Category: MIL-OSI

Canberrans who already use an oral contraceptive pill may be able to obtain a re-supply of their contraceptive at one of five participating pharmacies as part of a new trial.

Under the pharmacy trial, which is being led collaboratively by NSW Health and the University of Newcastle, people aged 18 to 35 may be able to get their next supply of the pill after a consultation with a participating pharmacist if they have been:

• taking their existing pill for contraceptive purposes; and
• continuously prescribed a low-risk oral contraceptive pill in the last two years by a doctor or nurse practitioner.

This initiative expands on the current trial of pharmacists supplying medications to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections.

Enabling pharmacists to supply certain low-risk medications when it is safe to do so is one way of providing more timely access to medications and treatments for Canberrans and reducing pressures on primary health care providers and emergency departments.

The highly trained pharmacists participating in the trial will be able to have a conversation with eligible Canberrans to determine whether they can provide medications, or whether the person needs to see a doctor or nurse practitioner.

The five pharmacies participating in the trial are:

• Capital Chemist Charnwood
• Gold Creek Discount Drug Store
• The Pharmacy on Petrie (Civic)
• Erindale Pharmacy
• Pharmasave Woden Pharmacy

ACT Branch President of the Pharmacy Guild, Simon Blacker, said this is a step forward for Canberra women.

“It’s a good example of community pharmacies partnering with GPs and other health professionals to treat common health conditions with increased accessibility, in a safe and efficient way to unclog the health system,” he said.

“The ACT has now joined NSW, Queensland, and Victoria in the resupply of the oral contraceptive pill to women by community pharmacists. Community pharmacies in the ACT are ready to do more for patient’s health by having community pharmacists working to their full scope of practice, and we look forward to working further with the ACT Government on this.”

For more information visit on the pharmacy prescribing trial for the oral contraceptive pill or uncomplicated UTIs, visit: www.health.act.gov.au/pharmacy-trial

Today the Shirley Smith High School logo and uniform were officially released in advance of the new school’s first year of operation in 2024.

Community input was sought on three potential design options for the school’s logo and uniform.

Following this community consultation, the final logo and uniform were chosen.

The final design concept chosen by the community is the ‘Curly S’.

The Curly S logo represents the initials in the name Shirley Smith, as well as the handwritten and the mechanical coming together, to show the relationship between people, community and the institution of education.

The community’s preferred colour for the logo is ‘fresh green’.

The student uniforms have both the Curly S logo on the chest, as well as the handwritten S design on the uniform body.

Located in Kenny, Shirley Smith High School is the ACT’s 91^st public school.

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Forget laptops – for some students, giving treats and tummy rubs are all in a day’s learning.

Nestled alongside bushland at CIT’s Bruce campus, CIT Dog Day Care is an authentic learning environment for aspiring animal care professionals.

Here, students pursuing careers in animal care gain hands-on experience in a real-world setting.

This not only equips them with essential skills towards a career in a field facing a shortage of qualified professionals, it’s also just great fun.

Erin, a current CIT student, says “I’ve always wanted to do an animal course. Working here gives us a real hands-on experience so that we know what we should be looking for. We’re supported the whole way by our teachers to work with the dogs and their owners – the support gives you a real boost to deal with all parts of the job.”

Under the guidance of experienced instructors, students provide the best of care for their doggy clients.

This practical experience is complemented by classroom lessons throughout the week.

Some students are completing Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASBAs), some are Fee-Free TAFE course graduates – all are gaining foundational skills towards a career in anything from veterinary nursing to dog grooming.

As well as learning the optimal ways of communicating with the dogs in their care, students develop customer service skills liaising with their owners.

Small dogs attend day care on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and large dogs on Fridays.

The numbers of participating dogs are limited, ensuring students get to know each one well enough to offer individualised care.

Each day, the dogs enjoy high-quality care including multiple walks, grooming or bath time, play, basic training and socialisation – and plenty of attention and affection.

Maree, a supervisor, says the facility is “a unique space for students to develop real skills. Here they get a lot of preparation, true hands-on dog experience. They have an opportunity to see a range of natural behaviours and are able to develop the skills to manage situations in a supportive environment, all whilst collaborating and learning from other students.”

The CIT Dog Day Care facility has become popular with pet owners who appreciate the personalised attention their dogs receive from the enthusiastic and dedicated students and staff.

Its success highlights the close relationship between the Canberra community, CIT and industry, creating a safe, enjoyable environment for furry friends while contributing to the development of the next generation of animal care professionals.

Netball courts around Canberra will begin receiving upgrades from today, giving players and officials improved facilities.

The work planned across the city’s five district netball facilities will include improvements to playing surfaces, fencing, drainage and stormwater management.

The ACT Government is working with Netball ACT, following their ongoing engagement and advocacy on behalf of the local netball community.

Netball is one of Canberra’s most popular sports with over 12,000 participants.

The upgrades align with the vision of the ACT Government’s CBR Next Move Sport and Recreation Strategy, to get all Canberrans moving more through sport and active recreation.

