THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has commenced two inquiries into important areas of public sector accountability as part of its examination of Auditor-General’s reports.

The Auditor-General's reports on Defence Major Projects and on Commonwealth Financial Statements are critical accountability mechanisms for the expenditure of public funds.

Committee Chair Lucy Wicks MP said the Major Projects Report inquiry was an important opportunity for Parliament to review the cost, progress and technical attributes of major Defence acquisitions, and the review of financial statements gives the committee the chance to examine Federal Government agencies' expenditure.

"The JCPAA scrutinises the governance, performance and accountability of Commonwealth agencies, to examine whether public money is used in an efficient, effective, economical and ethical manner," Ms Wicks said. "The committee has an important role holding Commonwealth agencies to account."

The Committee invites submissions to the inquiries which address the terms of reference. Public hearings will be held in the second half of 2021.

For more information about this Committee, visit its website.

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THE Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC will discuss their experience with New Century Resources at a public hearing tomorrow.

Committee Chair, Warren Entsch MP, noted that it was unfortunate the committee was unable to visit the Waanyi PBC in person due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Entsch said, "The discussion via teleconference will be valuable to this inquiry. We will be interested to hear about the decision-making process that led to the agreement to the Cultural Heritage Management Plan for Magazine Hill."

The Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, in their submission, conveyed that the Waanyi People’s final decision to consent to the excavation of Magazine Hill was taken with considerable sadness, but it was an informed decision.

A program for the public hearing is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 8 July 2021
Time: 10am to 11am AEST
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.

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NSW Fair Trading is investigating ticket reseller Viagogo as consumer complaints against the company spike in line with the reintroduction of ticketed events. 

There have been 36 complaints received about Viagogo in 2021 so far, 16 relating to ticket scalping, 11 relating to the cancellation of events that were not refunded, 5 relating to misleading customers that they are the authorised seller, 3 for tickets not being delivered in a timely manner and 1 for not providing age restriction advice. 

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rose Webb said with the arts and entertainment already struggling, ticket scalpers and especially Viagogo "should not get away with ripping off consumers".

“It was big news in 2018 when NSW Fair Trading made ticket scalping illegal by making it an offence for ticket resellers such as Viagogo to charge more than 10 percent extra on the original ticket price and transactions costs,” Ms Webb said. 

“We did briefly see a drop off in complaints but then we saw a spike at the end of 2019. When the pandemic hit complaints obviously dropped off again as events were not able to go ahead.

“However now that events are back on the agenda, we have seen a spike again and despite Viagogo being explicitly warned and receiving a $7 million fine from the ACCC in 2020, they continue to flout the rules.

“Those within the entertainment and arts industry have been vocal about the obliteration of their industry due to COVID and they do not need the additional stress of ticket resellers scalping well-meaning fans. 

“We will be investigating and using our powers to stop any unlawful behaviour.”

In 2021 the most common complaints related to tickets for the musical Hamilton exceeding the 110 percent cap.

Ms Webb urged anyone who had witnessed or experienced ticket scalping to report the incident at the Fair Trading website: Make a complaint | NSW Fair Trading 

For more information about consumer rights and ticket reselling go to Tickets, parties and events | NSW Fair Trading.

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AUSTRALIAN health and social care software organisation, Health Metrics, has acquired Uniti Software from Integrated Living.

This is a strategic acquisition for Health Metrics as it provides further pathways into the health and social care sector by adding another 73 customers to its portfolio.

Health Metrics is a well-established supplier of leading solutions for the residential aged care, retirement village, home care, disability care and primary health care sectors ('health and social care') in Australia and New Zealand. Uniti Software’s capabilities in primary healthcare and home and community health complements the existing Health Metrics suite.

“This is an important piece of the strategy puzzle that enables Health Metrics to provide a care continuum to consumers,” Health Metrics CEO Steven Strange said. “We’re very excited to have the folk from Uniti as part of the Health Metrics family.”

Uniti Software was born from the Ballarat District Nursing Society Inc, ater Ballarat and District Nursing and Healthcare, which identified the need to better manage the patient journey, information and improve their reporting. They decided to create a new system, “…by healthcare workers for healthcare workers…”.

Uniti offers one client record that can handle multiple funding sources, powerful scheduling tools, detailed reporting, as well as both online and offline mobile capabilities for critical information input and tracking at the point of care.

“The real winners from this transaction are the Uniti customers. They will now be part of a larger technology group with a broad-based offering," Mr Strange said.

"Uniti’s 'one client record' aligns well with Health Metrics’ eCase. The design principals have commonality. That is, a single client record architecture (SCRA) that allows clients’ records to move with them across the care continuum. It enables providers to make better, data-driven decisions which ultimately lead to significantly better care outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens.

"The additional 73 customers to the Health Metrics portfolio means that Health Metrics now provides solutions for more than 245 customers across Australia and New Zealand in what is quickly becoming the technology provider of choice for health and social care organisations," he said

www.uniti.com.au

www.healthmetrics.com.au

About Health Metrics:

Established in 2008, Health Metrics is a leading provider of software solutions to the aged care sector. Health Metrics’ enterprise software solution, eCase, supports the functions of Residential Aged Care, Retirement Villages, Home Care, Disability Care and Primary Health Care for customers of any size.

Health Metrics is majority-owned by Tanarra Capital, an Australian alternative asset manager with over $1.7 bn in funds under management.  Founders, Steven Strange and Lisa Papettas, who own a significant minority stake, have extensive knowledge of IT, aged care metrics and clinical care. eCase is fast becoming the number one choice of leading providers of care in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Health Metrics Company Website:

CBUS SUPER has announced a 19.34 percent return for its Growth (Cbus MySuper) option, the largest annual return in the fund’s 37-year history.

Cbus Super chief investment officer Kristian Fok said the outstanding result was a demonstration of the fund’s strategic approach to markets during Covid-19 volatility.

“I’m proud of the way that our investment teams have negotiated market volatility over the last 18 months,” Mr Fok said.

“Cbus was one of a small group of funds to achieve a positive result (0.75%) during the previous 2019/20 financial year. To then have the confidence to get back in the market is testament to the people and structures that we have put in place over the last five years.

“We managed our cashflow exceedingly well during the initial Covid-19 volatility which meant that we could invest for our members on the upswing.” 

Cbus Super now manages 35 percent of assets in-house. Mr Fok said building up this internal capacity has provided the fund greater insights into markets and allowed for a significant reduction in investment fees.

“We have reduced investment fees by $400 million since 2017 which has helped add to our returns,” he said.

“We have seen the cost of managing a dollar of savings fall by 8 percent compared to last year which is a really strong outcome. Results like this are strong indicator of the significant benefits of being involved in a fund of this scale.”

Mr Fok said the fund’s focus on increasing scale and reducing fees should serve members well as market conditions become more difficult.

“Obviously we would love to see strong double-digit returns like this every year but indications are that conditions will become tougher,” Mr Fok said.

“That’s why increasing scale and reducing investment costs is so important. Superannuation is a long-term game and the gains members see from fee savings will compound over time.”

Cbus Super CEO Justin Arter said the fund’s expertise in property and the built environment benefitted both members and the wider economy as the country struggled with Covid-19 lockdowns.

“There were stages last year where quality developments were struggling to get the finance they needed,” Mr Arter said.

“As banks were tightening lending, Kristian and his team were able to support successful developments to keep going at pivotal time for the construction industry. Cbus Property has also been able to commit to new projects during the height of the pandemic.

“Our lending enabled the delivery of 862 new residential units, which is a really important contribution given some of the supply constraints we are now seeing.

“On top of that, Cbus Property released 471 apartments to market during the last financial year, continuing their significant pipeline of work.

“We are proud of the record result we have achieved for members and of the way we have supported construction jobs and property supply at such an important time for the country.”

www.cbussuper.com.au

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THE Minerals Council of Australia will discuss its perspectives on cultural heritage protection and insights into improvements that could be made in the sector with the Northern Australia Committee at a public hearing tomorrow.

As well as this second appearance by the Minerals Council, the committee will also be hearing from Glencore/McArthur River Mine, Australian Archaeology Association, Australian Indigenous Archaeologists Association, Northern Land Council and Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation.

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch noted that it would be interesting to hear the perspectives of archaeologists working in the area of Indigenous cultural heritage.

Mr Entsch stated he was "keen to engage with the Northern Land Council and the Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation in order to discuss their perspectives on issues that have been raised by other stakeholders".

The Australian Archaeology Association, in its submission, conveyed that situations comparable to Juukan Gorge, where Aboriginal sites having cultural significance to Traditional Owners, as well as scientific archaeological significance, are destroyed all too often.

A key issue for the Australian Indigenous Archaeologist’s Association is the dumbing down of Australia’s National, State and Territory Indigenous heritage legislation since the adoption of the EPBC Act in 1999.

A program for the public hearing is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 6 July 2021
Time: 9am to 3pm AEST
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.

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THE Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) welcomes reforms that will further reduce the red tape burden for charities fundraising in New South Wales.

From July 1, charities registered with the ACNC can access a more simpleapplication process when applying to NSW Fair Tradingto receive or renew an authority to fundraise in that state.Registered charities that are fundraising authority holders will not be required to submit a separate annual returnto NSW Fair Trading - they will only need to report to the ACNC.

This reporting arrangement applies from the 2021 Annual Information Statement.

Acting ACNC Commissioner Anna Longley praised these reformsas "yet another step in reducingthe regulatory burden for charities". 

“These reforms will make it easier for charities to fundraise in New South Wales, allowing them to focus on their charitable purposes,” Ms Longley said. 

“One of our main goals is to reduce the regulatory burden for charities by minimising duplication and harmonising reporting.”

NSW Fair Trading website.

ACNC website

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THE Accommodation Association has applauded National Cabinet’s four phase pathway out of the pandemic.

The international travel ban has significantly impacted metropolitan hotels particularly those in the international hubs of Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney hotels are currently at sub-2 percent occupancy and facing at least 50 percent cancellation rates all the way through to August as a result of the most recent state and territory border closures and restrictions. 

“The Accommodation Association along with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and several other peak bodies have been calling for National Cabinet to release its roadmap to recovery and we welcome the common-sense approach outlined in today’s four stage plan," Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long said.
 
“We look forward to continuing to work with government at all levels as we work towards establishing key milestones in learning to live safely with COVID within a more normal framework.
 
“Our sector more than most has been heavily hit as a result of the international travel ban and the ongoing domestic border closures and restrictions. Our people and our properties, especially those hotels and accommodation providers in Sydney and Melbourne, have been under immense pressure and today’s announcement means we can all breathe a little easier because an end is now in sight," Mr Long said.

“Hotel quarantine has been critically important to allow thousands of Australians return home. Our members look forward to working with the government to ensure all Australians that wish to return home can.
 
“We welcome the enhanced vaccination rollout, and we encourage all Australians to get vaccinated so that we can all get back to living and travelling sooner rather than later.”\

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