Category: MIL-OSI

Source:

A Kilmore family is urging Victorians to install smoke alarms in their bedrooms and to not charge their devices on bedding after their house was recently damaged by a fire in the early hours.

Just after 4am on Monday, 9 June, Kilmore, Wallan and Broadford CFA crews attended the scene after an iPad that was on charge under a pillow caught fire.

Mother of four, Jessica, said the iPad, charging between the bedhead and the pillow on the top bunk in the bedroom of two of her children, exploded from the heat and ignited a large flame.

“I was alerted by my son yelling and screaming because he got burnt from debris falling from the top of the bunk. He woke us up by saying there was fire on his bed,” Jessica said.

“I was in pure shock and surprise. All I wanted to do was make sure my kids were safe.

“My initial actions were to try and put the fire out, so we put water on it, and that obviously didn’t work, so we closed the door and ran safely out of the house.”

With no existing home fire escape plan in place, Jessica wishes she could go back in time, having had conversations with her family earlier about what they would do in an emergency.

“Although you often feel a charger heat up, you never think anything will actually happen,” Jessica said.

“My son was extremely terrified. He is fully aware of the dangers and now doesn’t charge his phone anywhere near the bed.”

Due to the family closing the bedroom doors, the fire was able to be contained to the bedroom, however both Jessica and her son sustained injuries from the blaze.

“I got burnt on my toe, and my 14-year-old got third degree burns on his arm,” Jessica said.

With school holidays approaching and families spending more time indoors, Jessica strongly urges parents to ensure all their devices are not being put on charge inside bedrooms.

“To have had this happen, it was just so scary and traumatic. I’d love for people to remain safe and not encounter what we went through,” Jessica said.

“Please be mindful of where you are charging devices. I’d recommend charging on benches away from any kind of fabric materials and preferably not overnight.”

Although smoke alarms were installed in the hallway, just outside the closed bedroom doors, Jessica was in such shock she did not hear them.

Residents are reminded smoke alarms should be installed in every bedroom and living area and to assist in helping your family to safety, interconnected smoke alarms are recommended, so that when one alarm activates, all smoke alarms will sound.

“I’m now focusing on getting safer cords with surge and overload protection and I’m also going to deck my house out with more smoke alarms insides our bedrooms and fire extinguishers throughout the house,” Jessica said.

Learn how you can further safeguard your family during emergencies at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/smokealarms.

Submitted by	CFA media

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police have charged a 29-year-old male in relation to a death in September last year.

On 19September 2024, a 49-year-old male presented to the Wadeye clinic reporting he had been assaulted. Whilst at the clinic the male collapsed and was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital but died five days later. 

After exhaustive investigations including forensic examinations, witness canvassing and ongoing consultations with the Department of Prosecutions, Major Crime Detectives attended Wadeye on 3 July 2025 where they arrested a 29-year-old male in relation to the death.

He has been charged with Violent act causing death and was remanded to appear in Darwin Local Court on 4 July 2025.

Source:

04 July 2025

When a dry creek bed is your classroom, science connects to the land, and sports day kicks off amid a cloud of red dust, you know you’re on Country out bush.

For a group of UniSA student teachers, the opportunity to teach in remote South Australia offers more than cultural immersion – it’s a chance to connect with community, embrace new ways of learning, and potentially spark a career in Aboriginal education.

This National NAIDOC Week, UniSA is highlighting its remote teaching placements in the Anangu Lands, spanning Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) and Yalata Lands, aiming to inspire future teachers, while addressing workforce shortages in regional and remote Australia.

The timing is significant, with the State’s Aboriginal Education Strategy, Impact Report showing that teaching support in the APY Lands has helped deliver the highest average preschool attendance in five years.

Already, four of last year’s eight placement students have returned to continue teaching in the APY Lands while completing their degrees.

With more than 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal education, UniSA’s Associate Director: Regional Engagement, Dr Sam Osborne, says encouraging students to explore remote teaching placements is vital to building the remote workforce.

“When there’s a teacher shortage in Australia, we know there’s a desperate teacher shortage in rural and remote Australia,” Dr Osborne says.

“These areas can seem daunting – they’re unfamiliar, far from family and friends, and may lack creature comforts – but they also offer incredibly rewarding experiences in close-knit and supportive communities.

