Category: Australian News

The Federal Court has ordered hearing aid retailers Oticon Australia Pty Ltd (Oticon) and Sonic Innovations Pty Ltd (Sonic) to pay penalties totalling $2.5 million for misleading pensioners through newspaper advertisements for hearing aids sold by AudioClinic and HearingLife clinics.
Oticon and Sonic admitted that the advertisements contained three false and misleading representations about hearing aids available to pensioners under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. The misleading representations were that:

• in order to obtain a free hearing aid pensioners had to book a free hearing test at an AudioClinic or HearingLife hearing clinic before the deadline in the advertisement, where there was no time limit;
• the free hearing aids included wireless technology that would allow users to connect them to digital devices like televisions and mobile phones, when in fact these were additional accessories which were sold separately at an extra cost; and
• any user of the advertised hearing aid would no longer miss any conversations, when in fact this may depend on a person’s individual circumstances and the nature of his or her hearing impairment.

“Many of the pensioners targeted by the advertisements were vulnerable due to their age and hearing loss. The misleading representations by Sonic and Oticon created a false sense of urgency for these consumers to book a hearing test and led them into a sales process based on incorrect information,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
“This conduct is unacceptable particularly because it targeted vulnerable pensioners. The decision from the Federal Court sends a strong message to the hearing aid industry about the importance of ensuring all representations to consumers are accurate and not misleading.”
In addition to paying penalties of $2.5 million, the Court ordered by consent that Sonic and Oticon offer refunds to customers who purchased ConnectLine and SoundGate3 accessories, publish a corrective notice in a nationally circulated newspaper, and establish an Australian Consumer Law compliance program.

Background

The ACCC instituted proceedings against Sonic and Oticon on 6 September 2018: ACCC takes action against hearing aid retailers for misleading pensioners.
Oticon and Sonic, owned and operated by William Demant Holding A/S, operate over 200 hearing clinics across Australia, including under the AudioClinic, HearingLife, Western Hearing Services, and Adelaide Digital Hearing Solutions brands.
The misleading ads were published on 85 occasions in newspapers around Australia from June to November 2017 under the AudioClinic and HearingLife brands. Oticon and Sonic sold more than 10 000 of the advertised Oticon Ria2 and Sonic Cheer20 hearing aids.
Australian Government Hearing Services Program
Around 80 per cent of hearing aids supplied in Australia are provided under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program (the Hearing Program).
The Hearing Program provides access to subsidised hearing services and devices to eligible persons, such as pensioner concession card holders, veterans, and defence force personnel. Vouchers can be used to obtain fully-subsidised hearing devices, or to cover some of the cost of partially-subsided hearing devices, with the consumer paying the remainder of the cost directly to hearing clinics.
The Hearing Program is administered by the Department of Health. Around 300 providers, including Oticon and Sonic, are accredited by the Department of Health to provide hearing devices to voucher holders under the Hearing Program.

