At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia is establishing a new AI Safety Institute (AISI) to monitor fast-moving artificial intelligence technologies and help keep Australians safe. The institute will provide trusted, expert advice to government by testing emerging AI systems, identifying risks early, and supporting stronger protections for the community. The AISI will work closely with regulators to make sure Australia is ready to benefit from AI while avoiding potential harms. Its role will include: Tracking rapid AI developments and responding to new risks Deepening government understanding of advanced AI and its impacts Acting as a central hub to share insights and support coordinated action Giving safety and risk guidance to businesses, government and the public through the National AI Centre Supporting Australia’s commitments under global AI safety agreements The institute will complement current laws and regulations that already safeguard Australians’ rights. The AISI is expected to begin operations in early 2026. By partnering with the National AI Centre and working with international AI safety bodies, Australia aims to position itself as a global leader in responsible and safe AI development. Source : Department of Industry, Science and Resources 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. බස් ගමන් සඳහා විද්‍යුත් කාඩ්පත් ගෙවීම් හඳුන්වා දීමේ වැඩසටහන අද (24) සිට මාකුඹුර බහුමාධ්‍ය ප්‍රවාහන මධ්‍යස්ථානයේදී නිල වශයෙන් දියත් කෙරේ. ඩිජිටල් අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය එක්ව ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන මෙම මුලපිරීම ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍ය බිමල් රත්නායක මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් දියත් කෙරේ. Source : Dailymirror 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. Western Australia is preparing for dangerous conditions as Tropical Cyclone Fina strengthens into a severe category 4 system while moving toward the Kimberley coast. The Bureau of Meteorology says Fina is currently over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and producing sustained winds of around 185km/h, with gusts near the centre reaching 260km/h. For now, most of the impact remains offshore. The cyclone is located about 300km south-west of Darwin, tracking south-west at roughly 8km/h. A tropical cyclone warning is in place for northern WA, with Fina expected to make landfall in the north-east Kimberley late tonight or early tomorrow. It is forecast to weaken to a category 3, but dangerous wind gusts between 120km/h and 185km/h are still expected after it crosses the coast. Heavy rain, flash flooding, and hazardous conditions are likely along the northern Kimberley coastline. Cyclone alerts have been cancelled for the Northern Territory, but flood warnings remain. Some areas near Darwin have already recorded up to 140mm of rain, and a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall is active for the Daly district. Source : 9News More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Snapchat will start warning users this week that their accounts will be deactivated when Australia’s under-16 social media ban begins on 10 December. The platform will send alerts in-app, by email, or via SMS to users it believes may be younger than 16. Snapchat will rely on a mix of signals — including account behaviour and self-declared ages — to identify affected accounts. The company told a Senate inquiry it estimates around 440,000 Australian users are between 13 and 15. Anyone flagged as under 16 but actually older will need to verify their age to stay on the platform. Verification options include: Bank-linked ConnectID Government ID such as a licence or passport Facial age estimation using a selfie analysed by age-assurance company k-ID Young users will be given a chance to download their chats, videos, and Memories before the ban takes effect. From 10 December, accounts belonging to under-16s will be locked. They can only be reactivated once the user turns 16 and completes age verification. Accounts left locked for three years without verification will be permanently deleted. Snapchat has argued it shouldn’t fall under the ban because its main purpose is messaging — which is otherwise exempt — but says it will comply regardless. “We’re disappointed young Aussies won’t be able to stay connected with their closest friends,” Snapchat said. “But we will disable accounts for users under 16 from December 10.” Snap is the second platform to announce its rollout plan, following Meta’s warnings to Facebook and Instagram users last week. TikTok and Kick have confirmed they will follow the new laws but haven’t detailed how. Reddit, Twitch, X, and YouTube have not yet revealed whether or how they’ll comply. Source : theguardian 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. Meta has started notifying thousands of young Australians that their Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts will soon be blocked under Australia’s new age restriction laws. The federal government announced earlier this month that major platforms — including Meta apps, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube — must take “reasonable steps” to block users under 16 from December 10. Meta is the first company to outline how it will comply. From Thursday, the tech giant began sending SMS and email alerts to suspected underage users, warning that access will be cut from December 4. The company says teens should use the two-week