CANBERRA, ACT, March 31 -- The Treasurer of Australia issued the following media release: Australians will no longer pay $1.6billion a year in surcharges and small businesses will save $910million when credit and debit card surcharging ends in October. These changes will take pressure off consumers and businesses and help with the cost of living. People shouldn't be punished for using a credit or debit card. Australians should be able to use debit and credit cards without being penalised, an...
CANBERRA, ACT, March 31 -- Geoscience Australia issued the following news release: Geoscience Australia has completed the nationwide release of its AUSTopo 1:250,000 digital topographic map series, putting authoritative, up‑to‑date topographic coverage of the entire country just a click away. Free to download, easy to print, and ready to use offline on mobile devices. Available through Geoscience Australia's online map application, the series provides comprehensive national coverag...
CANBERRA, ACT, March 31 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release: This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Commonwealth Bank Editor's note: Video grabs of Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson are available via Hightail. Ruthless scammers posing as would-be saviours are tapping into brazen new techniques to drain the banking and cryptocurrency accounts of everyday Australians. The Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), w...
CANBERRA, ACT, March 31 -- The Prime Minister of Australia issued the following media release: RAF EPSTEIN, HOST:Anthony Albanese is the Prime Minister of Australia. Good morning, thanks for joining us. ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER:Good morning. Good to be with you, Raf. RAF EPSTEIN:I will come to fuel, PM. I just wanted to ask first of all though, what did you think when you heard the news yesterday that Dezi Freeman had been shot dead by police? What did you think? PRIME MINISTER:Good,...
SYDNEY, March 31 -- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority issued the following media release: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has finalised amendments to its prudential standards on the capital treatment of longevity products, including annuities, to strengthen the market for retirement income products. The reforms reflect APRA's commitment to support innovation and reduce unnecessary regulatory constraints, while maintaining strong prudential safeguards. Better alig...
SYDNEY, March 31 -- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority issued the following media release: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has today released a consultation package on remaking Level 3 conglomerate prudential standards. APRA proposes to remake the standards with minor amendments to ensure the standards remain current. Written submissions are due by 29 May 2026. The consultation package can be viewed on APRA's website at: Remaking Level 3 conglomerate standards Di...
SYDNEY, March 31 -- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority issued the following media release: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics (MADIS) publication for February 2026. The February 2026 publication is available on the APRA website at: Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics publication Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication....
SYDNEY, March 31 -- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority issued the following media release: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its private health insurance risk equalisation statistics publication for the 2024-25 financial year. The publication is available on the APRA website at: Private health insurance risk equalisation statistics. Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication....
CANBERRA, ACT, March 30 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release: A Logan man is expected to face Beenleigh Magistrates Court on 1 May, 2026, charged with sending an alleged threatening message online to a federal parliamentarian. Investigations began on 25 March, 2026, after the AFP received a report of online threats, including a threat to kill, against a parliamentarian. AFP National Security Investigations (NSI) officers linked the man, 47, to the alleged threats. ...
CANBERRA, ACT, March 30 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release: A Blue Mountains man is expected to appear before Katoomba Local Court today (30 March, 2026) to face a charge of harassing a federal parliamentarian online. Police will allege that between April and July, 2025, the man sent multiple harassing messages via email, social media, and voicemail to the parliamentarian's electoral office. The AFP's National Security Investigations (NSI) team linked the man, 42...