New initiatives to improve the treatment and management of mental health concerns among Australia’s servicemen and women will be funded by the Morrison Government.
We will commit $100,000 for a Veteran Mental Health Outreach Pilot project to pull together the available information about a new way to provide specialised home-based healthcare for veterans and their families.
Our Government recognises that not all veterans are able to access traditional, community-based mental health services.
Our younger veterans, who suffer mental health conditions, can experience social or geographic isolation so this project will look at how health providers can better ‘reach out’ and provide home-based services.
The project will be run by the Remembrance Foundation, who are dedicated to the health, welfare and quality of life of Australia’s veteran and first responder communities.
This new funding is about getting on with providing the right support, at the right time, in the right place for our veterans and their families.
Phoenix Australia, the National Centre for Excellence in Posttraumatic Mental Health, will receive $650 000 to develop up-to-date clinical guidelines for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is the second most common mental health problem next to depression, affecting over one million Australians at any point in time. It is particularly prevalent among veterans and tragically has a high association with suicide.
Australia’s National Guidelines – which help medical professionals provide the best evidence-based treatment – were first written in 2007.
It is time to incorporate new research and the latest information so our health professionals have the tools they need to prevent, intervene early and treat PTSD.
The funding announced today will enable Phoenix Australia to modernise, revise and expand the guidelines to incorporate new developments that will help veterans on the road to recovery.
Phoenix Australia will work with content area experts in all areas of trauma to develop new clinical guidelines and incorporate the latest evidence and best-practice approaches.
The guidelines will be a living document and will continue to be updated as ground-breaking research becomes available. The guidelines will improve frontline clinical services and supports to those affected by PTSD.
We are also providing a $50 000 contribution to establish a permanent memorial garden in honour of fallen Afghanistan soldiers and their families in Queensland.
The funding will go to the non-for-profit organisation 42for42. They will build a memorial garden in the grounds of Suncorp Stadium, Milton, Queensland. The 42 stands for the 41 soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan, with the 42nd representing the soldiers who have died by suicide, and those who have returned with injuries and mental illness.
These announcements builds on the $1.4 billion we are investing for fairer indexation of defence force pensions, free mental health care for all veterans and our veterans to work program.
We can never thank our servicemen and women enough for their courage, on and off the battlefield.

Competition among internet service providers (ISP) to perform well in the ACCC’s speed tests is delivering good results for fixed-line NBN customers, although some consumers continue to receive substantially slower speeds than typically available to other consumers on the same plan.
This third ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia (MBA) report, prepared for the ACCC by SamKnows, provides new data on the performance of NBN services from major ISPs.
The ISP with the fastest broadband this quarter was TPG followed by Aussie Broadband, iiNet, Optus, Telstra and MyRepublic, with the latter picking up speed considerably on the last quarter.
Overall, 69 per cent of all tests continued to achieve download speeds of above 90 per cent of maximum plan speeds, while seven per cent of tests recorded less than 50 per cent of the maximum.
“Industry says it is working hard to contact customers whose NBN connections aren’t able to deliver the maximum speeds of their plan,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“We encourage customers who aren’t getting the speeds they expected to contact their internet service provider to see if they need to change plans. We will continue to closely monitor the progress of industry in remedying this issue.”
The good news for customers is that broadband speeds did not slow significantly in the busy hours (7-11pm), with average speeds across all busy hours reducing by just 1 percentage point compared with the average. This was true for both standard speed plans and the increasing number of consumers on higher speed NBN plans.
NBN services continued to outperform ADSL services, with NBN plans sold with a maximum speed of 25 Mbps on average achieving a download speed of 22.7 Mbps during the busy hour, three times the average busy hour download speed recorded for ADSL plans.
“We are pleased that the Measuring Broadband Australia program is being taken very seriously by internet service providers and is delivering noticeable improvements to customers’ broadband speeds,” Mr Sims said.
“We note NBN Co has reported that congestion has increased slightly in recent months. Our results suggest that ISPs not featured in this report could be contributing to this, as the overall results featured in this MBA report do not show an upward trend in congestion.”
“We want to encourage consumers, particularly those with smaller internet service providers, to register their interest in the program so we can provide statistically significant results for a wider range of services,” Mr Sims said.
“Volunteers are making a real difference to Australia’s broadband performance but we don’t yet have the full picture, and strongly encourage more people to sign up.”
In each report, the ACCC explores a particular issue in more depth, with the focus of this one on the difference in busy hour broadband performance between NBN urban services and NBN regional services.
Urban services, which are those provided in towns with a population of over 10,000, receive higher speeds than regional services, but the difference is not significant, with those in urban areas receiving 84.8 per cent of maximum speeds on average compared with 83 per cent per cent of speeds in regional areas.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has served Notices to Appear on three people in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) as part of a long-running investigation into a group allegedly assisting the parental abduction of children across Australia.
This is the second phase of police action following the arrest of three people on Wednesday, 17 October 2018, and subsequent action to summons two other people to appear before court.
Operation Noetic investigators served notices on a 75 year-old Elizabeth Beach (Taree) woman, a 68-year-old Newcastle woman and a 46-year-old Townsville woman. Search warrants were also conducted on four premises in NSW, QLD and Victoria.
The 75-year-old Taree woman will be charged with:

• Conspiracy to defeat justice, contrary to s42 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).