“Our placement program provides third-year education students with a unique opportunity to spend six weeks living and teaching in Anangu communities, alongside the world’s oldest continuing culture.

“They live, learn and teach between the classroom, and on Country. Whether it’s working with Elders to link native plants with science, teaching kindy kids colours in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, or making maths fun by tallying bird species observed on Country.

“Importantly, students are supported by the community as they learn their craft in a cultural and language context that few Australians ever encounter.”

The Anangu schools’ partnership includes 10 schools spanning the far north and west of South Australia, including The APY Lands, Maralinga Tjarutja, and Yalata with around 200 local and non-local educators working in these schools.

Sophia, a third-year UniSA education student who recently returned from a six-week placement in Pipalyatjara Anangu School, says her stay was transformative.

“One of the first things you notice is the scale of the Australian outback. From the desert plains to endless skies over the mountain ranges, you know you’re about to experience something completely different,” Sophia says.

“Teaching at an Anangu school was so unique, and it very strongly connected to culture.

“We often took learning outdoors – using hopscotch or other made-up games to teach language and numbers – which the kids loved because they’re such outdoor people.

“There were also amazing opportunities to learn from people in the community. On family days, we’d sit with an Elder to hear stories of their history, their travels, or more practical things like how to mix bush medicines or make spears.

“The local people are beautiful – gentle, kind and insightful, and they have a quiet confidence that really stayed with me.

“This placement was unlike anything I’ve ever done. I felt welcomed in the community and I can’t wait to return – hopefully next year.”

The program includes a three-day language and culture orientation run by Iwiri Aboriginal corporation, a mid-placement visit to the UniSA site at Ernabella, and a post-placement debrief at Uluru. Students are supported by experienced staff and take part in on-Country experiences and excursions.

“This program provides high-quality support for preservice teachers who want to challenge themselves personally and professionally in a new context,” Dr Osborne says.

“They are developing far more than classroom skills – they’re building cultural understanding, lasting connections, and for many, a sense of purpose that could shape their careers.”

In partnership with the SA Department for Education, UniSA is also running a two-week field trip for students interested in teaching in remote areas.

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Contact for interview: Dr Sam Osborne E: Sam.Osborne@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

SARAH FERGUSON: It emerged today that accused child sex offender Joshua Brown may have worked at several child care centres in Victoria longer than authorities originally thought. It means more parents now face the excruciating prospect that their children may be involved and may be required to undergo health screening. On Tuesday, Brown was charged with more than 70 offences, including sexual assault, relating to eight alleged victims at a child care centre in Melbourne’s west. Authorities had also listed more than 20 other centres he’d worked at across the city. These allegations will now be tested in court. But as our reporter Adele Ferguson told us when the story broke, it’s not the first time parents have had to consider the possibility their children may have been the victims of assault while in childcare. 

ADELE FERGUSON: If you look across at the data, at least one report a day of sexual misconduct comes from child care centres, which is a heck of a lot. 

SARAH FERGUSON: The latest allegations put pressure on the Federal Government to overhaul the regulation of child care in Australia. Education Minister Jason Clare is the Minister responsible. Jason Clare, welcome.

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thank you.

FERGUSON: Now you learnt about the allegations being made against the child care worker in Melbourne over a week ago. What action did you take?

CLARE: The first step I took was to put this on the top of the agenda for Education Ministers when we met last week. Last week, two things happened. I was informed that a person had been arrested for the alleged behaviour in child care centres in Victoria. But a second thing happened. The Wheeler Report was released by the NSW Government, and their initial response. And as you know, that was an investigation conducted by the former Deputy Ombudsman of NSW, Chris Wheeler, in response to the Four Corners exposé earlier this year, which revealed horrifying examples of physical abuse and neglect in child care centres. I thought it was necessary to put this at the top of the agenda for Education Ministers last week so we could pull together the recommendations from Chris and he briefed us, but also recommendations from Gabrielle Sinclair, who’s the head of the federal regulator, about what are the next steps we need to take to keep our kids safe in child care.

FERGUSON: We’ll come to some of those in a minute. I just want to stay with the situation in Melbourne and just repeating that these are now allegations, the man has been charged and will face trial. How is it possible that if you knew a week ago, some parents only found out when they went to the childcare centres that there was a problem?

