At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has taken another step to strengthen its artificial intelligence sector through a new partnership under the National AI Plan. This marks the second agreement aimed at boosting the country’s AI capability while promoting safe and responsible innovation. The plan outlines the government’s goal to unlock AI opportunities, share the benefits across the economy, and protect the public. A key focus is working closely with leading technology companies to build skills, attract investment, and improve safety standards. These partnerships are non-binding but set clear expectations aligned with Australia’s national interests. They also signal a long-term commitment to collaborate with industry leaders and grow the local AI ecosystem. As part of this effort, the government is working with Microsoft, a major player in cloud computing and AI tools widely used across Australia. In 2023, Microsoft announced a $5 billion investment to expand its data centre network in Australia, increasing capacity from 20 to 29 sites. The company has also supported digital skills development through initiatives like the Datacentre Academy. Under the agreement, Microsoft plans to: Continue investing in AI and cloud infrastructure in Australia Align with government expectations for data centres and AI systems Help plan future infrastructure needs Work with the government on AI safety and workforce skills Support public sector AI initiatives and explore further collaboration The government says it remains open to similar partnerships with other global tech leaders to strengthen Australia’s position as a trusted hub for AI innovation. Source : Australian Government 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. Rising fuel prices are pushing up the cost of lawn care across Australia, with households now spending around $960 a year to keep their yards in shape. New research from Money.com.au shows the average cost sits at about $80 per month, covering mowing, fuel, and lawn care products. Younger Australians are feeling the biggest impact. Millennials spend the most at roughly $120 a month, followed by Gen Z at $100. Gen X households average about $70, while Baby Boomers spend closer to $40. Finance expert Sean Callery says the costs can quickly build up, especially with added expenses like equipment upkeep and occasional professional services. He suggests simple ways to cut costs, such as mowing less often, handling basic tasks yourself, maintaining tools properly, and buying supplies during discounts. With fuel prices and interest rates both on the rise, many households are facing increased pressure on everyday expenses. Source : Realestate.com More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. 2026 වෙසක් උත්සවය සඳහා වන නිල වැඩසටහන රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන, පළාත් සභා සහ පළාත් පාලන අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. ඒ අනුව, අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය විසින් මැයි 27 සිට ජුනි 2 දක්වා වෙසක් සතිය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. රට පුරා වෙසක් උත්සවය උත්කර්ෂවත් ලෙස සැමරීමට කටයුතු සූදානම් කරමින් පවතින බව අමාත්‍යාංශය පැවසීය. සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක මණ්ඩලයේ මඟ පෙන්වීම යටතේ, බුද්ධශාසන, ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ බෞද්ධ කටයුතු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් මෙම වැඩසටහන ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරේ. Source : Daily Mirror Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A burst of unusual pre-winter warmth is set to sweep across southern Australia this week. Cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, and Hobart will see several days of temperatures above 20°C leading into the weekend. Adelaide is expected to peak between 27–28°C through to Sunday before cooling. Melbourne will remain slightly milder, with temperatures in the mid-20s, while Hobart will also enjoy warmer conditions, reaching the low to mid-20s until early next week. These readings are well above the usual averages for this time of year, according to Weatherzone. The warm spell is being driven by northerly winds circulating around a high-pressure system, pushing heat from inland Australia toward the south. Dry weather is also expected to continue across these regions for the rest of the week. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

