Category: 3. Business

Published on 23 December 2025

The City of Whittlesea has adopted its new Advocacy Prospectus 2025–29, setting out a clear and ambitious roadmap for the major investments needed to support the municipality’s rapidly growing community over the next five years.

The Prospectus outlines 12 priority projects and initiatives that cannot be delivered by Council alone and will require strong partnership and co-investment from the Victorian and Australian Governments. These priorities are grouped under five key themes: Housing, Community Services and Infrastructure, Public Transport, Roads,  and Environmental Sustainability.

As one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions, the City of Whittlesea is projected to increase from more than 244,000 residents today to almost 361,000 by 2041. This significant growth presents both opportunities and challenges, underscoring the need to invest in essential infrastructure, sustainable development, accessible transport, and vibrant community facilities.

Under the Housing theme, Council is advocating for increased social and affordable housing, homelessness support services and good planning to facilitate the delivery of homes.

Community Services and Infrastructure priorities focus on investment in sustainable Maternal and Child Health funding, a dedicated Youth Hub, upgraded mobile and broadband infrastructure, and improved community safety and amenity.

Public Transport and Roads priorities highlight the need for better bus services, rail extensions and safer, more efficient road networks to ease congestion and improve connectivity for residents, workers and students.

Environmental Sustainability priorities emphasise the protection of natural environments, investment in biodiversity, and support for the management of waste and illegal dumping.

The Advocacy Prospectus will guide Council’s work with government partners to secure funding and deliver projects that improve liveability, support economic growth and protect the municipality’s unique environmental character.

Council looks forward to progressing these priorities and advocating for the needs and aspirations of our growing community over the next five years.

Residents, stakeholders and community members will be kept informed about key updates and opportunities for engagement as advocacy progresses.

To view the Prospectus and learn more about the City of Whittlesea advocacy priorities, visit our Advocacy priorities section.

Quotes attributed to City of Whittlesea Mayor, Councillor Lawrie Cox:

“Our community is growing rapidly, and this Advocacy Prospectus gives us a clear and united voice when calling for the investment we need. These priorities reflect what matters most to our residents: access to services, safe roads, reliable transport and a healthy environment.

“We cannot deliver these major projects alone. By working in partnership with the Victorian and Australian Governments, we can create a stronger, better connected and more sustainable future for everyone who calls the City of Whittlesea home.

“The document gives a very clear priority list for issues we want delivered as we head to the next State election and will form our agenda as we meet with candidates from all parties or individuals who put themselves forward to represent you in the State Parliament.”

The Fujifilm Group offers drug discovery support solutions, including cell culture media, reagents, and iPS cells, alongside its CDMO services. It provides comprehensive support to a wide range of customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotech ventures, and academia, from early-stage drug development through commercial production. Under the guiding principle of being “Partners for Life,” the company strives to be a trusted partner in advancing healthcare and delivering innovative therapies to patients worldwide.

[1] Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization. Provides a wide range of services to pharmaceutical companies, including process development, stability testing, clinical drug development and manufacturing, and commercial production.

[2] Single-use components used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Compared to traditional stainless-steel systems, single-use equipment eliminates the need for cleaning and sterilization, enhancing flexibility and efficiency, and has become widely adopted in recent years.

[3] Combines an antibody with a drug such as an anticancer agent. By binding the antibody to antigens present on the surface of cancer cells, ADCs enable targeted delivery of the drug, offering high therapeutic efficacy with fewer side effects.

[4] According to trade statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance (Export Statistical Item Classification No. 30.02), Japan recorded a biopharmaceutical trade deficit of JPY1.7 trillion in 2024.

On Tuesday, stocks in China and Hong Kong experienced a notable rise, largely fueled by gains in non-ferrous metals shares as investor attention shifted to an ongoing China housing policy conference. The country’s blue-chip CSI300 Index recorded a rise of 0.5% by midday, and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index grew 0.2%.

Non-ferrous metals sectors led domestic market increases, boasting an almost 2% rise, greatly influenced by Shandong Gold’s impressive 7.9% climb. In Hong Kong, materials stocks advanced by 1.2%. During the housing policy conference, authorities vowed to stabilize the real estate sector by implementing measures tailored to city-specific needs, focusing on reducing new supply, cutting inventories, and enhancing the supply mix.

Encouraging semiconductor performance was noted with a 2% uptick as Nvidia announced plans to ship its advanced AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year in February. Meanwhile, Kuaishou Technology’s shares fell as much as 6% following a cyberattack. The CSI 300 Real Estate Index barely nudged up by 0.2% while China Vanke saw a 2.2% dip after narrowly avoiding a bond default.

