There is a growing number of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and an unmet demand for accessible, culturally safe aged care services. The principles and features of aged care service delivery designed to meet the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be understood to inform aged care policy and primary health care planning into the future. Yet to date, this is an area that has not been extensively explored. A recently published paper Aboriginal community-controlled aged care: principles, practices and actions to integrate with primary health care examines this particular topic. Read more here.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has addressed world leaders at COP26 in Glasgow with a speech that was light on commitments and credibility. Even with a new net zero by 2050 target, Australia remains dead last on climate. Actions at COP26 have only cemented our global reputation as a climate action blocker. Click here to read the Climate Council's debunking of Scott Morrison's COP26 speech.

Women's voices are needed in male violence prevention. Social Ventures Australia's Desmond Campbell discusses First Nations communities' role in behaviour change programs addressing domestic and partner violence. Read more.

FECCA’s flagship magazine, the Australian Mosaic issue 55, is out now. You will find beautiful stories of people as they share their experience of sense of home and belonging in Australia. Some stories are heart breaking, some eye-opening, but all of them uplifting, unique and personal. Read the magazine.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia is calling on all State and Territory governments to immediately ensure that their public health orders and directions relating to COVID-19 and nursing homes include a provision that all aged care residents have access to at least one 'Essential Visitor' who can see them in person, even during a COVID outbreak (with appropriate infection control measures). Read more.

The Consumers Health Forum has welcomed the Federal Government’s additional support for community-based care for COVID cases but urges Australians to take care as Australia transitions to ‘living with COVID’ arrangements. “The easing of lockdowns and opening of borders mean that even with an overall decline in pandemic risks, significant challenges for both hospitals and primary care doctors and nurses in the community will continue. Consumers need to play their part in avoiding infection by continuing with sensible anti-COVID precautions,” the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said. Read more here.

Limiting climate change to well below 2 degree C temperature rise and ideally 1.5 degrees C as targeted in the Paris Agreement is much more than just possible, it is vital for future Australian and global economic, social, and environmental prosperity, says the Australian Climate Roundtable in a joint statement today.

The Australian Climate Roundtable is a collaboration of leading organisations representing business and industry, farming, investment, union, social welfare and environmental sectors, including Australian Industry Group, Australian Conservation Foundation,  Australian Energy Council, Business Council of Australia, Investor Group on Climate Change, National Farmers Federation and Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Achieving that goal requires multiple significant transitions across the economy and society.

Indigenous regional and remote communities will experience the negative impacts of climate change earlier and disproportionately, compared with most urban Australian settings, according to new AHURI research.

The research, ‘Sustainable Indigenous housing in regional and remote Australia’, examines what is required for Indigenous housing in regional and remote Australia to deliver positive health and well-being outcomes for householders now and in the future.

Indigenous leaders and health professionals have written to PM Scott Morrison seeking an urgent meeting about low COVID-19 vaccination rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

More than 20 leaders, including Professor Peter Yu (pictured) from The Australian National University, have signed the letter, which outlines the “gravest concerns” at continuing low levels of COVID-19 vaccination in Indigenous Australian communities.

The letter comes as a number of states, including NSW and Victoria, have eased COVID-19 related restrictions. Currently more than 75% of the overall Australian population aged 16 and older is fully vaccinated. In contrast, 46% of Indigenous Australians have had two COVID-19 vaccine shots.

The Infoxchange 'Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector 2021' report reveals the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to profoundly change the way not-for-profits work and utilise technology to deliver services.

Now in its sixth year, the report surveyed over 600 not-for-profit organisations across Australia and New Zealand on topics such as adapting to COVID-19, digital capability and skills, information security, infrastructure, cloud adoption and IT spending.

Infoxchange Group CEO David Spriggs says that now is the time for not-for-profits to invest in digital technology if they are to thrive in a post COVID-19 world.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has really emphasised how important it is for not-for-profits to have effective, reliable technology in place so they can better support communities and make the biggest impact possible,” David says.

• The full program for the 2021 Australian Reconciliation Convention has been announced. Almost 30 sessions across three days will reflect on the past and explore the future of a just, equitable, and reconciled Australia with topics like: What’s Holding Structural Racism Together? chaired by Larissa Behrendt, with Eddie Cubillo and Tanya Hosch. There are only days left to register - 15 November 2021 - Click here for more information and to register

• People from First Nations communities deserve respect, support and to be treated with the dignity to maintain their identity and culture as they age. By empowering older people, they can confidently have the information to optimise aged care services and supports to exercise choice and control. This webinar by OPAN will explore the importance of informative and inclusive aged care services and identify programs and supports for older First Nations people - 16 November 2021 - Click here to register

• Join this online Zoom Launch of the new First Nations Clean Energy Network, which will enable First Nations people to play a central role in harnessing the opportunities from Australia’s renewable energy boom - 17 November 2021 - Click here for more information and to register

• Jesuit Social Services is pleased to be launching the latest edition of their research into complex and entrenched place-based disadvantage – Dropping off the Edge 2021. The research series started in 1999 with the seminal Unequal in Life report documenting the distribution of social disadvantage in each postcode across Victoria and New South Wales. Join this webinar to be the first to learn about the report findings - 18 November 2021 - Click here to register

• With the next federal election not far away, charities and community groups are thinking about what advocacy they want to do. Under Commonwealth electoral laws, some advocacy spending and donations may need to be publicly disclosed, and your organisation may need to consider adjustments in how you use or track donations. This guide created by the Human Rights Law Centre is designed to step you through your obligations under these laws. Click here for access.

• The theme for Safe Work Australia's National Safe Work Month (October) was think safe, work safe, be safe. And during a pandemic, this also means safety from COVID-19. If your not-for-profit organisation needs legal assistance with understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on your workplace, read these new online resources.

• Justice Connect have developed a list of resources to help navigate managing vaccines in the workplace, covering questions such as: Can our organisation make a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for employees or volunteers? What are the employment-related legal requirements and considerations for COVID-19 vaccines? What are the key considerations for mandatory vaccine directions? Click here to learn more.

The disability royal commission says restrictive practices are mostly likely to be used in group homes, though they can also be employed in public settings.

Children and Young People with Disability Australia has reported students experiencing restraints including seclusion and being restrained with belts, while a high-profile 2015 case involved an autistic student being placed in a specially made cage.

While many in the broader community are enjoying the benefits of vaccination and getting "out there going to pubs and going to concerts", the next few months will be a "very dangerous time" for asylum seeker and refugee communities in Victoria, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis told SBS News. 

Asylum seekers are "at a high risk” because they've been left behind by the federal government’s vaccine rollout, Mr Karapanagiotidis said 

“We're working with a community that remains highly vulnerable because they've been locked out and haven’t had equal health access,” he said. 

“Applying for the DSP is very hard for our cultural and linguistically diverse people with a disability, as they may not understand the type of doctor's report and the information they are required to collect,” said Siyat Abdi, an advocate at Kin, formerly the Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre.

Our hearts break for the families of the two Aboriginal men who have been killed in custody in just three days. This is so heartbreaking and wrong - and it won't stop until governments change discriminatory laws, and discriminatory policing https://t.co/nyBoXIRt5v

— Change the Record (@Change_Record) November 9, 2021