CLARE: Let me be very clear. I was informed by the Victorian Government that someone had been arrested, I wasn’t briefed on the details of this, and nor were Ministers at the Education Ministers meeting last week. To the best of my knowledge, the Victorian Government has made sure that they’ve informed parents as soon as they possibly can. As you would have heard —

FERGUSON: Well, it’s not – it can’t be as soon as they possibly could because we had an incident of a mother on the program last night who did receive a text message. The text message was very confusing. The media were at the child care centre. She didn’t know, walked into a child care centre.

CLARE: Fair point. Let me correct that. The Victorian Government were informing parents when they believed that they were ready to do so. One of those people is a friend of mine. She’s directly affected by this. Her girls are caught up in this. I know the white-hot anger of all parents that are affected by this and the confusion that they’re facing and feeling right now. I don’t want to make any points specifically about the alleged offender because this will go before the courts. But this is serious, it’s sickening. People want to turn away from this and turn off their TVs, but you can’t. It requires serious action. I’ve been pretty blunt about this today and yesterday. We’re taking action, but not enough action has happened and not fast enough.

FERGUSON: Alright, let’s talk about that. But just in the case of your friends, and obviously we offer them all our sympathy, how did they find out, and how did they think the matter was treated?

CLARE: They received a text message.

FERGUSON: Did they understand the text message?

CLARE: Yeah, they did. They did, but then they received further details. She’s gone off to see a GP, but to be honest, she’s still confused, wanting to find out what tests she needs to get her daughters to do, whether those tests might cause more trauma than the girls. The girls don’t know about it at the moment. She’s keeping it from them, as you expect that she would. But at some point, they need to get tests done. She needs to know what those tests involve and what the potential impact of them might be on the girls.

FERGUSON: Are paedophiles targeting child care centres because they can get easy access to children?

CLARE: We’ve seen evidence of this, Sarah. We saw evidence of this in Queensland, where Australia’s worst paedophile was arrested and charged and convicted a couple of years ago. It’s why I asked the federal regulator to conduct a review into child safety. It’s why the sort of actions that are rolling out now are happening, because you have seen paedophiles do this.

FERGUSON: We will talk about what came out of that review, but there are figures that show, and these are just in the jurisdictions that have reporting requirements, at least one incident of sexual misconduct a day. And that doesn’t include any figures from Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia. How do you defend those statistics?

CLARE: I don’t. No reasonable person would. What those statistics show you is that we’ve got a serious problem, and we’ve got to take serious action. The honest answer to you is that this job will never be done, that there will always be bad people that try and break through the net. That doesn’t mean that you do nothing, though. That means that we’ve got to do everything that we possibly can to make sure that our children are safe. That’s why people are talking now about CCTV or about an educator register, about improving working with children checks. None of that is a silver bullet. None of that is going to guarantee every child is safe. But all of it are the sort of things that are necessary if we’re fair dinkum about doing our jobs.

FERGUSON. So, what is your view on each of those things? Just one at a time? CCTV. Should there be CCTV in child care centres?

CLARE: Yes, there should. Chris talked about this in his report that was handed down last week —

FERGUSON: When can we expect to see that?

CLARE: Hang on a sec. So, what Mr. Wheeler said in his report, based on the Four Corners investigation, is that that should be targeted to certain centres based on the fact that some centres haven’t been up to scratch. And so, Education Ministers are looking at –

FERGUSON: Just hold it. Just hold it there. You’re talking about the need for CCTV in a child care centre that is not up to scratch. Should any centre that is required to have CCTV for the safety of its – for the children attending it, should that centre be in operation?

CLARE: The short answer to that is no, and that’s why I’m going to introduce legislation when the Parliament returns in the first sitting fortnight that will cut funding to child care centres that aren’t up to scratch, that aren’t meeting the quality and safety standards that Australians would expect and that our kids deserve. This is the big weapon that the Commonwealth Government has to wield here. We fund centres, 70 per cent of the funding for these centres comes from taxpayers —

FERGUSON. So, you have all the levers.

CLARE: That is the big lever that the Commonwealth Government has. States have other levers, but that’s the big one. A centre can’t run without taxpayer funding or taxpayer support. And so, that’s why we’ve said this was something that we announced in March. That’s a major important measure to make sure that our kids are safe. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have CCTV as well. Chris gave us recommendations about that, and that’s one of the things Ministers are going through right now.