Published on 23 December 2025

Kiama Council reminds all community members and visitors to use e-bikes responsibly and respectfully. Riding e-bikes in electronic mode through Council property – such as Kiama Coast Holiday Parks and other pedestrian-only areas – is strictly prohibited.

Read more about bike safety in Kiama LGA.

Please note:

• Riding e-bikes or e-scooters in electronic mode in Council Holiday Parks or pedestrian-only areas is not allowed.
• Anyone found racing or riding through these areas will be required to leave immediately, and police will be contacted.
• Holiday Parks are not racetracks. This behaviour creates serious safety and security risks for guests, staff, and property and will not be tolerated.

We ask parents and guardians to speak with your children and make them aware of these rules and consequences.

 

Learn more about e-bike safety with resources from Transport for NSW, including:

• E-bike advice for families
• Bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters

Report Issues

• For e-bike compliance concerns within the Kiama LGA, contact NSW Police:

• • Lake Illawarra Police: 4232 5599
  • Kiama Police Station: 4247 4150

• To report e-bikes posing hazards on roads or in public spaces, contact Transport for NSW – Roads & Waterways.

 

Tuesday 23 December 2025

Wollongong City Council has taken a major step toward a sustainable future for the region in awarding the tender for essential kerbside waste collection services for the next decade.

Responsible and sustainable management of domestic waste is a core service of Council and vital to both public health and amenity, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through diverting organics and recyclables from landfill.

Evaluation of the tender was carried out collaboratively with Shellharbour City Council in line with a Joint Procurement Agreement. At an extraordinary meeting on 16 December, Wollongong City Council unanimously endorsed a recommendation to accept the tender of Remondis Australia for seven years from July 2027, with a further three-year option.

With Council legislatively required to provide waste collection services to more than 89,000 properties in our local government area, the tender locks in an essential service for the community over the next 10 years.

“Kerbside waste pick-up is a fundamental service offering for Council and our community expects and deserves a safe, reliable weekly collection service,” Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said.

“How we manage waste post-collection underpins our many goals and objectives when it comes to building a sustainable Wollongong and reducing our carbon footprint. We’re committed to our Net Zero target, and diverting waste from landfill and encouraging people to FOGO and use recyclables is a major part of that.

“We know that sustainability is a top priority for our community in all services we offer, so it’s important we work with contractors that share those priorities. That has been demonstrated through the tender evaluation process and we’re very pleased to have secured this vital service for our community for the next 10 years.”

Waste collection services will include pick-up of FOGO (green lid), recycling (yellow lid) and waste to landfill (red lid) bins, as well as bulky kerbside waste and recycling collections (Council pick-ups), supply of bins, FOGO caddies and caddy liners, and collections from Council’s business sites and commercial premises. The tender also includes delivery of customer service and waste education programs.

The tender is aligned with Council’s sustainability objectives, with eight fully electric or hybrid vehicles to be used for delivery of ancillary service components, while a trial is currently underway for the use of biofuel and its long-term viability for use in collection vehicles.

It also includes an undertaking to continue collaboration with Council in reducing overall carbon emissions whilst ensuring excellent service delivery.

The tender is a major step toward achieving net zero emissions and driving a circular economy to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. The are goals outlined Council’s Community Strategic Plan 2035 and aligns with our Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2025-2035.

For over a decade, ENR has celebrated global design and construction excellence and this year examined around 90 submissions, analysing the performance and innovation of each project.  

The award highlights the collaborative efforts of Sydney Metro and the Crows Nest Design Consortium (CNDC) in delivering a station that not only meets the needs of passengers today but will also serve generations to come. CNDC consisted of lead consultants SMEC and partners Woods Bagot, Robert Bird Group, Norman Disney Young, and Oculus. 

A unique design feature of the station includes the pavers on platform level which were designed with inspiration from historical pavers found at the site during excavation. The geometric pattern reflects the heritage of Crows Nest.  

A defining feature of the station is its artwork Ceramic Wall Relief, a series of nine tile collage panels, which frame and embellish the walls in both entrances at the station.  

Designed by artist Esther Stewart the colourful artwork references the heritage of the Crows Nest area and the building elements in handmade coloured glazed tiles. 

Ceramic Wall Relief bridges both art and design, incorporating functional and decorative elements. The collages’ colours, patterns and motifs celebrate North Sydney’s once booming brick and tile industries and the urban history of artisanal fabrication.  

