PIA NEWS VOL.

Issue 01

PIA News
Vol.6

4 th Jan 2016
A

A NEW BEGINNING

PASSION, INTEGRITY & APNAPAN

Dear All,
The new year has begun and we look forward to newer events and activities in the year.

UPDATE ON HASSAN ASIF

Since our last issue Hassans mother and siblings have arrived in Melbourne. It was a
joint effort of many organisations and individuals which made it possible and specially
to Hon. Peter Dutton who revised the decision to grant the family members a visa to be
with him.
Hassan is with his family now and wants to spend as much time as possible with them
and family has requested privacy but they are well aware that help is at hand if they
need.
As the petition regarding his visa decision was making headlines in the media, we have been
approached by few members whose visa applications have been denied on grounds which are difficult
to understand. We have requested all who have similar grievances to share the visa rejection letters
with us so they can be taken up with the department. If you know of any similar case, please do let us
know.

AUSTRALIA DAY UPDATE

Every year we celebrate Australia Day in Pakistan. For 2016, we are waiting for the outcome of a request
which has delayed the planning.

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ACCOMODATION REQUIRED FOR A FEMALE STUDENT IN PERTH

A new student at ECU, Mt. Lawley requires accommodation from February so if you have one please let
us know.

OPEN HOUSE AT HIGH COMMISSION IN CANBERRA

Pakistan High Commission is holding an open house for the Pakistani diaspora on the 13th of January at
1730 hrs in the High Commission. It will be an opportunity for the community to interact with each
other in the New Year and to see High Commission's new building at Yarralumla.

BIKE WEEK 2016

Transport Minister Dean Nalder has announced the recipient of grants for 2016 and PIA is one of the
recipients so wait for the details in the next issue. The Bike week will run from 12th to 20th March and is
being coordinated by WestCycle with the support of the Department of Transport. This event is mainly
targeted towards young kids so if you have a bike at home get ready to participate.

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VIDEO LAUNCH AT NORTHBRIDGE PIAZZA

It is almost four years ago that PIA screened a Pakistani movie on Northbridge Piazza. It is now talented
Ali Jee from Perth who will be releasing his video on 9th January at Northbridge Piazza so mark your
diaries and be there to support the WA talent.

Enter the My 15 Seconds of Summer competition organized by The West Australian for your
chance to win.
Heres how you do it
1. Shoot your summer video in 15 seconds or less
2. Upload your video to your Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account
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3. Make sure you include the hashtag #my15seconds

Videos must be visible to the public to be eligible to win.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/30369905/15-seconds-of-summer/

YOUNG REFUGEES OF WA: A NEW PROJECT IN WA

Ms. Aran is a young youth worker who is the soul behind this project which aims to share positive
images & stories of refugees, aged 0 30, that are living in Western Australia. Each photo will be
posted with a caption (from the words of the participant themselves). You can see examples by
looking at the facebook page below.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook..com/youngrefugeesofwa/
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/youngrefugeesofwa/
Email: refugeesofwa@gmail.com

NEW LAWS IN 2016

THE new year brings new laws from 2016, which will affect Australians every day. From passports to
medicine, here are some of the changes ahead in 2016.
FAMILIES
Immunisation changes to access childcare payments
Immunisation requirements for childcare payments and Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement changed
today. The No Jab, No Play rules were supported by both sides of the federal Parliament. To meet the
immunisation requirements for Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement and Child Care Benefit, your child
needs to be up to date with their immunisations according to the early childhood vaccination schedule
appropriate for your childs age, or have a medical exemption.
Nanny subsidy program begins
The two-year Nanny Pilot Programme, which starts from January 2016, will provide an hourly subsidy
for about 10,000 children to help families meet the cost of using a nanny. It will support families who
find it difficult to access child care services because they work non-standard hours, or live in remote
areas or away from existing child care. For each child, successful families will receive a percentage of the
$7 hourly subsidy. Families earning up to $60,000 are eligible for $5.95 per hour per child, and families
earning between $165,000 and $250,000 are eligible for $3.50 per hour per child. The program is not
intended to fully subsidise the cost of a nanny.
SUPERANNUATION AND TAXES
New caps on superannuation income
From today, the deductible amount for you and your partners defined benefit income streams will be
capped. The deductible amount of a defined benefit income stream is also known as the tax free
component. A defined benefit income stream is a pension paid from a public sector or other corporate
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defined benefit superannuation fund where the pension generally reflects years of service and final
salary. The government uses the income you receive to assess your eligibility for payments and other
entitlements. The income they assess from defined benefit income streams may be reduced by the tax
free component. This change will impact income support payments, Low Income Health Care Card, and
aged care fees.
Residential, rental care changes
Rental income will be included in the aged care means test for all new Residential Care recipients and
some existing Residential Care recipients from today. Currently, rental income from a Residential Care
recipients former principal home is included in the aged care means test if they make lump sum
accommodation payments. It is not included if they make periodic accommodation payments or a
combination of periodic and lump sum accommodation payments. Residential Care recipients, entering
care after January 1, 2016, will have rental income from their former principal home included in the
aged care means test. See the Human Services website for more information.
HEALTH
Cost of Panadol Osteo to rise
The makers of the popular painkiller Panadol Osteo are lifting its price 50 per cent today.
GlaxoSmithKline said the price hike was due to changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme under
which the government is stopping subsidising medications that can be bought cheaply over the counter.
Pensioners with arthritis, who use the slow release pain reliever, currently pay just $6.10 for 192 tablets
each month. This will rise to $12 from January 1 when the pills are no longer subsidized.
17 medications to come off the PBS
Panadol Osteo is one of 17 types of medication that will be removed from the subsidy scheme in 2016
to save taxpayers $87 million a year. Other medications include aspirin, medication for reflux, skin
allergies, antacids, chloramphenicol eye products, iron/folic acid supplements, electrolytes, urine test
strips, laxatives and Vitamin B12 injections. Unlike slow release paracetamol most of these other
medications will be cheaper to buy off the PBS.
$1 discount option on prescription medicines
From today, chemists will be allowed for the first time to discount the price the patient pays for
prescription medicines subsidised by the government. The price a pensioner pays for prescriptions will
rise to $6.20 in line with inflation in January 1 but chemists will be able to sell the medicine for just
$5.20 per script. The price of a subsidised script will rise to $38.30 for general consumers but chemists
will be able to sell them the medicine for just $37.30.
In the past government rules have prevented pharmacists discounting the patient copayment that
applied to subsidised prescription medicine. But that changed under a new five year pharmacy
agreement signed earlier this year, aimed at increasing competition in the industry.
Mega discount chain Chemist Warehouse has already pledged to pass on the discount to all its
customers from January 1.
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POSTAL COSTS TO RISE