FERGUSON: One of the standards that you’ve already talked about that’s coming in in September is mandatory reporting of any physical or sexual abuse within 24 hours. Why not bring that in immediately?

CLARE: We’re bringing it in as quick as we possibly can. I’m conscious here no one is interested in any excuses here. But the honest answer to this is out of the review that we did, that we asked the National Regulator to conduct for us, they recommended a suite of changes, about 16 different reforms. Some of them are the responsibility of Education Ministers, some the Attorney-General, some building Ministers. One of them was around mobile phones, one of them was around mandatory reporting. I’ve told my department, I’ve told Ministers across the country, we need to implement these as quick as we possibly can, and that’s one of them.

FERGUSON. So, the beginning of September is the earliest you can possibly do that. There is no mechanism under which you could make that immediate because I think that’s something that people will be puzzled about. If you have an existing requirement that says you have to report within seven days, that seems extremely long. Why can’t you move more quickly on that?

CLARE: I think anyone listening would say, why is it seven days now?

FERGUSON: Yes, indeed.

CLARE: Why hasn’t this been fixed yet?

FERGUSON: What’s the answer?

CLARE: The answer is it should have been fixed yesterday. I’m determined to get it fixed as soon as it possibly can. The best advice I’ve got is the way this system works is we can get it done in September.

FERGUSON: How do you propose to fix a system that fails to punish centres that offer substandard care?

CLARE: There’s at least two parts to this. The penalties that centres cop at the moment are insufficient. This is another thing that Chris Wheeler pointed to in his report last week. For an individual that breaches —

FERGUSON: Do you need Chris Wheeler’s report to tell you that?

CLARE: No. I think any right-minded person, when they find out that a maximum penalty under the existing law for an individual is about $9,000, for a centre or a provider is about $45,000, would say, “well, that’s probably not enough to make sure that people are doing what they should be doing”.

FERGUSON: Why did it take a television program to make this an urgent matter of business development?

CLARE: It shouldn’t, but there’s a bit of a history here at the ABC of Four Corners doing the right thing.

FERGUSON: But I want to know what the Government’s been doing because this information was not held secretly from you or your department.

CLARE: No, I get all of that —

FERGUSON: So, what have you been doing for the last three years?

CLARE: The bottom line is that Ministers haven’t been doing enough fast enough, right?

FERGUSON: Including you?

CLARE: Including me, and I take my fair share of responsibility for it. I’ve been pretty blunt about that. But I tell you what, I’ve got the job now and I’m determined to act. Part of that is significantly beefing up those penalties. The other part in answering your question is about cutting off the funding to centres who don’t comply if they’re persistently not meeting safety standards. If they’re persistently not meeting the sort of quality that we expect, whether it’s for a for-profit centre or a not-for-profit community centre, then we’ve got to have the ability to cut off funding, pull the funding for them. That’s what’s going to help get centres up to the sort of safety and quality standards we expect —

FERGUSON: What should the threshold be? Is one breach of a serious safety standard enough?

CLARE: We’re working through the details of that bill that I’ll introduce now, so I won’t pre-empt that, but there needs to be stages there so that potentially we can set conditions on centres. But ultimately, you’ve got to have the power to pull the funding.

FERGUSON: The Federal Government undertook a drive, the Albanese Government, when it came into power, a drive to provide what were urgently needed childcare places across the country. Have you pushed the sector to expand too fast at the expense of children’s safety?

CLARE: No, I don’t think that’s right. We have seen the centre grow over the last three years. There’s 100,000 more children in early education and care today than there were three years ago.

FERGUSON: And we’ve got a crisis of quality. So, doesn’t that make the answer to that question yes?

CLARE: There’s about one and a half million children in the sector right now, so it’s gone from about 1.4 to 1.5. So, we’re seeing that grow. That’s good for parents because it’s an essential service. It’s good to have more children in early education and care because it’s helping to get them ready for school —

FERGUSON: Sure, but this is a debate about quality.

CLARE: I get that. I’m determined to make sure that we hit those quality standards. So, the question then is, how do you make sure you hit those quality and safety standards? What do businesses in this sector listen to? Money. And if you cut off the funding, then you end up closing down the centre. That’s going to be the real tool that we’ve got here to help boost those standards.

FERGUSON: So do you – As things stand, do you accept that there is a correlation between for-profit in this sector and low quality?

CLARE: What I would say is that in the community or the not-for-profit sector, we’re seeing overwhelmingly higher levels of achieving the sort of quality we want and expect than in the for-profit sector. But whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, everybody has to meet those sort of standards. We’ve got to make sure that the safety of our children is number one, and one of the ways we can do that is with the lever of Commonwealth money.

FERGUSON: Long way to go on this. Thank you very much indeed for coming in. 

CLARE: Thanks, Sarah.
 

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

The ACCC will not oppose Cleanaway Waste Management Limited’s (ASX:CWY) proposed acquisition of Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd.

Cleanaway and Contract Resources both supply a range of industrial services in Australia, including maintenance and cleaning of industrial facilities and equipment. Cleanaway is also one of the largest waste management companies in Australia.

The ACCC’s review considered the likely effect of the proposed acquisition on competition for the provision of industrial services.

The review found Contract Resources primarily provides specialist industrial services, such as catalyst handling, which Cleanaway does not supply.

For other types of industrial services that both Cleanaway and Contract Resources supply, the ACCC’s review found the merged entity would continue to face competition from alternative suppliers and, in some cases, customers would be able to effectively sponsor the entry of a new supplier.

“Cleanaway and Contract Resources compete mainly for customers in the oil and gas sector. These customers are generally large, well-resourced organisations that could sponsor new entry or sponsor the expansion of existing rival suppliers” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

“We have seen oil and gas companies sponsor new entry before”.

The ACCC’s review also considered the likely effect of the acquisition on competition in the supply of waste management services.

The review focused on whether the merged entity would be able to profitably leverage Contract Resources’ strong position in the supply of specialist industrial services into Cleanaway’s waste management offering – for example, by requiring customers to acquire their waste management services as a condition of supplying specialist industrial services. 

The ACCC found that this is unlikely to be a profitable strategy because customers have other options to source these specialist industrial services.

“Overall, we did not find that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of industrial services or waste management services,” Dr Williams said.

More information can be found on the ACCC’s public register here: Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd – Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd

Notes to editor

In considering the proposed acquisition, the ACCC applies the legal test set out in section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act.

In general terms, section 50 prohibits acquisitions that would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in any market.

Background

Cleanaway Waste Management Limited (Cleanaway) proposes to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd (Contract Resources). Contract Resources’ majority shareholders are two private equity firms, SCF Partners Inc and Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd.

Cleanaway is an Australian-based recycling, waste management, and industrial services company.

Contract Resources is a specialist provider of industrial services for complex and high value assets in the energy and oil and gas sectors.

Industrial services involve the provision of maintenance and cleaning services to industrial facilities, plants, and equipment, with many customers for these services operating in the mining, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors.

Cleanaway and Contract Resources each provide ‘baseline’ industrial services, including high pressure water services, vacuum loading, non-destructive digging, cold cutting, tank cleaning and maintenance, emergency response, and decontamination and chemical cleaning.

Contract Resources also provides specialist industrial services such as catalyst handling and specialised mechanical services:

• ‘catalyst handling’ involves the removal, replacement and maintenance of catalysts used in energy and industrial processes, and
• ‘specialised mechanical services’ involves the repair and maintenance of complex industrial equipment such as reactors and heat exchangers.

Customers of specialist industrial services are generally customers in oil, gas and mining sectors.

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

The ACCC will not oppose DP World Australia Limited’s proposed acquisition of Silk Logistics Holdings Limited (ASX:SLH).

Following an extensive investigation, including considering detailed responses to its statement of issues, the ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition would not likely result in a substantial lessening of competition.

DP World Australia operates container stevedores at the Ports of Botany (Sydney), Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle. On average, DP World Australia services approximately a third of the containers processed at these ports.

Silk is a national container logistics provider in Australia. It hauls import and export containers using trucks to and from ports where DP World Australia operates.

The ACCC considered the integration of DP World Australia’s container terminals with Silk’s national container transport and warehousing business and the potential impact on container transport service providers in the supply chain. 

The ACCC focussed on whether DP World Australia would have the ability and incentive to engage in discriminatory conduct against Silk’s container transport rivals by raising their costs or lowering their quality of access to DP World Australia’s terminals.

ACCC analysis indicated that DP World Australia is unlikely to engage in forms of discriminatory conduct which would lead to material operational delays and disruption at DP World’s terminals. A reduction in DP World Australia’s ability to efficiently process containers at its terminals would risk DP World Australia losing shipping lines to other terminals, damaging its own business. 

“Although DP World Australia may be able to engage in subtle forms of discrimination without adversely affecting its primary function as a container terminal, such conduct is unlikely to reach a level so as to substantially lessen competition,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

“DP World Australia would continue to face competition from a range of established and prospective container transport providers.”

The ACCC has an ongoing role in monitoring Australia’s container freight industry. This involves tracking prices, costs and profits of container terminals, gathering information from the container freight industry, and providing a monitoring report to the government each year.

More information on the ACCC’s role in this area can be found here: Container stevedoring monitoring.

Further information on this transaction can be found on the ACCC’s public register: DP World Australia Limited – Silk Logistics Holdings Limited.

Background

Container stevedores are responsible for lifting containers on and off container ships. They are a key part of international trade.

DP World Australia provides port and general logistics services. Its main business is the provision of container stevedoring services and operation of container terminals at each of the Ports of Melbourne, Botany, Brisbane and Fremantle.

In addition to its stevedoring services, DP World Australia:

• operates an empty container park in each of the areas surrounding the Ports of Brisbane, Melbourne and Botany,
• has a 50 per cent interest in a vehicle booking system, that container transport providers use for the purpose of collecting/delivering containers at several Australian ports, and
• operates a limited fleet of container transport trucks in Melbourne and Sydney.

DP World Australia is an indirect subsidiary of DP World Limited (DPW). DPW provides freight forwarding and contract logistics services in Australia.

Silk is an ASX listed port-to-door services provider offering warehousing, distribution and port logistics services. It operates 46 facilities across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

Silk’s operations are categorised into two divisions:

• port logistics: road transport of import and export containers to and from ports in Australia, in addition to ancillary services (such as fumigation, quarantine inspection, packing/unpacking services), and
• contract logistics: warehousing and distribution services. Warehousing services relate to receiving containerised freight, unpacking it, palletising it, storing it and then packing and dispatching it to the destination. Distribution services refer to the transportation of goods from warehouses to delivery points, such as retail premises, factories or households.

Below is a diagram summarising the movement of containers along the supply chain and the typical commercial relationships between key parties. The blue boxes refer to parts of the supply chain at the port precinct.

Source:

04 July 2025

An ambitious housing project led by the University of South Australia, the SA Government and industry partners is making homes in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands more comfortable and energy efficient.

The APY Lands Energy Efficiency Retrofit Pilot, part of the national RACE for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre, is improving energy efficiency in desert housing, where summer temperatures soar above 45°C and winter nights plunge below freezing.

Since launching the pilot in December 2023, the project team has installed energy monitoring devices in 12 households and completed retrofits on six homes in an APY community. The homes are managed by key project delivery partner, the SA Housing Trust.

The trial retrofits are targeted solutions to reduce air leakage, increase insulation, and reduce thermal bridging – where heat or cold bypasses insulation through the steel building frames.

With 15 project and industry partners, the team has assessed 20 homes, interviewed residents, installed monitoring equipment, built two test rooms in Adelaide, and modelled over 100 retrofit scenarios.

In addition to the retrofit work, the team has produced household energy efficiency and trade training education materials in consultation with the community, to ensure residents know how to get the best outcomes in their homes. Local trades will take part in rolling out the retrofits to remaining APY households.

Lead investigator, UniSA Sustainable Engineering Systems researcher Professor Ke Xing, says the project combines scientific rigour with practical on-the-ground training.

“This pilot is not only improving living conditions in one of the toughest climates in Australia; it’s also creating a blueprint for future upgrades in remote and regional communities across the country,” Prof Xing says.

“In the past year we have collaborated closely with the community, local maintenance workers and our industry partners, all of whom have shown an extraordinary commitment.”

Key findings so far show that addressing uncontrolled air leakage delivers the greatest improvements in thermal comfort and energy efficiency.

Currently winter – more so than summer – is the most uncomfortable period for APY communities. Households rely heavily on inefficient electric radiant heaters, with some resorting to ovens for warmth – an unsafe and costly practice.

