The National Rural Health Alliance has released the Position paper: Rural health policy in a changing climate – three key issues, which discusses impacts and risk factors facing people living in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia in relation to extreme weather events; impacts on agricultural output and food security; and debilitating insect-borne diseases.

The peak body for older Australians, Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia, congratulates the 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM, who received the honour in recognition of her exceptional work as an Aboriginal activist, educator, and artist.

Emerging Minds are conducting a national workforce survey for family, parent and child mental health and want to hear from professionals in health, social and community services who work with adults who might be parents, families and children. Participate here.

Nearly 6,000 bushfire survivors have received financial grants and more than 21,000 have been supported by a largescale recovery program, thanks to the extraordinary donations received by Australian Red Cross. Read the January - December 2020 report here.

Right now, nearly three quarters of Australians with mobility impairment live in housing which does not meet their needs. Many people with disability say poor housing design means they cannot visit friends and family. In some cases, housing quality is so low that people are unable to leave the house at all. Help change the National Building Code to make housing accessible for all Australians by signing the Building Better Homes petition.

SNAICC - National Voice for Our Children, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, is excited to announce Catherine Liddle has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Read more here.

Australia’s human rights performance was in the spotlight as the Australian Government appeared before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.

At the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), UN member countries questioned Australia about its human rights record and recommended improvements. 122 countries made close to 250 recommendations. Key issues of concern included the very low age of criminal responsibility in Australia and the Australian Government’s treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum. The need for greater action on climate change to protect human rights also featured in the review.

The Human Rights Law Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre and Caxton Legal Centre coordinated an NGO coalition which prepared a detailed report to inform the review and briefed UN member states ahead of tonight’s appearance. The NGO report was endorsed by over 200 Australian NGOs.

Reconciliation Australia’s Indigenous Governance Program recognises, supports, and promotes strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance and self-determination. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and leaders are drawing on 60,000 years plus of First Nations knowledge and culture, to adapt to current events with resilience, creativity and decisiveness.

The Indigenous Governance Awards celebrates these stories of success from around Australia, sharing them as examples of Indigenous-led excellence. Applications for the Awards are open now and close on the 31st of March.

The cost of early education and care is increasing, and Australian children are continuing to miss out on early learning. This picture emerges from the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services, released this week. The report confirmed many issues within the early education and care sector, including increasing costs of early education across Australia with the national average up from $508 in 2019 to $525 in 2020.

Early Childhood Australia (ECA) CEO, Samantha Page, is particularly concerned about the proportion of children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, remote communities and with a disability who are missing out on early learning before school. 'The children who are slipping through the cracks and not accessing early learning opportunities are the ones who would benefit the most from early learning.' 

• The 3rd CMHA National NDIS & Mental Health Conference will be held virtually this year. Join and consider how to improve human rights outcomes and increasing roles for lived experience support. You will hear innovations from metropolitan, rural and remote areas - 4 & 5 February 2021 - Click here to learn more and to register 

• Australia at Home is back this year. Join Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O'Shea and some of Australia's leading tech activists and advocates to take stock of the human rights online landscape as we move on from 2020 - 5 February 2021 - Click here for more information and to register

• impact2021 will kick off with their first monthly webinar this week, with the launch of a brand new social impact leadership program - 5 February 2021 - Click here for more information and to register

• The McKell Institute in partnership with the Thrive by Five campaign invite you to join a virtual summit on Australia’s childcare system and the potential benefits that the current system isn’t capitalising on - 10 February 2021 - Click here for more information and to register

• The Disability Gateway has information and services to help people with disability, their family, friends and carers, to find the support they need in Australia. It is a national information service for people with disability. Click here for more information.

• The Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) developed a self-assessment tool and a best practice toolkit to support implementation of the Settlement Sector Quality Framework. The Settlement Sector Quality Framework supports settlement agencies across Australia in their pursuit of high quality service delivery by providing a clear description of the intended outcomes of effective settlement support. The framework outlines the desired client outcomes and indicators of best practice (NSOS), and the Key Principles and Practices (KPPs) that underpin these. 

• The Australian Centre for Disability Law (ACDL) has created an Education Toolkit so that students and families can understand their rights, and advocate more effectively for reasonable adjustments. Access the toolkit here.

The National Council of Single Mothers and their Children says the temporary COVID-19 supplement on top of the existing JobSeeker payment allowed parents the freedom to save money to retrain for a new job or better care for their children.

The ASRC's director of advocacy and campaigns, Jana Favero, called on the Morrison government to release the remaining 140 medical evacuees being held in mainland detention around the country.

Mission Australia executive Ben Carblis is urging the government to commit to providing sufficient housing.

As a major sponsor of the @ProBonoAust Impact 25 awards, we're excited to announce voting is now open.

The awards celebrate Australians dedicated to positive social change

Vote here https://t.co/zlxqUw2PJB pic.twitter.com/Vm4Te5I1SX

— Bendigo Bank (@bendigobank) February 2, 2021