The 68-year-old Newcastle woman will be charged with:

• Conspiracy to defeat justice, contrary to s42 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).
• 1x child stealing, contrary to s363 of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld).

The 46-year-old Townsville woman will be charged with:

• Conspiracy to defeat justice, contrary to s42 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).
• 1x child stealing, contrary to s363 of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld).

The offence of conspiracy to defeat justice carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. The offence of child stealing carries a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.
The 75-year-old Taree woman and 68-year-old Newcastle woman are scheduled to appear before the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 7 December 2018.
The 46-year-old Townsville woman is scheduled to appear before the Townsville Magistrates Court on 20 December 2018.
It will be alleged in court the three women were a principal part of the group’s activities, with active roles in supporting the abduction of three children in contravention of two family law orders. All three children were safely located by the AFP earlier this year.
Police will allege these people provided assistance to the group’s organisers in providing transport, accommodation and other support to allow two women to evade law enforcement detection.
Assistant Commissioner Debbie Platz, National Manager Crime Operations, said this week’s action highlighted the risk people face if they choose to take the law into their own hands.
“The actions of these people in deliberately ignoring court orders and helping hide children from their extended families, the Courts and law enforcement cannot be justified. This activity has the potential to significantly endanger the safety and wellbeing of children,” Assistant Commissioner Platz said.
“Parental child abduction can have harmful physical and emotional effects on the children abducted. They can suffer the loss of contact with their family and friends, miss their educational stability and are often hidden away from people around them. They are removed from almost everything familiar to them including their toys, daily routine, and sometimes even their name.
“We want to thank all those people who have come forward after our previous appeal for information from those who may have helped this group, either knowingly or inadvertently.”
Any person with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Senior Australians living in remote areas will benefit from a targeted new initiative to sustain, support and expand the aged care workforce in remote communities.
“I welcome this move, which involves experienced remote aged care providers and expert organisations taking up the Accord on the Remote Aged Care Workforce, part of our Government’s landmark Aged Care Workforce Strategy,” said Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt AM.
“The Accord group will provide a unified voice for remote and very remote age care services and is expected to meet at least four times a year.
“The industry-led Accord recognises the unique challenges and the importance of finding local solutions to support a safe and rewarding working environment to attract and retain remote area workers.
“The group will focus on practical action, with the aim of supporting senior Australians to live close to home with the care they need, provided by people they know and trust, who are well trained and connected with their communities.”
Accord Chair is Chris Hall, CEO of Juniper WA. Deputy Chair is Praveen Gopal, Operations Manager, Aged Care and Disability Services at MacDonnell Regional Council, Northern Territory.
Professor John Pollaers OAM, Chair of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce, said: “The Remote Accord will help lead the industry in maximising local workforce development and designing training and education experiences suited to people in remote settings.
“It will also work with communities to support the safety of the aged care workforce, and liaise with governments on appropriate program and policy settings for better remote aged care delivery.”
The Accord is part of continuing efforts by the industry, with the support of the Liberal National Government, to find new and innovative ways to provide services to senior Australians living in remote communities.
The Accord will complement extensive new Government funding and places for regional and remote aged care, including $40 million for capital works and expansions, $105.7 million for an additional 900 residential and home care places for First Nations aged care, and the regional priority given to the more than 14,000 new residential places allocated in 2018.
The Aged Care Workforce Strategy includes practical actions to grow the professional workforce and attract, train and retain skilled and talented staff to work in aged care services in a variety of settings.
For more about the remote accord and the workforce strategy go to the Department of Health’s website.