Netball ACT’s courts remediation project will be staged over two years, with works at the Arawang Netball Association facility in Stirling starting today, and work commencing at the Canberra Netball Association facility in Lyneham also.

South Canberra, Belconnen and Tuggeranong will receive their improvements later in 2024.

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Did you know the ACT Government operates and manages more than 90 parks and nature reserves for our community to enjoy? Volunteers – like the Friends of Mount Painter – play a huge role in making this possible.

The Friends of Mount Painter is a registered ParkCare Patch group that is made up of a small number of residents who support ACT Parks in the management of the 93-hectare reserve.  

Convenor Sarah Hnatiuk, along with her group of volunteers, is helping protect and enhance the area for generations to come.

Fee-Free Tafe – a jointly funded initiative of the Australian and ACT Governments – will continue until 2026.

This extension will allow Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) to deliver another 3600 places over three years from 2024 onwards.

This amounts to 600 tuition-free places for Canberrans each semester from 2024 through to the end of 2026.

There will be a focus on priority learners and areas of skills demand.

Applications for CIT Fee-Free TAFE places in semester 1, 2024, open Monday, 13 November 2023 and prospective students are encouraged to apply early.

All are invited to attend CIT Open Day on Friday, 17 November, at the CIT Reid, Bruce and Fyshwick campuses.

CIT has successfully met its targets in the first year of delivering Fee-Free TAFE, reaching its allocated 2,530 enrolments for 2023.

More than 1000 of CIT’s Fee-Free TAFE student enrolments have been in the care sector, in skilled areas of demand such as childcare, aged care, disability care and community services.

CIT has also seen a strong uptake of education and training in cyber security. The Certificate IV Cyber Security has been the most popular of all Fee-Free courses with 264 enrolments.

“CIT has shown we can successfully deliver the national Fee-Free TAFE program, making education and training more accessible to Canberrans and continuing to drive the ACT’s workforce forward, especially in industry areas of need and to priority learner cohorts,” CIT Interim CEO Christine Robertson said.

“Vocational education and training can change people’s lives, and Fee-Free TAFE is providing opportunity, especially to priority learners. It’s encouraging to see big enrolments among our youth and job seekers, while Fee-Free TAFE in the ACT has supported 430 women in financial hardship to access education and training.

“Students have shared how they may not have even considered vocational education and training if not for the opportunity and accessibility that Fee-Free TAFE has provided them.”

“We look forward to seeing more students graduate of Fee-Free TAFE and becoming the carers, construction workers, hospitality staff and digital experts the ACT needs. We’ve also had many students graduate short course via Fee-Free TAFE, which has set them on the pathway to further education,” she said.

Highlights of CIT’s Fee-Free TAFE delivery in 2023 include:

• 268 course completions already, mainly in short courses, which is a great pathway to further study and jobs
• 1,609 female student enrolments (more than 60 per cent of total). CIT has been enhancing diversity in student cohorts e.g. 25 enrolments for women in building, construction and electronics trades
• 430 women in financial hardship. Fee-Free tuition has made education and training possible.
• 1,027 enrolments in care sector related courses, across areas including childcare, aged care, disability care, and community services
• 936 enrolments for students aged between 17 and 24
• 774 enrolments for job seekers
• 215 enrolments for unpaid carers
• 163 enrolments for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples
• 124 enrolments for people that identify with a disability
• 55 enrolments are for Humanitarian visa holders and 161 for other eligible visa holders
• 30 enrolments for veterans.

More information on CIT courses eligible for Fee-Free TAFE enrolment in Semester 1, 2024, is available at the CIT Fee-Free TAFE webpage.

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Production brings support for the local screen industry 

Drones and wildlife may seem like an odd coupling, but for conservation ecologist Dr Debbie Saunders, it has proven to be a real winner.

Debbie is the founder and CEO of Wildlife Drones, a local Canberra company established in 2016 that is doing something no one else in the world is doing – tracking wildlife with drone technology.

Her efforts to improve conservation management practices around the world has earnt her a number of accolades, the latest being 2023 Canberra Businesswoman of the Year at the recent Canberra Women in Business Awards.

“Winning this award is pretty amazing, a real highpoint in my career. It’s nice to be recognised,” she said.

But for Debbie, it wasn’t always easy.

“There were a lot of naysayers over the years. People who didn’t really believe in what I was doing. But you can’t worry about that,” she said.

“I have amazing mentors, and a support network in Canberra. You just need to surround yourself with people who lift you up and believe in you.”

Wildlife Drones came about after a struggle to track the humble swift parrot.

“It’s a small animal that moves dynamically across massive landscapes – it’s also critically endangered,” Debbie said.

“My colleagues had tried to track them before. They would catch them, which is a feat in of itself, put a tag on them but when they released them, they never found them again. All of that effort, and they would just fly away.

“So if we wanted to track them, we really needed to find a different way.”

Debbie received an ICON grant to help develop her product (which enabled her to buy her first drone), and took advantage of the many programs and events offered by the Canberra Innovation Network.

Now, Wildlife Drones is the only company in the world providing this kind of technology, and it’s all manufactured in Canberra.

Governments, not-for-profits, zoos, environmental consultants and researchers are using Wildlife Drones’ technology to track everything from giant hornets and Burmese pythons in the US, to koalas and bilbies in Australia.

Debbie says Canberra has been a great place to start up and grow a business, with a supportive innovation ecosystem that has helped her attract investment.

“Being from wildlife background, I wasn’t sure how to do some things, like a business pitch,” she said.

“But it’s amazing how many synergies there are between business and research. And that was the moment it clicked for me – I do this all the time, applying for grants is exactly the same thing.

“I now have an amazing team and work on amazing things. That has been the real game changer, surrounding myself with smart and creative people who are up for the challenge.”

So, what’s next for Wildlife Drones?

“So many things,” laughs Debbie.

“We’re developing a new product and it’s got nothing to do with drones.

“With the new Global Biodiversity Framework that was signed off, and a lot of countries signed up to, businesses are now required to be accountable in terms of biodiversity. There’s an immense amount of data out there that can be used to help businesses and corporations better understand biodiversity and how to monitor and track over time.

“We are developing software to help make use of all that data.

“It’s great to be in a time when biodiversity is front and centre.”

For more information about the Canberra Innovation Network go to the CBRIN website.

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Canberra’s light rail system has reached another passenger milestone with more than 15 million passenger journeys now taken since its April 2019 launch.

Future public transport journeys will be even easier to make when a new ticketing system rolls out in the second half of 2024.

The MyWay+ system will be available for both buses and light rail and will allow passengers to pay using a phone app, smartwatch, traditional travel card or credit or debit card.

Light rail offers Canberrans a convenient, sustainable and reliable form of public transport.

A light rail satisfaction survey undertaken last month found that 98 per cent of passengers reported being satisfied with the ease of using the light rail when they took public transport.

Fifty-one per cent of passengers also reported they plan to continue their journey through the city by taking advantage of light rail stage 2A in the future.

In the past three months, 22 per cent of all public transport journeys across the whole of Canberra were on the light rail.

The latest data also shows that public transport mode share in Gungahlin has increased by nearly 50 per cent since the introduction of light rail.

Private car usage has declined further with the highest drop recorded in Gungahlin and North Canberra, along the light rail alignment, reducing by 9 per cent in Gungahlin, and 13 per cent in North Canberra.

Construction on Stage 2A – which will see the line extended to Commonwealth Park – is expected to start once raising London Circuit is complete.

This work progresses, with the first temporary road and demolition of the southbound bridge over London Circuit complete.

Canberrans can expect to see substantial changes in the city centre as upgrades better connecting the city and the lake are carried out.

Planning and design continue on the further Stage 2B to Woden.

The ACT Government has also started construction on the ‘green track’ prototype at the National Arboretum. Canberrans will be able to see the design of grassed track areas through the city on the stage 2A line.

Find more information on the MyWay+ system.

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Canberra motorists will continue to have access to real-time fuel pricing at petrol stations across the ACT, following a successful trial of the FuelCheck scheme in the ACT.

For many households the cost of fuel is a significant expense. Canberra motorists will be able to continue to find cost savings on fuel as the ACT Government continues to work with the NSW Government to provide the popular FuelCheck scheme in the ACT.

By shopping around and checking FuelCheck, Canberra motorists can enjoy savings of, on average, 11 cents per litre on standard unleaded, 15 cents per litre on premium unleaded; and 25 cents per litre on diesel and pay less than the national average for their fuel.

This means a motorist who drives an average of 12,100 kilometres per year could save around $140-$200 for a petrol car and $350 for a diesel car, annually.

Since FuelCheck’s introduction in the ACT in November 2022, the app was downloaded around 100,000 times by Canberrans.

Over 95 per cent of ACT service stations have signed up to FuelCheck and there has been a high level of retailer and consumer satisfaction with the tool.

Opting into the FuelCheck scheme has also given small and independent ACT operators the opportunity to take advantage of free price advertising and bring awareness of their location to a larger audience.

Along with giving motorists the capacity to save, FuelCheck also allows users to see information on when the best day of the week to buy, and to receive alerts on when prices drop at favourite stations.

“The NRMA is pleased to see the continuation of FuelCheck in the ACT to give motorists greater pricing transparency,” Peter Khoury, NRMA Spokesman, said.

“As fuel prices remain volatile and cost of living continues to rise, FuelCheck will continue to make a massive difference for consumers by ensuring they can always find the best price fuel near them.

“As the Christmas period approaches, real-time fuel prices will help motorists to better plan their journeys and when and where they should fill up,” he said.

More information on fuel pricing in the ACT and the FuelCheck scheme is available at https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/consumer-rights/fair-trading-and-consumer-rights#Fuel-prices.

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