Month: June 2022

The NSW Government will deliver a record $2.9 billion investment into mental health services and support for people across the State as part of the 2022-23 NSW Budget.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said a significant amount of the funding would be spent on mental health initiatives to support the social and emotional wellbeing of New South Wales residents.

“No matter what challenges we face as a State, we will continue to support the mental health needs of the people of New South Wales now and well into the future,” Mr Perrottet said.

“This Budget will see us deliver universal aftercare for anyone in this State who attempts suicide, while investing for the first time in expanding the Headspace network across New South Wales.”

Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the funding would improve vital services and ensure mental health support was more readily available for those who needed it.

“Mental health issues often appear after a crisis, and given what we have gone through as a community over the past couple of years, this support is more important than ever,” Mrs Taylor said.

“We are committed to investing in services across the spectrum of mental health, from acute services to wellbeing supports, to ensure the right service is available at the right time for individuals, families and communities across the State.”

Treasurer Matt Kean said the $2.9 billion announced today included the $130 million COVID-19 mental health recovery package announced in October 2021 and the $25 million flood recovery package, announced this year.

“We know that COVID-19 and some of the worst natural disasters we’ve ever seen have taken an enormous toll over the past few years, and we’re committed to providing all the support we can to those who need it,” Mr Kean said.

Key highlights of the 2022-23 Mental Health Budget include:
 

• $143.4 million across four years for Towards Zero Suicides, to fund suicide prevention initiatives. This continues the $87 million investment in 2019-20 to 2021-22
• $60.7 million over four years for Aftercare to support people who have attempted suicide or experienced suicidal crisis. This is on top of $9 million previously invested in a trial of Aftercare from 2019-20 to 2021-22
• $46.5 million over four years to substantially expand and enhance Headspace services, ensuring it can reach more young people across the State. This is on top of the $27.0 million previously invested in the service since July 2021
• $26.4 million over four years to establish Head to Health hubs that will see multidisciplinary teams operating a no-wrong-door approach to support for adults experiencing mental health challenges
• $17.9 million over four years for new child health and wellbeing community-based hubs for children to strengthen support for parents, improve intervention early in life and increase access to multidisciplinary care and Statewide Community Court Liaison Service for children aged up to 12 and their families
• $5.2 million over four years for non-government organisations to help new and expecting parents access mental health support and counselling
• $28.5 million over four years for Lifeline to boost crisis counselling services. This funding builds on $25.5 million already invested in supporting the vital service since 2018-19

The NSW Government’s investment in Aftercare, Headspace, Head to Health and the child and adolescent hubs will be jointly funded with the Commonwealth Government, bringing the total investment to $383 million.

Creating jobs, developing investment opportunities, delivering more support for young people and improving local services across regional New South Wales will be a key focus of a $1.6 billion package announced in the 2022-23 NSW Budget.
 
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the $1.6 billion boost included a significant top-up for the Regional Growth Fund, which is generating jobs and economic growth and transforming everyday life in the regions through infrastructure upgrades and investment in key regional industries, emerging industry, tourism and events.
 
“The Regional Growth Fund has supported more than 2,700 projects to date that have created new jobs, provided economic stimulus and made our communities stronger,” Mr Toole said.
 
“The next phase of the Fund will help build on those foundations with new investment in every corner of our regions.”
 
This includes a top-up for Resources for Regions to drive infrastructure improvements for safer and more vibrant coal-mining communities, with additional funding for projects in communities with gas development.
 
The $1.6 billion package will also fund a new $130 million Critical Minerals Activation Fund, setting New South Wales up as a major investment destination for critical minerals mining and advanced manufacturing, enticing international business, creating future jobs and helping to grow regional industries.
 
A $59 million Regional Youth Package will ensure regional youth can thrive in their own communities and the addition of more Youth Community Coordinators will see more young people in flood-impacted areas supported through the recovery phase, with an additional $9 million to ensure the programs are well supported through the Office of Regional Youth.
 
Mr Toole said the $1.6 billion package underpinned the NSW Government’s record investment in regional communities to support families and build an even brighter future for regional New South Wales.
 
“COVID-19 has made residents envy the unique lifestyle and business opportunities on offer in regional New South Wales, with many choosing to leave the city and move to the regions in record numbers,” Mr Toole said
 
“As our regional communities continue to grow, we need to ensure we keep delivering the infrastructure and services to provide an even better quality of life in the regions.”
 
The $1.6 billion package will include:
 

• $1.3 billion for the next phase of the Regional Growth Fund
•  $145 million to establish the Regional Investment Activation Program to make regional NSW the location of choice for investors, enticing new private sector investment to unlock the potential of priority precincts and industries
• $130 million to help position New South Wales as the number-one investment destination for critical minerals mining and advanced manufacturing, supporting jobs in agricultural, health, and renewable technologies
• $59 million to continue the work of the Office for Regional Youth and the Regional Youth Taskforce, fund new Regional Youth Community Coordinators and deliver tailored initiatives to support young people in regional areas (taking the total amount committed to
• $87 million over four years)
• $3 million over three years for a Regional Media Capital Grants package to help breathe fresh life into regional news gathering and reporting

Leading members of NSW universities, industry and government have met at Western Sydney University to officially launch the Operational Network of Air Quality Impact Resources (OPENAIR) program.

The Launch event took place as part of a two-day workshop convening project participants from the NSW Government, NSW-based small businesses, five universities and 13 local government councils.

Matthew Riley, Director of Climate and Atmospheric Science from the Department of Planning and Environmentsaid the project would create a best practice methodology for different air quality issues local governments face in different communities across NSW.

“The primary objective is to develop informational resources that councils can use to solve their air quality issues. Eventually, this will result in an information hub enabling the data to be shared with the broader community. 

“TheDepartment is working with the participating LGAs and the researchers from across the NSSN member universities to implement low-cost sensors to provide additional localised air quality information to the public. We will also use the localised data collected under this program to supplement the data captured by the NSW air quality monitoring network.”

Professor Jason Prior from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures said the collaborative approach to the OPENAIR project is key to its success. 

“Working with local councils and small businesses means that our research will consider their needs and experiences, ensuring that the resources we design will be truly useful to them.”

NSSN Co-Director Professor Benjamin Eggleton commended the project team noting the project demonstrates the value of collaboration between the universities, industry and government.

“The project is led by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from across the NSSN member universities, working together with councils and small businesses to develop repeatable best practices for using low-cost sensors to address various air quality issues, including bushfire smoke, coal dust monitoring and urban heat sensing.

“The project builds on the Network’s strong capability in air quality research, which has been built up since the early days of NSSN. We have seen a national shift in understanding the importance of air quality on health; with strong support from our university, government and industry partners, this project will make a significant inroad towards solving local air quality issues for each of the participating councils.”

OPENAIR is a $2.4 million air quality monitoring research and development program led by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) in collaboration with the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN). 

The program has received a $1.78 million contribution from NSW Government through the $45 million Smart Places Acceleration Program, which is part of the Digital Restart Fund.

Participating universities

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australian National University (ANU), University of Sydney, University of New South Wales (UNSW), and the University of Western Sydney.

Participating councils

Hawkesbury Council, Lake Macquarie Council, Muswellbrook Council, Newcastle City Council, Northern Beaches Council, Orange Council, Parramatta City Council, Ryde Council, Sunshine Coast Council, Sutherland Council, Tweed Council, Wollondilly Council, Wollongong Council.

Declaration 

The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), a consortium of eight leading universities across NSW and the ACT, is a not-for-profit innovation network that brings together universities, industry and government to translate world-class research into innovative smart sensing solutions that create value for NSW and beyond.

Netball NSW is delighted to announce that highly respected sports administrator Tracey Scott has been appointed as the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer. 

An internal appointment, Scott is currently employed by Netball NSW (NNSW) as Executive General Manager of the NSW Swifts and has a fine track record across a range of sports at both Executive and Board levels.  

She takes over from interim CEO Andrew Jones who departs to take up the CEO role at Racing Victoria.

Before joining the Swifts, Scott previously held senior roles at Cricket Australia (CA) and Football Australia and also has a strong background in all aspects of the sporting pyramid having been a player, coach and administrator in various roles from the grassroots to the elite.

Growing up in regional Western Australia and having first-hand experience at the critical role sport plays in regional and metropolitan communities, Scott represented the State in hockey at U18 and U21 levels and later coached the game in the Victorian junior pathways and competitions, as well as being actively involved in her local hockey club. 

Scott has a Masters of Law (with a focus on sport) from Melbourne University and over a nine-year period served as a Director on the Boards of both Hockey Victoria and Hockey Australia. Most recently in 2021 she was invited as a Panel Member to the National Sports Tribunal.

In football she served as Deputy Commissioner of the A-Leagues, overseeing the delivery of professional Men’s and Women’s competitions and working closely with the clubs, broadcast partners and the Players Association.

During her time in football, she was selected as the Professional Game Representative to join FIFA’s inaugural Professional Women’s Football Taskforce, comprised of 10 representatives worldwide.

Prior to her time in football, Scott spent seven years with CA working primarily as their Senior Legal Counsel to support all facets of the business, but with a strong focus on broadcast, high-performance, participation and player relations.

Since joining the Swifts, Scott has overseen the successful delivery of the Premiers’ 2022 Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) campaign – the Club’s first full home-and-away season since 2019.

In 2022 the Swifts led the league with the highest average attendance of any SSN side and, despite a host of injury and COVID disruptions, only just missed out on a fourth consecutive Finals appearance by goal percentage.  

NNSW President Louise Sullivan congratulated Scott on her appointment.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to congratulate Tracey on her elevation to our Chief Executive Officer role after a rigorous and thorough recruitment process,” Sullivan said.

“Tracey comes from a small country town and possesses a genuine understanding of the struggles faced by regional athletes aspiring to play at state level and be provided with access to sporting opportunities.

“Both her life and professional experiences have given her a unique insight into how sport works at both ends, and that is a real asset for us.

“Tracey has been quick to make her mark on the organisation since taking over at the NSW Swifts and really impressed us with her vision for the game at both elite and grassroots levels.

“Her time at the Swifts has given her a real overview into how our high-performance systems work, while events such as the recent Senior State Titles have demonstrated to her how vast the game’s reach is.

“Importantly, only cricket and football have grassroots numbers that compare to netball’s, and Tracey has a wealth of experience in those codes.

“While the game’s national body is facing a number of well publicised challenges, NNSW is in a strong position and the Board is excited to work with Tracey to continue the advancement of our game in all areas.

“On behalf of the Board I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew for his contribution over the past three months. His expertise has been invaluable and we wish him all the best in his new role at Racing Victoria.”

Scott is both honoured and excited by her elevation.

“Since joining the wider NNSW family via the Swifts I have seen first-hand the amazing people involved in the game, and the delivery of a world-class product,” she said.

“Both the NSW Swifts and GIANTS boast some of the best athletes in the world and the netball high-performance system is head and shoulders the clear leader for women in Australian sport, if not world sport.

“None of that is possible, however, without the community game which remains our backbone and key foundation. I feel netball has only scratched the surface of its potential and I am excited for what is ahead for the game.

“The good news is all the ingredients are there and, after two years of COVID disruption, we have so much promise ahead. I cannot wait to work together with our entire netball family to bring to life the next phase of evolution for netball in NSW.”