Industry News

The Victorian Government has confirmed funding that will secure the future of an agency that will give people with a mental illness the opportunity to help others in the same situation.

The Victorian Government has announced the state’s TAFE Development Centre (TDC) has been given a new name to ‘reflect the changing nature of Victoria’s vocational education and training sector’, and will now be known as the VET Development Centre (VDC).

The TDC was established in 2005 to raise the professional standing of people working in the vocational education and training sector through the delivery of a range of professional development and support programs.

Mr Hall said the VET Development Centre would continue to analyse workforce development needs, particularly in line with changing state and national training policies and frameworks.

“The work of the TDC was always far broader than developing TAFEs alone, and included working to develop the Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) sector and working with a range of private providers,” Mr Hall said.

“The centre will continue to be an independent body for workforce development and will play a key role in analysing state and national training policy agendas.

“In an environment of ongoing reform to the training sector, the VET Development Centre will continue to help all providers, large and small, to adapt and benefit from these changes,” Mr Hall said.

Global professional services giant AECOM has announced the appointment of Michael Batchelor as the company’s new Chief Executive of its Australia and New Zealand arm and will be taking the position at the start of October.

The New South Wales Government has announced it will start changing its road signs from early next year as part of a project to standardise the system across all states.

The Australian Low Carbon Transport Forum (ALCTF) has published its first major report into potential ways in which the transport sector can reduce its carbon emissions.

The nation’s largest rail freight company, QR National, has announced a proposal to change the company’s name to Aurizon Limited.

Global logistics giant DHL has announced a 4.9 per cent price increase for the 2013 year, which the company says takes into account rising inflation levels, industry cost levels and investment in service quality.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science has published a report that shows that the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral in the last 27 years.

The New South Wales Government has announced the establishment of a new legal service that will provide a free and independent process to resolve disputes between injured workers and insurers.

The New South Wales Government has rolled out new measures aimed at improving return to work outcomes for workers and employers following reforms to the State’s Workers Compensation Scheme.

The Injury Control Council of Western Australia (ICCWA) has announced registrations for its annual Injury Prevention Summit are now open.

Drinking water has begun to flow from the new Victorian Desalination Plant through the 84 kilometre underground pipeline and into Melbourne’s Cardinia Reservoir.

Leighton Contractors has announced it has been awarded a $1.5 billion full service, five-year contract to produce 20 million tonnes per annum of iron ore at Fortescue’s Firetail mine in the Pilbara.

The Victorian Government has opened a $1 billion housing development in one of the largest infill projects in Melbourne’s south east corridor.

Casual workers are significantly more likely to experience financial stress, struggle to save and experience difficulty renting or purchasing a property according to a new report released by ME Bank.  

The University of South Australia has published the 2012 edition of the annual Australian and Life Index, concluding that work-life balance for most Australians have not improved over the past five years.

After 14 months of managing the project, Noske Wind Energy Logistics has announced it has delivered the final component for the Macarthur Wind Farm site.

Logistics giant Toll has announced its total spending in Western Australia has topped $140 million following a string of significant infrastructure investments.

The Australian Government has joined over 20 nations, intergovernmental organisations, the private sector and civil society in joining the Cleaner Air Coalition, a body committed to rapid action to reduce forms of short-lived but highly potent pollution.

The Federal Government has welcomed the appointment of Bruce Carter as Chair of ASC Pty Ltd, the country’s largest submarine and shipbuilding company.