Want to know what’s happening with families in Australia? We’ve got it covered.
We guarantee the most up-to-date new stories about family issues, experiences and so on, which are written by local and international reporters exclusively for you.
Improvements have been made to waiting times for surgery at hospitals in Australia. Latest figures show that the time within which 50% of patients were admitted for elective procedures has decreased from 36 days to 35 days. And the proportion of patients who waited longer than a year to be admitted for their procedure decreased from 2.8% in 2011 to 1.8% in 2015. Despite these improvements, the report shows significant variation in waiting times across…
Students wanting to study in Australia who, for whatever reason, are unable to attend university can now gain the qualifications they want. Open Universities Australia makes it all possible and with subject areas to suit any interest. You can study Macquarie units from the convenience of your home, office or public library, at any time convenient to you. With most units requiring only online assessments, you’ll never need to come to campus to complete your…
Government plans to phase out old-style light bulbs in Australia are on track with just two landmarks left to reach by 2016. Across the country, homes and businesses have been replacing old-style pear-shaped incandescent bulbs with new energy-efficient light bulbs, known as Compact Fluorescent Lamps. And the new light bulbs are estimated to be saving the average household around $75 per year. Traditional pear-shaped incandescent bulbs waste 90% of the energy they use, mainly as…
Retail sales in Australia rose 0.4% in August following a fall of 0.1% in July. The largest contributor to the rise was food retailing (0.6%). Other retailing (1.3%), department stores (1.3%) and household goods retailing (0.2%) also rose. There were falls in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-1.4%) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-0.3%). Online retail sales contributed 3.1% to total retail turnover. There were rises in Victoria (0.9%), New South Wales…
The annual Nature Play Festival begins this weekend in Adelaide, Australia, to celebrate the start of the Spring school holidays. Across the city are there dozens of special events to children and their families entertained, from moon lanterns to the Bay to Birdwood car rally, children’s holiday entertainment and nature play there is no lack of fun to get involved in this weekend. At the Migration Museum kids can learn how to make a shadow puppet…
Women generate almost half the total of Investment Income generated by skilled migrants in Australia. 44% of skilled migrant investors are women who generated Investment income of $326.2 million while men aged between 35 and 44 generated $644.4 million, according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Skilled migrants aged 35 to 44 years were responsible for the highest proportion of Skilled Investment income (39%) followed by those aged 45 to 54 years (27%)….
Around one third of migrants to Australia are granted permanent residency visas via the Family Migration system. The Family stream of the Migration Programme facilitates the reunion of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens with their immediate family members overseas. Whilst providing the social benefit of family reunification, there are also wider benefits in terms of these family members providing a contribution to the Australian economy through employment and to the Australian…
The average income of skilled migrants in Australia rises each year for the first 7 years of residency reaching (as of 2010) an average of $51,283. And average income for migrant employees is $5,000 higher than the national average of $48,907 for all Australian taxpayers, according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The total income of migrant taxpayers in 2010 was $37.7 billion. Almost 55% of migrant taxpayers were males who reported…
Young people in Australia are getting higher school grades and better jobs while saying ‘no’ to drink and drugs. That’s according to latest official figures that show educational achievement increasing while smoking, ‘binge drinking’ and illegal drug use is decreasing. The number of young people who smoked daily has fallen from 19% in 2001 to 9.1% in 2013, while the number of young people aged 12-17 who who ‘say no’ and abstain from drinking alcohol…
The current best-selling car brand in Australia is the Toyota Corolla followed by Mazda and Hyundai. For the first time Australia’s favourite car-maker, Holden, does not feature in the top three best-selling vehicle brands while long-time rival Ford has seen a 22% fall in sales. Holden has seen an 8.9% fall in sales and looks set to fall out of the top three for the first time in its 67-year history. These latest figures, and…