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At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Supermarket giant Woolworths is set to defend its pricing practices in court, rejecting claims it misled shoppers with fake discounts. The case, brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, alleges both Woolworths and Coles briefly raised prices on everyday items before promoting them as discounted. Regulators say some “discounted” prices were equal to or even higher than original shelf prices. The matter is now before the Federal Court of Australia, which will deliver a ruling after hearing arguments from both retailers. The ACCC claims Woolworths’ conduct involved hundreds of products over nearly two years, affecting millions of purchases. However, the court will focus on a smaller group of key items, including popular snacks and grocery staples. Woolworths denies any wrongdoing. The company says it acted in good faith during a period of high inflation following COVID-19 and worked with suppliers to keep prices down through its “Prices Dropped” program. The watchdog argues the alleged practices made it harder for consumers to compare prices and make informed choices. The case comes as supermarkets face growing scrutiny over pricing and profits, especially with fresh inflation pressures linked to rising global fuel costs. Coles and Woolworths together control around two-thirds of Australia’s grocery market, keeping the spotlight firmly on how prices are set. Source : 9News 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. ප්‍රවාහන, මහාමාර්ග සහ නාගරික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය බිමල් රත්නායක මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් මාකුඹුර බහුමාධ්‍ය ප්‍රවාහන මධ්‍යස්ථානයේදී අද (21) සිට නියමු ව්‍යාපෘතියක් ලෙස ආබාධිත පුද්ගලයින් සඳහා විශේෂ පහත් මහලේ ප්‍රමුඛතා බස් සේවාවක් ආරම්භ කෙරේ. සැමට සමාන අවස්ථා සහතික කිරීම සහ මානව ගරුත්වය ආරක්ෂා කිරීම යන රජයේ දැක්මට අනුකූලව හඳුන්වා දුන් මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතියට රුපියල් මිලියන 430.7 ක් වෙන් කර ඇත. එය පිරිසිදු ශ්‍රී ලංකා වැඩසටහන යටතේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලද ප්‍රධාන මුලපිරීමක් ද වේ. පළමු අදියර යටතේ, රෝද පුටු භාවිතා කරන්නන්ට පහසුවෙන් ප්‍රවේශ වීම සඳහා නිර්මාණය කර ඇති නවීන, වායුසමීකරණය කරන ලද පහත් මහලේ බස් රථ 10 ක් යොදවනු ලැබේ. සෑම බස් රථයකම මගීන් 80 දෙනෙකු දක්වා ගමන් කළ හැකි අතර ආසන 33 ක් සහ රෝද පුටු භාවිතා කරන්නන් සඳහා සකස් කරන ලද විශේෂ ආරක්ෂක අංග ඇතුළත් වේ. මාකුඹුර සිට පිටකොටුව දක්වා සහ මාකුඹුර සිට කඩවත දක්වා මාර්ගවල උදෑසන සහ සවස වේලාවන්හිදී සෑම විනාඩි 40 කට වරක් බස් රථ ධාවනය කිරීමට නියමිතය. රෝගීන්ට සහ මගීන්ට ප්‍රවේශ්‍යතාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම අරමුණු කරගනිමින්, මහරගම අපේක්ෂා රෝහල සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික රෝහල ඇතුළු ප්‍රධාන සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා ආයතන ද මෙම සේවාව මගින් ආවරණය කෙරේ. Source : News.lk More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia is ramping up efforts to counter the rising threat of drone warfare, with millions set to be invested in homegrown defence technology. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced about $31 million in initial funding for two Australian companies to develop advanced counter-drone systems. The move is part of a broader plan to spend up to $7 billion over the next decade on anti-drone capabilities. Melbourne-based AIM Defence will further develop its “Fractl” laser system. The high-powered technology can track and destroy fast-moving drones, including swarms, with extreme precision. Meanwhile, SYPAQ Systems is working on the “Corvo Strike” an interceptor drone designed to hunt down and eliminate larger unmanned aircraft. The investment reflects lessons learned from recent conflicts, including those in Ukraine and the Middle East, where drones have played a major role on the battlefield. Overall, the government plans to invest up to $22 billion in drones, counter-drone systems, and autonomous technologies over the next 10 years. Officials say strengthening these capabilities is critical as modern warfare rapidly evolves. Source : The Nighty 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. Australia could soon be home to its largest AI data centre, with plans unveiled for a massive project in remote Western Australia. Known as Project Meridien, the