This latest award follows a series of international recognition for Sydney Metro, reinforcing its reputation as a global leader in rail infrastructure design and delivery. 

Welcoming around 9700 passengers each weekday, Crows Nest Station is one of six new metro stations, along with new platforms at Central and Sydenham that opened in Sydney’s north and under Sydney’s CBD in August 2024. Passengers can enjoy fast metro rides to Chatswood in 4 minutes, Sydenham in 18 minutes and out to Castle Hill in 28 minutes.

Amazon has seen a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans in the past year, said Mr Schmidt in his post, external.

He said the operatives typically work with people managing “laptop farms” – referring to computers based in the US that are run remotely from outside of the country.

The firm used a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and verification by its staff to screen job applications, he said.

The strategies used by such fraudsters have become more sophisticated, Mr Schmidt said.

Bad actors are hijacking dormant LinkedIn accounts using leaked credentials to gain verification. They target genuine software engineers to appear credible, he said, urging firms to report suspicious job applications to the authorities.

Mr Schmidt warned employers to look out for indicators of fraudulent North Korean job applications, including incorrectly formatted phone numbers and mismatched education histories.

In June, the US government said it had uncovered 29 “laptop farms” that were being operated illegally across the country, external by North Korean IT workers.

They used stolen or forged identities of Americans to help North Korean nationals get jobs in the US, said the Department of Justice (DOJ).

It also indicted US brokers who had helped secure jobs for the North Korean operatives.

In July, a woman from Arizona was sentenced to more than eight years in jail, external for running a laptop farm to help North Korean IT workers secure remote jobs at more than 300 US companies.

The DOJ said the scheme generated more than $17m (£12.6m) in illicit gains for her and Pyongyang.

Overview of the regime’s key elements



8 min read

The final regulations for Australia’s new merger regime have been released. The regime applies to any deals closing on or after 1 January 2026. The latest version includes changes to the asset, serial acquisition and control thresholds and expanded exemptions. 

The majority of the amendments take effect from the commencement of the new merger regime on 1 January 2026. However, some amendments only take effect from 1 April 2026 to give businesses more time to consider if their transactions are now caught. Our Insight sets out an overview of these changes. 

We’ve also prepared a ‘quick guide’ covering the key elements of the regime (incorporating these most recent changes), including key thresholds, exemptions, fees, forms and timelines.

Status of the regime

The regime applies to any deals closing on or after 1 January 2026. Mandatory ACCC clearance is required for acquisitions of control (by way of completion / closing) of companies / unit trusts or acquisitions of assets (where no control test applies) that meet the various monetary thresholds, provided the target is connected with Australia. See our quick guide to the new regime for the thresholds.

New voting power thresholds

The voting power thresholds will commence on 1 April 2026. They designate four classes of acquisitions that will be required to be notified (subject to satisfying the monetary thresholds and not otherwise being exempt) despite not resulting in a change of control, at various voting thresholds (for bodies corporate, unit trusts and managed investment schemes):

• Private company: voting power increases from ≤20% to >20%.
• Private or public company: voting power increases from ≥20% to ≥50%.
• Public company (no current control): voting power increases from <20% to ≥50%.
• Public company (already controlled): voting power increases from ≤20% to >20%.

Revised asset thresholds

For deals closing on or after 1 January 2026, if the acquisition is of assets, there are two alternative thresholds depending on whether the assets form all or substantially all of the assets of a business: 

• for assets forming all or substantially all of the assets of a business, the Australian revenue of the business will form the ‘target revenue’.
• for assets that do not form all or substantially all of the assets of a business, only the existing transaction value test of $250 million will apply (alongside the $200 million acquirer revenue limb).

The approach of determining ‘attributable revenue’ by calculating ‘20% of the market value’ of the asset will be removed entirely from the regime. 
For deals closing on or after 1 April 2026, new/additional thresholds will apply for acquisitions of assets that do not form all or substantially all of the assets of a business (unless otherwise exempted):

• where the revenue of the acquirer is at least $200 million, the transaction value is at least $200 million.
• where the revenue of the acquirer is at least $500 million, the transaction value is at least $50 million.

Revised serial acquisition test

The monetary thresholds include a ‘cumulative Australian revenue’ limb to address serial acquisitions. This limb aggregates the revenue of the proposed target with the revenue of previous targets acquired by the acquirer over the last three years in the same industry.

The serial acquisition test has been amended to now exclude previous targets that (in the case of shares) the acquirer does not control or (in the case of assets) have since been divested or disposed of. This amendment reflects the fact that the acquiring entity cannot use those assets or shares to affect competitive dynamics, and also that businesses may find it difficult to maintain records for divested or disposed previous targets. Note, however, that the concept of ‘control’ still includes the unusual concept of ‘joint control’, which may capture minority investments where there is a shareholders’ agreement in place. See further below.

Narrower definition of ‘connected entity’ (for calculating ‘group turnover’ for monetary thresholds)

The definition of ‘connected entity’ now excludes any interests where the investment is coupled with only minority protection rights. This means these investments can be excluded from ‘group’ wide turnover for the purposes of calculating thresholds and brings the regime closer into alignment with approaches in other jurisdictions.

Expanded exemptions

The categories of acquisitions that are exempt from notification have also been expanded and refined. Notably:

• Acquisitions of land or interests in land in the ordinary course of business are now exempt. The explanatory materials issued by the Government take a much more expansive approach to the concept of what is in the ordinary course of business as compared with the position under common case law. This is welcome. The examples included in the explanatory materials of acquisitions that could benefit from this exception include the acquisition of an interest in land for the purpose of an office, headquarters or other routine trading activities, the acquisition of office towers for the purposes of commercial property investment, a property development company acquiring land to develop residential or commercial property, retailers leasing or acquiring land for a warehouse to store their inventory, a manufacturer leasing or acquiring land for a new manufacturing facility, an energy generator acquiring land for a solar farm, or an energy distributor acquiring land to build pylons on. However, it is not intended to capture ‘land banking’ or certain transfers of land between competitors.
• The progressive land acquisition exemptions now also apply to ‘quasi-land’. Quasi-land is intended to include certain mining, quarrying or prospecting rights, water entitlements, and rights in relation to land for forestry operations.
• Acquisitions of security interests are now exempt regardless of whether they give the acquirer the ability to control a new entity or acquire a new business. However, the enforcement of a security interest is not exempt unless it is in the ordinary course of business of providing financial accommodation and is at arm’s length.
• Acquisitions by nominees and other trustees to cover acquisitions upon the conversion of capital instrument that occurs in connection with prudential loss-absorption mechanisms under APRA’s prudential standards are now exempt.

Outstanding issues

• Competitive auction processes: under the current merger laws, the ACCC public review process can only begin where there is an intention to enter into transaction agreements, meaning that if a competitive auction process is ongoing, the ACCC can’t review until there is exclusivity or a preferred bidder. However, consultation on the short form or the review of a waiver application can commence earlier.
• Public market / exchange processes: there is no derogation from the suspension obligation for on-market public transactions where shares are not voted.
• Automatic voiding: transactions are automatically void if implemented without ACCC clearance. If the Government is to amend this it will not be until after March next year.
• Joint control: the definition of ‘joint control’ continues to be an issue. Under Australian merger laws, joint control could mean any minority interest where there is a shareholders’ agreement in place that determines the composition of the board or the conduct of the affairs of the target (even if individual shareholders do not obtain control or joint control). This means acquisitions of minority interests without ‘control’ may need to be notified if a shareholders’ agreement is in place and the monetary thresholds are satisfied. It is still not clear if or how the Government will amend this. Waivers could be sought in these circumstances.
• Global transaction threshold: a filing is required where the $250 million global transaction threshold is satisfied (as well as the combined $200 million Australian turnover threshold) if the target is ‘connected with Australia.’ There is no de minimis exception. We requested the Government add a $2 million target turnover minimum threshold to avoid the need to file where the target has no material presence in Australia. Despite this lobbying, we do not believe it is likely to introduce one at this stage. 

Timing

• 1 December 2025: deadline for last s189 applications. We understand the ACCC is not accepting further 189 applications except for extraordinary cases (distressed asset etc).
• 23 December 2025: ACCC closes for holiday period. We understand the ACCC will continue to work on existing notifications over its shutdown period, and engage in pre-notification.
• 1 January 2026: new mandatory regime commences for deals closing on/after this date. ACCC begins to accept waiver applications.
• 12 January 2026: ACCC formal timeline commences for new regime after holiday closure period.
• 1 April 2026: new voting power thresholds and asset thresholds apply to deals closing on/after this date.
• Australian Autumn (ie from March 2026) session of parliament: potential fixes to definition of ‘control’ and the automatic voiding of non-notified deals, plus possible other changes.