The Morrison government must deliver now on its promise to remove discrimination against LGBT+ students in religious schools, and include teachers and staff, say the Greens.
“With even some religious schools now joining the call for this discrimination to end, it’s time for parliamentarians to get on with the job and remove religious schools’ ability to expel and fire LGBT+ students and staff,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.
“We need to protect LGBT+ students and staff from discrimination in schools now. Not next year, not after the federal election.”
“When the heat was on in Wentworth, Prime Minister Morrison said discrimination against LGBT+ students would be removed by the end of the following week. Yet we’re still waiting.”
“The Greens have a bill before the Senate right now. If the Morrison government supports it and we could remove discrimination in our schools against both LGBT+ students and staff by the end of the next sitting week.”

Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, and Australian Greens Leader, Senator Di Natale, have written to the Prime Minister demanding a free vote on their live export bill, which passed the Senate in September. They have also called for Liberal MPs who want to support the bill not to be punished by the party.
Several Liberal MPs, such as Sussan Ley MP, Sarah Hendersen MP and Jason Wood MP have expressed deep concerns about Live Exports and the Greens believe they could vote for the bill if it were brought on for a vote. Ms Ley and Ms Henderson risk losing their outer ministry if they cross the floor. The letter is available <a href=”https://mehreen-faruqi.greensmps.org.au/articles/letter-prime-minister-s… bill would ban live sheep shipments to the Middle East during the Northern Summer, then completely ban shipments after a five year phase out period.
Senator Faruqi said: “I appeal to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to allow a vote on live exports and to not punish MPs who vote with their conscience. He needs to respect democracy and recognise that a majority of the Parliament, not to mention the community, want this trade shut down. He needs to allow a free vote with no retribution for those that care about animal welfare issues”
“We know there are people in the Liberal Party who would support ending the worst aspects of the live sheep trade if a free vote were allowed in the House of Representatives. “The Live Export industry deserves no more chances” she concluded.

Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said ‘Nup to the Cup’ and will join millions of Australians who won’t be participating in the Melbourne Cup today. A Guardian Essential Poll has found just 8% of Australians have a high interest in horse racing, and almost one third of Australians don’t participate in Melbourne Cup due to animal welfare and gambling concerns.
Senator Faruqi said: “Horse racing is an anachronism that is becoming less and less relevant by the day. Despite the gambling industry propaganda, millions of Australians today will be saying ‘nup to the cup’ and I am one of them.
“Just a few months ago, the ABC revealed a culture of doping, drug abuse and cheating in horse racing. Images of starving ex-racing horsers show that animal cruelty and neglect are still rife.
“Whipping horses to make them run faster is just cruel. One racehorse dies every 3 days in Australia and 119 racehorses have died in the last racing year alone.
“I’m saying ‘Nup to the Cup’ and I encourage others to not participate in gambling fueled animal cruelty,” she concluded.

A Shorten Labor Government will fix Townsville’s water security once and for all by fully funding Stage two of the Water Security Taskforce’s report, building it concurrently with Stage one – and with no strings attached.
Labor will also invest $200 million to build a hydro-electric power station on the Burdekin Dam. This will put downward pressure on power bills, create 150 local jobs and generate enough electricity for 30,000 homes.
Last week, the final Townsville Water Security Taskforce report called for “a once and for all fix” for Townsville’s water supply.
Fixing Townsville’s water crisis is critical. That’s why a year and a half ago Labor committed $100 million in funding.
Now that we’ve got the final report from the Water Security Taskforce we will implement its recommendations. Delivering water security for Townsville once and for all.
The Water Security Taskforce said that building Stage 1 and Stage 2 concurrently would save taxpayers $55 million.
This would deliver long term water security for Townsville cheaper, faster and it would mean more jobs now for a town that needs it.
These are critical projects for the region’s future – the people who live and work in Townsville need affordable water solutions that provide for a reliable supply into the longer term.
Federal Labor’s investment would be in partnership with Queensland Labor, who are currently building stage one.
These investments are a result of the advocacy of Cathy O’Toole, who has been fighting for Townsville to get the water security it needs. It is also a testament to the local community’s determination to get a resolution, in particular Water Security Taskforce Chairman Brad Webb.
We led the way in funding the Townsville Stadium redevelopment and in recognising the need for port channel widening. Today, we’re continuing to lead on water security and hydro power for the Burdekin.
Labor’s commitment to securing Townsville’s water supply has no strings attached – it’s rock solid.
We won’t leave this project half-done or waste time on unnecessary business cases that push construction out into the never never.
Labor first committed $100 million to implement the findings of the Townsville Water Security Taskforce more than a year and a half ago. Today we’re increasing that funding to deliver the water security Townsville needs.

Netball NSW and Netball ACT are pleased to announce the appointment of the coaching team who will lead the Canberra GIANTS in the 2019 Deakin University Australian Netball League (DUANL) season.
Long-time Canberran, Melinda Clarke is welcomed back to the DUANL environment as Head Coach for the 2019 DUANL season. She previously held the position of Canberra Darters Head Coach prior to the implementation of the Suncorp Super Netball competition in 2017. Clarke has an extensive coaching career within the ACT and NSW pathways, which spans 17 years. Most recently, she was Head Coach of the Belconnen Netball Association State League Division One team and the Manly Warringah Sapphires Opens team, which competes in the Netball NSW Premier League competition.
Joining Clarke in the Assistant Coach role is former Australian Diamond and GIANTS Netball player, Rebecca Bulley. The defender is also a familiar face to netball fans in the ACT, having played for the AIS Canberra Darters. Bulley brings with her a wealth of High Performance experience, with 42 international caps and 228 national league matches to her name, making her an invaluable addition as Assistant Coach and mentor to the Canberra GIANTS athletes.
Netball ACT General Manager Benita Bittner is thrilled to welcome Clarke and Bulley to their new roles with the Canberra GIANTS.
“The 2019 Canberra GIANTS coaching staff brings together two eras of netball in the ACT – Melinda with her experience as the Canberra Darters Coach and Rebecca with the new GIANTS Netball franchise.
“I am confident the coaching team will be a formidable force within the GIANTS family and the DUANL competition,” she says.
Bittner also acknowledges the hard work of the departing coaching staff over the last two seasons.
“We would like to thank the outgoing coaching staff – Co-Head Coaches Sharyn Hill and Maria Lynch and Assistant Coach Tara Steel – for their efforts and contributions to the team in the first two years of the Canberra GIANTS,” she Bittner.
GIANTS Netball Head Coach Julie Fitzgerald is looking forward to working with Clarke and Bulley in 2019.
“The strong connection between GIANTS Netball and Canberra GIANTS is of enormous value to us and integral to the future success of our Club. The DUANL is a wonderful opportunity for players to develop their game and test themselves before making a transition into the elite Suncorp Super Netball league.
“Melinda and Bec bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Canberra GIANTS and will be able to provide indispensable guidance to the team as they continue to grow and compete at a semi-elite level.
“I am especially delighted to have Bec join the coaching ranks within the GIANTS family. As a former GIANTS Netball player with a great understanding of the GIANTS culture, Bec will further strengthen the connection between both sides. With her competitive drive and supportive nature, I have every confidence in her ability to positively influence the direction of the Canberra GIANTS,” Fitzgerald says.
A joint initiative between Netball ACT and Netball NSW, the Canberra GIANTS team provides a direct pathway to the elite Suncorp Super Netball competition. The team is comprised of players from the ACT and NSW development pathways. Players are appointed to the squad on a yearly basis, with selections based on competitive trials held annually.
Nominations close at 5.00pm today for athletes wishing to trial for a chance to join the 2019 Canberra GIANTS, with trials to take place on 7 November, while players who successfully trial will be confirmed by 1 December, 2018.
The 2019 DUANL Fixture will soon be announced by Netball Australia, along with information on competition dates and details to purchase tickets.