Upgrades so far include new bulk insulation in the roof and adding continuous insulation to external walls, self-closing exhaust fans, evaporative cooling dampers, and sealing common air leakage points throughout the homes.

Local tradespeople were trained on-site, supported by custom training resources and guidance from retrofit experts.

Importantly, residents themselves are noticing the difference.

“Common feedback from residents was that their homes were cooler this summer, due to the retrofits. That anecdotal feedback supports our early testing, and we are in the process of conducting full evaluations over the 2025 winter,” says Prof Xing.

UniSA researchers partnered with the SA Department for Energy and Mining, the SA Housing Trust, and community focused organisations such as Healthabitat and Nganampa Health Council. They worked closely with the Iwantja Community Council and local residents, including Aṉangu Energy Education Workers supported by MoneyMob Talkabout.

The project also involves organisations with technical expertise who have provided knowledge and product support, including the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ), Kingspan, Sika Australia, Powertech Energy, Efficiency Matrix, and the Air Tightness Testing and Measurement Association (ATTMA).

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in the Attorney-General’s Department has also partnered and contributed to the project, and TAFE SA, CodeSafe Solutions and Pointsbuild have contributed the development to the trade training program.

As part of the Pilot’s legacy, trade training programs have been developed to support a broader rollout of housing retrofit skills in remote communities. A “train-the-trainer” event was held in Adelaide in 2024, involving TAFE, SA Housing Trust, Renewal SA and Building Contractor (Furnell’s) staff. Local TAFE students were provided with Net Zero Energy Builder Scholarships to support energy efficient construction in the APY Lands.

The next steps include re-testing the retrofitted homes and expanding the model to other APY communities.

“Ultimately, we want this project to inform national guidelines for remote housing upgrades, tailored to the needs and voices of Aboriginal communities,” says SA Department for Energy and Mining Project Manager Lynda Curtis.

“Aboriginal people have lived in Australia’s desert regions for tens of thousands of years, but temperature extremes have become more pronounced due to climate change,” Ms Curtis says.

“With broader climate extremes and overall hotter summers predicted for the future, how people are living and maintaining healthy communities on Country is of growing concern, and we are invested in providing solutions to those challenges.”

Notes for editors

RACE for 2030 (Reliable, Affordable Clean Energy) is an innovative, collaborative research centre for energy and carbon transition. The Federal Government has provided $68.5 million, supplemented by $280 million in cash and in-kind contributions from partners. Its aim is to deliver $3.8 billion of cumulative energy productivity benefits and 20 megatons of cumulative carbon emission savings by 2030.

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Contact for interview: Professor Ke Xing E: ke.xing@unisa.edu.au

Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The City of Greater Bendigo is again holding a series of free events to highlight the region’s natural environment and biodiversity during the July School Holidays.

City of Greater Bendigo Climate Change and Environment Manager Michelle Wyatt said the free events will both educate and entertain participants.

“We held a series of similar events during the last school holidays which proved very popular,” Ms Wyatt said.

“Our region has a diversity of wildlife and the free sessions help residents to learn about their unique characteristics and understand the importance of caring for the habitats they live in.”

The free events include:

• Evening Bat Fly-out on Tuesday July 8 and Tuesday July 15, 5pm – 6.30pm at Rosalind Park
• Nature by Night on Thursday July 10 and Thursday July 17, 5.30pm – 7pm along the O’Keefe Rail Trail
• Winter Wander on Saturday July 12, 10am – 12pm in Junortoun Flora and Fauna Reserve
• Bats of Bendigo on Tuesday July 15, 10am – 11.30am at Rosalind Park
• Nature in the Mall on Thursday July 17, 11am – 2pm at Hargreaves Mall

For more information, or to book, visit:

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Yesterday, Northern Territory Police arrested a man in relation to a sexual assault that occurred in Berrimah on Friday 27 June 2025.

It is alleged the 60-year-old man sexually assaulted a woman who is known to him at an address in Berrimah.

He has since been arrested and charged with sexual intercourse without consent and will face Darwin Local Court 4 July 2025.

Police from the Sex Crimes Section are continuing to investigate the incident.

Detectives urge anyone who has information about the assault to contact police on 131 444 and quote reference NTP2500065760.

Anonymous reports can also be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppers.com.au/.

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin