THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has received a letter from the Minister for Home Affairs agreeing to its suggested Terms of Reference for an inquiry into national security risks affecting the Australian higher education and research sector with a requested reporting date of July 2021.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (the Committee) will inquire into and report on National security risks affecting the Australian higher education and research sector.

In considering national security risks to the sector, the Committee specifically seeks information on:

1. The prevalence, characteristics and significance of foreign interference, undisclosed foreign influence, data theft and espionage, and associated risks to Australia’s national security;
2. The sector’s awareness of foreign interference, undisclosed foreign influence, data theft and espionage, and its capacity to identify and respond to these threats;
3. The adequacy and effectiveness of  Australian Government policies and programs in identifying and responding to foreign interference, undisclosed foreign influence, data theft and espionage in the sector;
4. Responses to this issue in other countries and their relevance to the Australian situation; and
5. Any other related matter.

A full terms of reference are available online here

Chair Andrew Hastie MP, said, “We are going to examine the question of foreign interference in the Australian higher education and research sector. The committee will engage with a wide variety of stakeholders in this sector as well as appropriate national security agencies.”

Submissions are requested by 4pm, Friday December 18, 2020. Further information about making a submission to a parliamentary committee inquiry is available here. 

A dedicated email address has been created for this inquiry, all email correspondence including submissions should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

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THE NUMBER of building approvals for new homes jumped by 15.4 percent in seasonally-adjusted terms thanks to the continued success of the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme, according to Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.

“During September, there was a 9.7 percent increase in private sector detached house approvals while approvals for apartments and units did even better, jumping by 23.4 percent up from August,” she said.

“These positive figures are mirrored by lending data showing a 25.3 percent surge in the number of loans to owner occupiers for new home construction. Even prior to the start of the Covid-19 crisis, new home building activity in Australia had been in the advanced stages of downturn.

"The introduction of HomeBuilder has turned things around. Approvals for new detached houses are now 20.7 percent up on this time last year,” Ms Wawn said.

“The recovery in residential building will benefit the whole economy. Every $1 million in residential building activity supports nine jobs right around our economy. The upturn generated by HomeBuilder is helping claw back some of the jobs lost as a result of the pandemic.

“Extending HomeBuilder until the end of 2021 will maximise the benefits of the scheme will be fully maximized. It will mean the renewed momentum in the housing market to reach its full potential over the course of next year and provide even more benefits to our whole economy in terms of restoring employment,” Ms Wawn said.

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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INVESTMENT FIRM JP Morgan and technology tertiary institution RMIT both took home the award for LGBTQ Employee Network of the Year at the 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards held recently at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney.

The 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards is Australia’s leading annual celebration of LGBTQ workplace inclusion. It is hosted by ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, the national not-for-profit LGBTQ inclusion support program for employers, sporting organisations and service providers.

Usually held in May, the awards luncheon was re-scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A number of awards have already been presented at a previous virtual event in earlier in the year.

Among the awards announced were individual honours for LGBTQ inclusion including Executive Leadership (Alicia Albury, Maddocks), Network Leader of the Year (Ben Brown, QBE and Nathan Eastwood, Clifford Chance) and Out Role Model of the Year (Cathy Gassick, Australian Federal Police).

RMIT University was also recognised for its work in trans and gender diverse inclusion. This follows RMIT being named Employer of the Year at the preliminary awards announcement earlier in June.

The awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) – which is now in its 10th year – and the second Health and Wellbeing Equality Index (HWEI). The AWEI and HWEI are rigorous and evidence-based benchmarking tools that annually assesses workplaces in the progress and impact of LGBTQ inclusion initiatives.

The awards also coincide with the release of Australia’s largest annual LGBTQ Inclusion Report that assesses the views of Australian employees from a wide variety of industries on LGBTQ inclusion initiatives within their workplaces and sports. This year the report features over 33,000 responses from employees and around 600 people involved in sport.

Dawn Hough, director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, said she was excited to have been able to share all of the results of the indices and the wonderful achievements of various organisations in LGBTQ inclusion.

“This year marks an important milestone for the AWEI, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, we have seen incredible advancements in workplace diversity and inclusion. As we progress further, it remains critical that not only efforts are acknowledged and congratulated, but pressure continues to be applied to maintain and build upon what has been achieved,” Ms Hough said.

“The employee survey that accompanied the AWEI elicited an incredible response, which underscores the importance of LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace.”

Highlights from this year’s survey results include significant support for LGBTQ inclusion amongst c-suite leaders within participating organisations; the visibility and positive impact of allies and LGBTQ inclusion on organisational culture in the workplace; and that LGBTQ inclusion training should be mandatory for all managers.

Discouraging findings included less people feeling comfortable to be out at work, with two of the main reasons being that it would not be accepted by some members of their team, or simply not being comfortable enough within themselves to be out at work.

Ms Hough said, “The report also shows that LGBTQ people continue to be the target of negative commentary and innuendo as well as more serious bullying and harassment. So even as we have taken some big steps forward in improving inclusion within workplaces over the past 10 years, these results indicate that there is much more to do and no organisation can afford to become complacent in ensuring all Australians are free to be their true selves at work.

“Congratulations to all the recipients of the tiered awards announced today, including those the received Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum status, as well as those that received organisational awards. I commend all of them on their significant achievements and for showing great leadership in LGBTQ inclusion.” 

Pride in Diversity is part of Pride Inclusion Programs, a suite of social inclusion programs delivered by ACON, Australia’s largest LGBTQ health organisation. Pride Inclusion Programs also includes Pride In Sport and Pride in Health+Wellbeing.

“In 2020, Pride in Diversity celebrates its 10th year. After a decade, LGBTQ inclusion has well and truly made its way onto the Australian workplace diversity and inclusion agenda and is making more of a mark in the sporting and service provider sectors every year as well,” Ms Hough said.

“Congratulations to all award winners recognised today on their significant achievements and for showing great leadership in LGBTQ inclusion.”

This year’s luncheon was hosted by SBS World News presenter Ricardo Goncalves and featured winner of The Voice 2016, singer/songwriter Alfie Arcuri.

Pride In Sport Awards: www.prideinsport.com.au/awards/

ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs: www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell is encouraging growers and traders in disputes that fall under the Horticulture Code of Conduct to contact her office.

“The Horticulture Code is a mandatory code that aims to improve the clarity and transparency of trading arrangements between growers and traders,” Ms Carnell said.

“My office can provide growers and traders with information and assistance with dispute resolution, including access to mediation services and produce assessors. Mediation is a far more cost-effective and timely way to resolve disputes than taking legal action.   

“Our website also features a list of horticulture produce assessors who can help resolve a disagreement by investigating and reporting on matters linked to a horticulture produce agreement.

“Assessors can address issues such as whether a trader was entitled to reject produce or whether a grower has received the correct payment from the trader," Ms Carnell said.

“Once an assessor is involved, all parties have to comply with the assessor’s reasonable requests and failure to do so can attract a penalty. At the end of the day we want to keep small businesses out of the courts, where let’s face it, the only winners are lawyers.

“The good news is that the majority of small business disputes my office assists with are resolved at mediation or before," she said.

“Since my office opened four years ago, we have provided free assistance to over 20,000 small businesses nation-wide. Two-out-of-three of those disputes were successfully resolved at mediation or prior to that through contact with our assistance team.

“We want to help small businesses resolve their disputes as quickly as possible so they can get on with what they do best – running their business.”

Small businesses that need information about the Horticulture Code or help with resolving a dispute that falls under the Code can visit www.asbfeo.gov.au or call the hotline 1300 650 460.

(For more information on alternate dispute resolution, check out this video.)

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