Government vows crackdown on sale of NDIS shell companies amid new registration rules

The federal government is moving to crack down on the growing trade in “off-the-shelf” National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers, announcing tougher rules to stop pre-registered shell companies being sold to bypass scrutiny. From July 1, new obligations will require disability service providers to notify the NDIS watchdog, the Quality and Safeguards Commission (QSC), as…

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Since Queensland strengthened firearm laws, one person is charged a fortnight accused of printing 3D guns

One person a fortnight has been charged with possessing a blueprint to make 3D-printed guns since Queensland strengthened its firearm laws. After the Bondi terror attack, the state government introduced legislation making it an offence to possess blueprints to create 3D-printed weapons. New South Wales and Tasmania are the only other jurisdictions to do this….

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Worker says Victoria’s forestry transition program ‘decimated’ Gippsland’s small towns

As the Victorian Forestry Transition Program comes to a close, some residents in regions that relied on the timber trade are questioning what has been done to build a replacement economy. The state government’s transition program ends today, two-and-a-half years after Victoria’s native logging industry was brought to an end with the flourish of a…

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Closure of long-term Salvation Army residential facility sparks concerns

A long-term residential facility in Melbourne’s inner-west will begin the process of shutting down, raising concerns about the future of dozens of vulnerable men living there. Foley House has provided beds for homeless men, those with disabilities and acquired brain injuries and other complex health needs since 2013. The Salvation Army, which runs the Footscray…

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