Stamps will rise from 70 cents to $1 on January 4 after Australia Post got approval to increase the price
of regular postage stampsfrom the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The price hike comes as the nationas postal service faces less need for delivering mail and decreasing
revenues.
YOUTH
Incentives to find work
From today, school leavers 15 to 21 years of age will be given greater incentives to study or work. This
will include requiring early school leavers to meet their activity test requirements of 25 hours per week
until they get a Year 12 or Certificate III qualification or turn 22, or requiring early school leavers to look
for work if they are not in fulltime study, or are not in a combination of study and part-time work for 25
hours per week.
Student loan payments change
From today, people who have benefited from Australian student loans and now live overseas will pay
for them the same way as they would if they lived in Australia.
PASSPORTS
From January 2016, child applicants aged 16 or 17 will be issued with 10-year passports instead of fiveyear passports, which will cost $254, the same cost as an adult passport.
BY THE STATES:
South Australia
Households can earn spare cash by selling solar power back to the network, by getting 6.8 cents per
kilowatt hour, up from 5.3 cents per kW/h.
Gamblers will be able to able to access EFTPOS facilities inside hotel and club pokie lounges.
It will be cheaper to enact a will. The tiered probate fee structure means fees will range from $750 to
$3000 based on estate value against previous $1088 flat fee.
New courses will be added to a subsidised training list for TAFE students and trainees. Courses include
building design drafting, sustainable operations and electrical machine repair.
There will be a 24-hour limit on time mental health patients should wait in an emergency department
before being admitted to an acute hospital bed
NSW
Property buyers in New South Wales face less frustration with new underquoting laws coming into
effect from today. New law reforms mean real estate agents who underquote face losing their
commissions and fines of up to $22,000. Under the changes to the legislation, agents must quote price
ranges within 10% of the lowest figure (i.e. $500,000 $550,000).
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From March 1 2016, cyclists over 18 must carry photo ID and if they dont have a drivers licence, or
they can get a $51 NSW photo card. The changes are part of the governments Go Together safety
program, which will expect motorists to maintain a one metre distance from a cyclist when passing at
speeds of 60km/h or less, and 1.5 metres at speeds over 60km/h.
Failure to keep the minimum distance when passing a bicycle rider is a $319 fine and a two demerit
points penalty. Under the new rules, bicycle riders should also keep a metres distance from pedestrians
on shared paths, where possible.
Opal Card ticket changes come into force. Paper tickets purchased before January 1, 2016 can still be
used for travel but for a limited time. The only paper tickets available will be single Adult and
Concession tickets (trains, buses, ferries and light rail) and return Adult and Concession tickets (trains,
ferries and light rail).
VICTORIA AND QUEENSLAND
The No Jab, No Play policies will be introduced in Victoria and Queensland.
In Victoria, children must be up-to-date with immunisations before being enrolled, while Queensland
centres will have the power to legally exclude unvaccinated children.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Solarium ban on its way
A ban on commercial solariums will be introduced. The WA ban will not require new legislation. It can
be implemented through a change to existing regulations. All other Australian states have banned
commercial tanning beds.
Uber to be made legal
Uber will be legalised in WA in sweeping reforms of the taxi industry.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The new year will bring savings for Northern Territory residents with a five per cent reduction in power
bills.
Sorce: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/the-new-laws-that-come-into-effect-in-2016-around-australia/news-story/

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AGM 2016
Recently new laws have been passed which are aimed at helping incorporated associations in WA
operate more efficiently by providing them with a clearer framework in which to operate.
The new law will replace the existing Associations Incorporation Act 1987 and will apply to all existing
incorporated associations in Western Australia. The changes are expected to come into effect from 1
July 2016. At this moment we are reviewing the changes to see how these can be incorporated within
our constitution.

BEST WISHES
We are in receipt of messages of best wishes for holiday season from;
Miss Anita Kinkela
FAMAS
Mr. Ananda Barton
Dr. Ghazala Khan
Australia Pakistan Medical Association
Cr. Hugh Nguyen
City Of Wanneroo
Mr. Ramdas Sankaran ECCWA
Ms. Rebecca Ball, Executive Officer Office of Multicultural Interests