The shortlist for the coveted Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards has just been announced. The selected projects were chosen from 975 projects across 14 categories nationally and abroad. Following the Chapter Architecture Awards announcements earlier this year, 203 projects were deemed eligible for national judging, with a shortlist of 70 announced to the public late last Friday. Jury chair and Immediate Past President, Richard Kirk, said each project visit was an experience of delight and surprise and could have not been substituted for experiencing the building itself. "These visits provided a unique experience made all the richer by the opportunity to engage with the architects and in almost all instances their clients.” The jury was impressed by the wide array of sustainability initiatives being adopted by Australian architects and a growi... more

Queensland Industrial Relations Minister, Grace Grace, has named this year's finalists in the 2018 Safe Work and Return to Work Awards, with 35 finalists spanning across 10 different categories. Ms Grace said the awards aim to recognise outstanding organisations and individuals doing great things for Queensland when it comes to work health and safety, rehabilitation and return to work. “This year’s finalists have been selected by our expert judges from around 150 entries,” Ms Grace said, “I congratulate the exceptional efforts of all the impressive Queensland businesses and individuals who submitted an entry this year.” The Minister was pleased that this year’s finalists hail from all parts of the state, for example, the injured worker achievement category is dominated by brave individuals from the north (in places like Cairns, Cannonvale and Cungulla), whilst one of... more

An apprentice electrician has won South Australia’s most prestigious vocational training and training award at the South Australian Training Awards, hosted by the Training and Skills Commission over the weekend.  Jarrod Morton, 21, of Greenwith recently completed his apprenticeship with PEER – which won Training Provider of the Year – and is now employed as an electrician. Jarrod said that he applied for the SA Training Awards because he wanted to encourage others to do what he’s been doing. “Through my apprenticeship, I’ve grown not only as an electrician, but as a person as well,” he said, “my confidence is higher, and I’m now responsible for running my own jobs from start to finish.” Mr Morton said he aspires to be where his boss is now—running his own company—and plans to go on to study electrical engineering in the future as well. Minister for... more

Queensland’s Industrial Relations Minister, Grace Grace, has marked the launch of Electrical Safety Week (10 – 14 September) and Energy Queensland’s Safety Heroes Program, saying there has never been a more important time to shine a light on electrical safety at home, at school and in the workplace. Run by Energy Queensland, the Safety Heroes Program is designed to teach primary school students how electricity works and how to behave safely around electrical equipment. The program was launched at the New Farm State School to strengthen the message of the initiative which helps keep children safe. However, Ms Grace said that it is just as important to spread the message of electrical safety within the building and construction industry. “We have 56,000 licensed electrical workers in Queensland and almost 12,000 licensed electrical contractors,” she said, “despite our ... more

The property industry is continuing to drive the Australian economy according to the latest economic growth data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Investment in new dwellings increased 3.6 per cent for the June 2018 quarter, with strong results in both Victoria and South Australia. The construction industry grew by 1.9 per cent for the quarter and by 5.5 per cent over the year. Construction within the residential property sector grew by 3.1 per cent and non-residential property sector by 1.3 per cent over the quarter. The ABS noted that the recent pickup in new dwelling investment reflected strong approvals in early 2018 which are now flowing through to commencements. Ken Morrison, Chief Executive of the Property Council said the property industry is helping to propel economic growth to its highest level since 2012, highlighting its importance as a driver of... more

A University of Wollongong-led (UOW) initiative to foster communications projects that embrace low-cost technology, an open access ethos and community involvement have won awards for Best Community Initiative and Best Local Government Initiative at the second annual Committee for Sydney Smart City Awards on 5 September. The Wollongong Digital Living Lab (DLL), led by UOW’s SMART Infrastructure Facility, is an open, free-to-air platform, accessible to the entire community to use for research and to test new ideas. It is uses digital networking technology called LoRaWAN to create a wireless network that can cover large distances with low power. The network provides the opportunity to deploy remote sensors and other communications devices that collect and distribute data on the network. The DLL, awarded Best Community Initiative, already hosts a wide range of applications from... more

The Queensland Government has passed new plumbing and gas fitting laws which includes the creation of a new licence requirement for mechanical services to address the dangers posed by incorrectly installed medical gas systems, as well as legionella in commercial air-conditioning systems in large office buildings or hospitals. Minister for Housing and Public Works, Mick de Brenni, said the laws governing the plumbing and gasfitting trade - the ‘Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002’ - had been amended by more than 30 separate Bills during the past 15 years, making it hard to work with. "This caused it to grow in size and complexity to the point that if a plumber wants to check on the technical requirements for a particular job, they have to look at the Act, and the Regulations, and the codes, making it hard for plumbers to just get on and do their job.” In 2016, parents across A... more