facility is proposed for the Kimberley region, south of Broome. It’s designed to support advanced AI systems such as ChatGPT and other large-scale computing platforms. The project will be built in stages and is expected to begin operations around 2032. Its initial capacity is set at 240 megawatts far larger than typical Australian data centres and could eventually expand to a massive 1 gigawatt. The site will be powered by a mix of wind, solar, batteries, and some natural gas. Developers say it will use a water-efficient cooling system that recycles water instead of consuming large volumes. Project Meridien is a joint venture involving the Karajarri Traditional Lands Association, Dutch company Fugro, and Longreach Capital Investment. It will be built on Karajarri country, with traditional owners involved as project partners. Supporters say the project could bring jobs, investment, and position Australia as a key player in global AI infrastructure. It may also attract international clients, including companies in nearby Asia. However, not everyone is on board. Some community members have raised concerns about environmental and cultural impacts, with further consultation planned. Environmental assessments are expected to begin soon, with construction targeted for around 2029 or 2030. Source : ABC News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. නිල දත්ත වලට අනුව, 2026 අප්‍රේල් 16 වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකා රේගුව රුපියල් බිලියන 765.7 ක ආදායමක් වාර්තා කර ඇත. රේගු නිලධාරීන් පැවසුවේ මෙය එම කාල සීමාව සඳහා ආදායම් ඉලක්කය රුපියල් බිලියන 71.8 කින් ඉක්මවා ඇති බවයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකා රේගුව 2025 දී එහි ඉහළම ආදායම රුපියල් බිලියන 2,557.5 ක් වූ අතර, 2026 සඳහා රුපියල් බිලියන 2,207.0 ක ආදායම් ඉලක්කයක් පවරා ඇත. රේගු මාධ්‍ය ප්‍රකාශක චන්දන පුංචිහේවා පැවසුවේ, පර්යන්ත ක්‍රියාකරුවන්ට අනුව, මැද පෙරදිග අර්බුදය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හරහා ප්‍රතිඅපනයන භාණ්ඩ ප්‍රවාහනය වැඩිවීමට දායක වී ඇති බවත්, එහි ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ඔවුන්ගේ අවසාන ගමනාන්ත වෙත නැව්ගත කිරීමට පෙර දේශීයව බහාලුම් ප්‍රමාණය වැඩි වී ඇති බවත්ය. “මුලින් මැද පෙරදිගට සෘජුවම නැව්ගත කිරීමට නියමිතව තිබූ බහාලුම් දැන් ගොඩබා ඒවායේ අදාළ ගමනාන්ත වෙත හරවා යවනු ලැබේ,” ඔහු පැහැදිලි කළේය. Source : Newswire Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Millions of Australians will soon be able to claim a $1,000 tax deduction instantly no receipts required. Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed the plan will be written into law and is expected to apply from the 2027 tax season. The change means eligible workers can claim up to $1,000 in work-related expenses with a simple tick no paperwork or detailed records needed. Around 6.2 million people are set to benefit. The actual tax saving will vary. The maximum benefit is about $470, with the average closer to $205. The measure is part of the government’s broader push to reduce income tax and simplify the system. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said the goal is to make tax returns faster and easier. However, there’s a catch. Choosing the flat $1,000 deduction means you can’t claim your real expenses. If your work-related costs are higher, you could miss out on a bigger refund. The announcement comes ahead of the May federal budget, which has been reshaped due to global economic pressures, including the Middle East conflict. More policy updates are expected in the lead-up to the budget, including potential changes to other major programs. Source : 9News 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. All consular services for Sri Lankan citizens residing in Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania are managed by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Melbourne. Applications for these services can be submitted either by post or in person by scheduling a prior appointment. Please note that appointments are mandatory for all attestation services, including document authentication and Power of Attorney. To book a time slot, applicants must send a formal request to mail@slcgmel.org . In the event of an urgent consular matter, you may also contact us via the same email address ( mail@slcgmel.org ) to request an expedited appointment. Consulate General of Sri Lanka Melbourne, Australia More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .