?  Health News

• NSW broke its 55 days streak of no community transmission with a quarantine security worker being diagnosed with COVID19 last Saturday. Contact tracing is underway, with 86 close contacts testing negative so far.
• The NSW vaccine program is underway, with 5 regional hubs and 99 regional satellite sites to start opening from 15 March. The initial focus will be on frontline health workers and border control workers, and will be followed by a wider rollout to the general population through their GPs. The aim is to have full vaccination coverage across the Australian population by October 2021.

?  Business & Employment News

• The Federal Government is still hoping to be able to pass their omnibus industrial relations reform bill in this parliamentary sitting with Acting Minister Michaelia Cash spearheading the charge. Once finalised, we will bring you a deep-dive into what the reforms will mean for regional small to medium businesses and not-for-profits, so watch this space.
• A new survey of 170k workers across the Oceania region shows that while we like working from home at least some of the time and it is generally more productive, being permanently out of the office is coming at a cost with workers less able to maintain boundaries between work and home, and feeling less able to bounce back from challenges. How is your business managing the combination of office and home work?
• A former Toyota manager has been awarded $276k by the NSW District Court after his summary dismissal over travel expenses only one day before qualifying for a $379k redundancy package was found to be unlawful. Are you aware of your obligations in relation to dealing with alleged misconduct, firing workers and redundancy? This can be a minefield for employers, and it is essential to follow policy and procedure to the letter to manage risk to your business.

• Tamworth Regional Council has received a Premier’s Community Medal for its multicultural welcoming program – congratulations!
• A new site has been found for the Banksia Mental Health Unit at Tamworth Base Hospital, and JobLinkPlus will be donating $1.5m to ensure that there is a facility for children and young people!
• Regional Development Australia Northern Inland needs your input to support their proposal for a Designated Area Migration Agreement! Read more: https://www.facebook.com/RegionalDevelopmentAustraliaNorthernInland/posts/4119811788031747