Family Referral Services
Source: New South Wales. Minister for Communities. Media Release.
Three pilot Family Referral Services have been announced as part of the NSW strategy of Keep Them Safe.

Drug Driving in the Territory: an overview of issues and options—March 2010
Source: ACT. Dept of Territory and Municipal Services
"Random roadside drug testing is far from being a straightforward process, and the ACT Government has issued a discussion paper on the subject. It is crucial that Canberrans are aware of the complexities and understand the importance of getting any legislation right.
It is important to understood that random roadside drug testing is much more expensive than breath-testing for alcohol—as much as $40 per driver tested, compared with a few cents for a breath test—and much more time-consuming—potentially delaying motorists by the roadside for at least several minutes. Nor can any current tests be used to test for a full range of illicit substances."

Metropolitan Strategy Review: Sydney Towards 2036
Source: New South Wales. Premier. Media Release.
"Premier Kristina Keneally announced the beginning of the formal public consultation on Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy. The Sydney Towards 2036 discussion paper is the first stage in an extensive consultation process to review Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy." Discussion Paper.

Queensland supports national standards for patient rights in healthcare
Source: Queensland. Minister for Health. Media Release
"Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas launched the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, an initiative that outlines the rights of patients. The Charter, a national standard designed to support patients Australia-wide, gives patients, families, carers and service-providers a common understanding of the rights of those receiving healthcare. Mr Lucas said the Charter also outlined the responsibilities of healthcare providers. “At the core of the Charter is this: healthcare and the health system must be centred on the patient,” Mr Lucas said. It allows patients, consumers, families, carers and health care providers to share an understanding of the rights of the people who receive care."

Research project begins for the provision of therapy services in rural and remote NSW
Source: New South Wales. Minister for Aging and Minister for Disability Services. Media Release.
"The NSW Minister for Disability Services Paul Lynch welcomed the start of a major research project into the provision of therapy services in rural and remote NSW. Mr Lynch said the four year project, a joint enterprise between Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC) and the University of Sydney would focus on the effectiveness of the delivery of psychology and therapy services to people with disabilities living in rural and remote NSW."

New regulations planned for solaria and tanning units
Source: ACT. Minister for Health
"Solaria and tanning units will need to be registered and their owners and operators licensed under new regulations being developed by the ACT Government. The Minister said the amendments to the Radiation Protection Regulation 2007 would be based on proposed national standards. "

New Degree-Qualified Paramedics for Tasmania
Source: University of Tasmania
"Tasmania’s ambulance service is set to reap the benefits of directly employing ‘home grown’ degree qualified paramedics for the first time. Direct tertiary recruitment is the new way of paramedic employment for Tasmania, and this is a tremendous step forward in our ability to attract top-quality, degree qualified Tasmanian recruits.These new employees will be mentored closely by expert pre- hospital clinicians for a period of 12 months following recruitment, to ensure they have the right balance of academic and practical knowledge. The new fast-track course means that for the first time the ambulance service and Tasmanians needing emergency medical care will benefit from the skills and expertise of local degree qualified paramedics.”

Changes to ensure safe asbestos removal
Source: NSW. Minister for Planning. Media Release.
"All owners and builders who apply for 10-day approvals for new homes and renovations will now be required to safely remove asbestos. Minister for Planning, Tony Kelly, said state-wide guidelines regulating works involving the safe removal of asbestos in complying development were urgently needed and have now been delivered. “New provisions introduced by the NSW Government place much greater responsibility on owners and builders to ensure the safe and lawful disposal of asbestos,” the Minister said."

Health Consultation Plan and Formal Response Agenda – to the proposed Federal health reforms.
Source: NSW. Premier. Media release.
"Premier Keneally detailed the NSW Government's three-part Health Consultation Plan and Formal Response Agenda - to the Prime Minister's proposed health reforms." The Premier has also written to Mr Rudd seeking clarification of some items."

Kevin Rudd's Better Health, Better Hospitals speech
From: The Australian, March 03, 2010 12:42PM
"THIS is the full text of Kevin Rudd's speech to the National Press Club on the National Health and Hospitals Network. ...The Australian Government is delivering on the basics.This morning’s National Accounts confirmed once again that we have kept the Australian economy growing strongly – while other economies around the world remain devastated by the global recession.
Earlier this week, we delivered on our commitment to launch the first national curriculum for schools in our nation’s history – a curriculum grounded in teaching the basics and one delivered after two years of effort after thirty years of failure..."

A National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia’s Future
Source: Australia. Prime Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Health and Ageing. Joint Media Release.
"The Rudd Government today announced major structural reforms to Australia’s health and hospital system. The Government will deliver better health services and better hospitals by establishing a National Health and Hospitals Network. This new national network will be funded nationally and run locally. These reforms represent the biggest changes to Australia’s health and hospital system since the introduction of Medicare, and one of the most significant reforms to the federation in its history. "

Road Amendment (Isabelle Broadhead Child Restraint Measures) Rules 2010.
Source: NSW. Minister for Transport. Media release.
"New national safety regulations to curb the high number of children injured in car crashes come into effect in NSW. Minister for Transport and Roads David Campbell said the changes mean children up to the age of seven are now required to travel in approved child restraints or booster seats."

New programs to provide jobs, infrastructure and a healthier Queensland
Source: Queensland. Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Sport. Media Release
"The Bligh Government announced a new package of sport and recreation funding programs to deliver more than $138 million to create jobs, help build infrastructure and deliver initiatives to encourage Queenslanders to take part in sport and recreation activities. Sports Minister Phil Reeves said the sports funding programs would generate more than 500 jobs over the next three years. “Four new programs will fund sporting clubs and recreation organisations, councils and schools to help them increase participation, recruit volunteers, and encourage disadvantaged communities to participate in sport,” Mr Reeves said."

Stronger Together
Source: NSW. Minister for Disability Services. Media Release.
" More than 1000 people have filled out job applications to work in the disability and community care sector following a television advertising campaign launched two weeks ago. The carecareers campaign is a partnership between the NSW Government and National Disability Services (NDS) to meet the challenges of an ageing population."

Growing Up Strong Buraay
Source: NSW. Minister for Communities. Media Release.
"A new parenting book designed for Aboriginal families to improve the health and wellbeing of
children will be launched tomorrow, Minister for Community Services Linda Burney said. Ms Burney said the book is one of a series of parenting books published by Community
Services that offers simple advice to parents on raising children aged up to five."

STUDENTS BECOME LIFESAVERS UNDER CPR SKILLS PROGRAM
Source: Victoria. Minister for Health. Media Release
"Victorian students will be taught how to perform CPR as part of a $3.7 million Brumby Government program to give the community life-saving skills.
At Sandringham Secondary School, Health Minister Daniel Andrews said Ambulance Victoria would teach students how to respond to cardiac arrest in an Australian-first initiative.
“The 4 Steps for Life program helps people to recognise cardiac arrest warning signs and when to call ‘000’, while also teaching skills in performing CPR until an ambulance arrives,” Mr Andrews said. “More than 20,000 community groups and 825,000 Victorians have already learned the life-saving skills offered in 4 Steps into Life. This $3.7 million boost will enable even more people to be equipped with these vital techniques.”
Mr Andrews said under the pilot launched, about 2000 students at schools in six regions across Victoria will be provided with the information, confidence and skills to administer CPR."

Launch of DonateLife ACT
Source: ACT. Minister for Health
"The DonateLifeTM Network is the cornerstone of the Australian Government's four year $151.1 million national reform agenda, which involves more than 300 health professionals focused on organ and tissue donation nationally. DonateLife ACT has nine dedicated staff working with ACT health professionals. The aim is to ensure that donation is a part of end-of-life patient care and that all potential donors are identified and their families asked about donation in a respectful and compassionate way and supported in making their decision.
Discover, Decide, Discuss is DonateLife's key theme. To discover more about organ and tissue donation, what to do when you decide to become a potential donor, and suggestions on how to discuss your wishes with your family visit http://www.donatelife.gov.au/

Intervention for NSW and QLD public hospitals
Source: Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing and The Leader of the Opposition. Joint Press Release.
"Australia’s public hospitals are staffed by incredibly dedicated doctors, nurses and health workers who often can’t do their job properly because of suffocating bureaucracies.
The problem is not so much which level of government runs hospitals but how they are actually being managed. Especially in NSW and Queensland, hospitals have almost entirely lost the capacity for local decision-making. Doctors and nurses are often the “meat in the sandwich” having to explain to patients the consequences of decisions and policies over which they have no say....The Coalition’s comprehensive health and hospitals policy will be released nearer to the election."

Learning through sport
Source: NT. Minister for Sport
"The Northern Territory Government will develop four new sporting academies for girls. The Education Minister Chris Burns said the sporting centres would be set up with $2m in Federal funding under the Sporting Chance program, $2m from the Northern Territory Government and $2m in private sponsorship.
“These academies will use sport as a vehicle to engage Indigenous girls in secondary education, with the aim of improving educational outcomes,” Dr Burns said.
“Education is at the heart of our Territory 2030 plan. Increasing school participation among our Indigenous students is an important target within that plan.""

Tougher legislation to safeguard against environmental lead exposure
Source: Tasmania. Director of Public Health
" More stringent guidelines to monitor and protect Tasmanians from environmental exposure to lead have come into effect. The Director of Public Health, Dr Roscoe Taylor, said the guidelines, issued under the Public Health Act, significantly reduce the level at which lead in blood becomes notifiable to health authorities. “Tasmanians also should be aware of measures they should take to avoid environmental exposure to lead. These include being careful when renovating older homes, briefly flushing cold water taps before drinking, and never drinking directly from external or hot water taps.” The changes mean that blood-lead levels will need to be notified when they are recorded at 10 micrograms per decilitre, rather than the 15 micrograms per decilitre which has applied until now."