At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians are becoming more cautious about taking risks, with fewer people changing jobs, starting businesses or moving for new opportunities. Recent economic data shows job mobility has dropped sharply over the past few decades. In 1989, nearly one in five workers changed jobs each year. Today, that figure has fallen to about one in 13 workers. Experts say rising living costs, large mortgages and economic uncertainty are making people prioritise stability over risk. Concerns around artificial intelligence, tighter job markets and global instability are also adding pressure. At the same time, self-employment is at its lowest level in 20 years. More Australians are choosing secure wage-paying jobs instead of running small businesses, as employee benefits like superannuation and paid parental leave become more attractive. Economists also warn that growing regulations and higher business costs are making it harder for younger Australians to launch new ventures or move ahead financially. While stable employment offers security, experts say Australia’s slowing workforce mobility could reduce innovation and economic growth in the long term. Source : ABC News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. International military officers are continuing to strengthen regional defence ties through joint training at the Sri Lanka Army War College in Buttala. Australian Army Major Martin Hadley, Pakistan Army Major Muhaymin Maneka, and Maldives National Defence Force Captain Hassan Rasheed are currently taking part in the Junior Officers Course alongside Sri Lankan officers. During the second week of training, the officers carried out field exercises focused on ground appreciation and navigation skills under the guidance of directing staff instructors. The program highlights growing cooperation, professional exchange, and stronger partnerships across Indo-Pacific defence forces. Major Maneka is also a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon’s December 2016 intake. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. North Sydney Council is planning to introduce new fees for weddings, gender reveal parties, pop-up picnics and large gatherings held in public parks. Under the proposal, event charges could range from $10 to $2000 depending on the location, group size and type of event. The changes would apply to 23 council-managed parks and reserves from July 1 if approved next month. Popular harbourside spots such as Blues Point Reserve and Cremorne Point Reserve would attract the highest fees. A wedding ceremony at these locations could cost $1000 for three hours, while receptions with food and drinks may reach $2000. Commercial picnic businesses, fitness trainers and dog walkers would also face annual permit fees. Council officials say the move is aimed at managing growing demand, reducing damage to parks and ensuring fair access to public spaces. Funds raised would go towards park maintenance and upkeep. Some parks will remain free for informal gatherings of up to 60 people. The proposal is expected to be voted on in June. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දේශීය ආදායම් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව රුපියල් ට්‍රිලියන 1 කට අධික බදු ආදායමක් රැස් කිරීමේ සන්ධිස්ථානය පසුකර ඇති අතර එය රටේ මූල්‍ය ස්ථාවරත්වය සහ මහජන සේවාවන් සඳහා සැලකිය යුතු ජයග්‍රහණයක් සනිටුහන් කරයි. 2026 මැයි 21 වන දින දේශීය ආදායම් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද නිල ප්‍රකාශයකට අනුව, 2026 මැයි 18 වන දින මෙම සන්ධිස්ථානයට ළඟා විය. "රටේ මූල්‍ය ස්ථාවරත්වය සහ මහජන සේවාවන් ශක්තිමත් කරමින් 2026 මැයි 18 වන දින වන විට රුපියල් ට්‍රිලියනයකට අධික බදු ආදායමක් රැස් කිරීමේ ජයග්‍රහණය දේශීය ආදායම් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ආඩම්බරයෙන් සනිටුහන් කරන බව මම ඔබට සතුටින් දන්වමි," යනුවෙන් එම නිවේදනයේ සඳහන් විය. කොමසාරිස් ජෙනරාල් රුක්දේවි පී. එච්. ප්‍රනාන්දු විසින් නිවේදනය කරන ලද අතර, ඇය රට පුරා සිටින බදු ගෙවන්නන්ට ද කෘතඥතාව පළ කළාය. "රට කෙරෙහි තම යුතුකම ඉටු කළ සහ සෘජුව සහ වක්‍රව බදු ගෙවීමෙන් මෙම ජයග්‍රහණයට දායක වූ සියලුම ගෞරවනීය පුරවැසියන්ට මම මගේ අවංක ස්තූතිය පළ කරමි," යනුවෙන් එම නිවේදනයේ සඳහන් වේ. Source : News First More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. South-eastern Australia is set for a burst of winter weather next week, with forecasts warning of heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and possible snow. Weather experts say two cold air systems moving across southern Australia will bring a major shift after several calm days. The first system is already moving through parts of Western Australia and South Australia before reaching the south-east early next week. A second cold front is expected to arrive later in the week, increasing the risk of severe weather conditions. Forecast models suggest parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania could see heavy rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with icy winds and snow in elevated areas. Meteorologists say forecasts may still change, but early signs point to a significant weather event across several states. The Bureau of Meteorology has already issued damaging surf and strong wind warnings for parts of the NSW North Coast, urging people to stay away from dangerous beaches and coastal waters. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian drivers could face higher petrol prices from July, with the federal government yet to decide whether it will extend the temporary fuel tax cut. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government will review the measure closer to June 30, when the current fuel excise reduction is due to end. The temporary cut has lowered petrol prices by around 26 cents per litre since April, saving motorists about $19 on a standard 65-litre tank. Mr Albanese said the policy has helped Australians manage rising fuel costs during ongoing global uncertainty linked to conflict in the Middle East. However, he warned the program is expensive and no final decision has been made. The government also introduced temporary support for truck drivers by reducing the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge for three months. Meanwhile, the ACCC will continue monitoring petrol stations to ensure fuel savings are passed on to consumers. Some economists have raised concerns that extending the tax cut could increase fuel demand at a time when governments are trying to reduce pressure on supply. Source : News.com Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. රැකියා අරමුණු සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන විදේශීය ශ්‍රමිකයින් නියාමනය කිරීමේ අරමුණින් “ප්‍රවේශ ශ්‍රම සංක්‍රමණ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය” (Inbound Labour Migration Policy) සකස් කිරීමට රජය තීරණය කර ඇති බව අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල තීරණවල සඳහන් වේ. ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් සඳහා විදේශ රැකියා අවස්ථා කළමනාකරණය කිරීම කෙරෙහි මෙතෙක් අවධානය යොමු කළ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ, වර්තමානයේ ක්ෂේත්‍ර කිහිපයකම දක්ෂ, අර්ධ දක්ෂ සහ විශේෂඥ දැනුමක් සහිත විදේශීය ශ්‍රමිකයින් බඳවා ගැනීම සඳහා ඉල්ලීම් ඉදිරිපත් වෙමින් පවතින බව අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය විසින් සලකා බැලීය. දැනට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන විදේශීය ශ්‍රමිකයින් නියාමනය කිරීම විවිධ ආයතන මගින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරනු ලබන පරිපාලන ක්‍රියාපටිපාටි කිහිපයක් ඔස්සේ සිදු කෙරෙන අතර, එම ක්‍රියාවලිය වඩාත් විධිමත් හා මධ්‍යගත ආකාරයෙන් කළමනාකරණය කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවක් පවතින බව බලධාරීහු පෙන්වා දී ඇත. යෝජිත ප්‍රතිපත්තිය මගින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන විදේශීය ශ්‍රමිකයින්ගේ ඇතුළත් කිරීම, රැකියා නියුක්තිය, අධීක්ෂණය, ආරක්ෂාව සහ නියාමනය ආවරණය වන පරිදි සම්බන්ධීකෘත හා විනිවිදභාවයෙන් යුත් ජාතික රාමුවක් ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. එමෙන්ම, ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ශ්‍රමිකයින් සඳහා පවතින රැකියා අවස්ථා ආරක්ෂා කිරීමද මෙම ප්‍රතිපත්තිය මගින් සහතික කරනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. මෙම ප්‍රතිපත්තිය සකස් කිරීම සඳහා කම්කරු අමාත්‍යවරයා විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද යෝජනාවට අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල අනුමැතිය හිමිව ඇති අතර, ඊට අදාළ කෙටුම්පත් රාමුව සකස් කිරීම සඳහා කම්කරු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරයාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් යුතු මෙහෙයුම් කමිටුවක් පත් කිරීමටද තීරණය කර තිබේ. Source : Newswire More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia may be one of the world’s wealthiest countries, but many households are still feeling financial pressure. Economists say rising household debt is a major reason why many Australians feel financially stretched, despite the country’s strong economy. Australia currently has one of the highest household debt levels globally, mainly driven by expensive housing and large mortgages. Average household debt is estimated at more than 200 per cent of disposable income higher than countries like the US, Canada and Japan. AMP deputy chief economist Diana Mousina said Australians’ strong focus on home ownership has increased financial pressure, especially as interest rates and living costs continue to rise. However, she noted that many Australians also hold valuable long-term assets such as property and land, which helps balance the debt burden. Despite concerns about the economy, Australia still ranks among the happiest countries in the world and continues to maintain a stable financial system and strong long-term economic outlook. Experts say the issue may not only be financial stress, but also how Australians perceive the current economy after years of relatively strong living conditions. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Several Victorian roads will soon be part of new 30km/h speed limit trials under the state government’s road safety program. Melbourne’s famous Chapel Street is among the locations set for lower speed limits, with Stonnington Council receiving $331,000 to roll out the trial along Chapel St, Ewart St and Osborne Ave. An additional $64,000 has been allocated for a broader 30km/h trial across Melbourne’s inner south-east. The funding is part of the Allan Government’s expanded Safe Local Roads and Streets Program, which now includes more than 430 projects statewide. Other councils receiving support include Merri-Bek and Bass Coast, where new low-speed zones are planned for areas including Surf Beach, Smiths Beach, Sunset Strip and Silverleaves. Geelong Council has also been approved to reduce speed limits on Portarlington Street. The wider program will also fund traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and bicycle safety improvements. Road Safety Minister Ros Spence said the upgrades are aimed at making local streets safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians across Victoria. Source : News.com Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. මේ දක්වා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණි සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාව 950,000 ඉක්මවා ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) පැවසීය. ඒ අනුව, 2026 ජනවාරි 1 සිට මැයි 17 දක්වා කාලය තුළ සංචාරකයින් 951,742 ක් මෙරටට පැමිණ තිබේ. ඉන්දියාවෙන් වැඩිම සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාවක් පැමිණ ඇති අතර, එම සංඛ්‍යාව 221,953 ක් බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) සඳහන් කළේය. එක්සත් රාජධානිය, රුසියාව, චීනය සහ ජර්මනිය ඇතුළු රටවලින් ද සැලකිය යුතු සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාවක් පැමිණ තිබේ. මේ අතර, 2026 මැයි 1 සිට මැයි 17 දක්වා කාලය තුළ සංචාරකයින් 75,465 ක් මෙරටට පැමිණ ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, දත්තවලින් පෙනී යන්නේ 2026 මුල් මාස තුනට සාපේක්ෂව මැයි මාසයේ දෛනික සංචාරකයින් පැමිණීම සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස අඩු වී ඇති බවයි. Source : Adaderana News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia’s top medical body is urging families to check their diphtheria vaccinations as the country faces its largest outbreak in decades. More than 220 cases have now been confirmed across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia. One person in the NT has died, with investigations continuing into the exact cause. The Australian Medical Association warned falling vaccination rates are allowing serious diseases to return. AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said immunisation remains one of the most effective public health tools and urged Australians to ensure their vaccinations and booster shots are up to date. The outbreak first emerged in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory before spreading across multiple regions and state borders. Health authorities say most NT cases involve Indigenous Australians, with vaccination campaigns now being intensified in affected communities. Health Minister Mark Butler described the outbreak as “serious” and likely the biggest seen in decades. Diphtheria is a highly infectious bacterial disease spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with infected skin sores. Early symptoms can resemble the flu, but severe cases may cause dangerous breathing problems, organ damage and even death. Doctors say vaccination is the best protection against the disease. Even with treatment, respiratory diphtheria can be fatal in some cases. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The Albanese government may need Greens support to pass its major housing tax reforms, but the minor party says the changes do not go far enough. Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said a parliamentary inquiry into housing inequality heard strong evidence that younger Australians are still being locked out of the property market, while older generations continue to benefit from existing tax settings. Last week’s federal budget proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions in an effort to improve housing affordability and reduce generational inequality. Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended the reforms, saying the government made “difficult decisions” aimed at helping younger Australians enter the housing market over time. While Labor is expected to pass the legislation in the House of Representatives, it will need support from either the Greens or the Coalition in the Senate. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has already pledged to oppose and repeal the reforms if elected. The Greens have not confirmed whether they will back the legislation, saying they want to closely examine the details first. Pocock described the reforms as “a small step in the right direction” but argued they still protect wealthy property investors more than younger buyers. The housing inquiry is expected to continue hearing evidence from Australians around the country in the coming months. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.