50’s, were provided initial first aid by witnesses before being conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital.

The victim who suffered the severe hand injury remains in hospital receiving treatment.

The offender fled the scene on foot and discarded the edged weapon nearby. Police have since seized the weapon.

A crime scene was declared and investigations are underway to locate the offender.

Police urge anyone with information about the incident to make contact on 131 444, particularly if you have dash-cam footage in the area between 6:20pm and 6:35pm. Please quote reference number P25283849. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.