notice period to download their photos and contacts, or update their details so they can regain access once they turn 16. Meta estimates around 350,000 Australians aged 13–15 use Instagram, and 150,000 in the same age group use Facebook. Teens who are actually 16 or older but received the warning by mistake will be able to verify their age using Yoti Age Verification, which accepts government ID or a “video selfie.” However, experts warn the technology isn’t perfect. Sydney University’s Terry Flew says facial-recognition tools still have a failure rate of around 5%. The government has made it clear that demanding ID from every user would be unreasonable, arguing platforms already have enough data to identify most underage accounts. Platforms that fail to take proper action could face fines of up to $50 million. Meta’s global safety chief, Antigone Davis, said a better system would be for app stores like Apple and Google to verify a user’s age when they download apps, reducing the need for platforms to collect extra data. Parent advocacy groups say families should now start preparing their children for life with less screen time. Dany Elachi from the Heaps Up Alliance — which pushed for the age limit — said the change will be tough but ultimately beneficial. “When everybody misses out, nobody misses out,” he said. “Kids will have new opportunities once they’re spending less time online.” Source : DailyMirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian households will soon be able to use electricity for free for three hours every day under a new federal government plan designed to make better use of excess solar energy. The Solar Sharer scheme will require energy retailers to offer free electricity during a set window in the middle of the day — the time when solar generation is high and demand is low. Wholesale prices often drop to very cheap or even negative levels during these hours. The scheme will begin next July for customers on the Default Market Offer in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. The government plans to expand it nationwide by 2027. Households with smart meters will be able to run appliances like washing machines, dryers and air conditioning at no cost during the free period. Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the policy ensures everyone benefits from solar power — including renters and people without panels. “There’s so much solar in the middle of the day that prices often fall below zero. This scheme spreads the benefits to all consumers,” he said. Energy retailers, however, say the announcement caught them by surprise. The Australian Energy Council criticised the lack of consultation and warned that smaller retailers may struggle with market risks and costs. Mr Bowen said he makes “no apologies” if the policy reduces retailer profits, adding that consumers come first. The government believes the shift in energy use will ease pressure on the grid during the evening peak and may help keep long-term costs down by avoiding expensive network upgrades. The scheme comes as households face growing concerns about power bills. Default Market Offer prices are set to rise by up to 9.7 per cent this year, depending on location. Meanwhile, the Coalition remains divided over its climate policy, with the Nationals moving to abandon the 2050 net zero target. Critics argue that offering free daytime power could lead to higher prices at other times. As the debate continues, the government points to strong solar generation pushing daytime wholesale prices into negative territory across almost every state. “Free daytime power shows that what’s good for the planet can also be good for your wallet,” Mr Bowen said. 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. මෝටර් රථ වාහන පනත යටතේ නිකුත් කරන ලද නව රෙගුලාසි අනුගමනය කරමින්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පුරවැසියන් සහ විදේශීය ජාතිකයන් යන දෙපිරිසටම රියදුරු බලපත්‍ර නිකුත් කිරීම සම්බන්ධ ගාස්තු කිහිපයක් සංශෝධනය කර ඇත. 2025 නොවැම්බර් 17 දින අංක 2463/04 දරන අතිවිශේෂ ගැසට් පත්‍රයට අනුව, දැනටමත් විදේශීය බලපත්‍රයක් හිමි ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුරවැසියෙකුට රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් නිකුත් කිරීමේ ගාස්තුව රු. 30,000 ක් ලෙස නියම කර ඇත. එම කාණ්ඩයේම විදේශීය ජාතිකයෙකු සඳහා ගාස්තුව රු. 60,000 ක් ලෙස නියම කර ඇත. ගැසට් පත්‍රය මගින් පුරවැසියන් නොවන අය සඳහා බලපත්‍ර නිකුත් කිරීම, අලුත් කිරීම සහ ප්‍රතිස්ථාපනය කිරීම සඳහා යාවත්කාලීන ගාස්තු හඳුන්වා දෙන අතර, රියදුරු බලපත්‍රයක් නිකුත් කිරීම සඳහා රු. 45,000 ක් සහ අලුත් කිරීම් සඳහා රු. 15,000 ක් ද ඇතුළත් වේ. ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුරවැසියන් සහ විදේශිකයන් යන දෙපිරිසටම - අමුත්තන් සඳහා තාවකාලික රියදුරු බලපත්‍ර ගාස්තු ද බහු කාල කාණ්ඩ හරහා සංශෝධනය කර ඇත. Source : Newswire More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian shoppers can now expect parcels to arrive any day of the week, with Australia Post bringing back weekend deliveries from this Saturday. The temporary service aims to handle the huge spike in parcels expected during the festive season. Weekend deliveries will run across all major capital cities and selected regional areas, staying in place until Christmas. Gary Starr, Australia Post’s Executive General Manager for Parcels and eCommerce, said the extra delivery days are essential to keep things moving smoothly. “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, we’re preparing for a major rise in online shopping and parcel volumes,” he said. Last year, Australia Post delivered almost 103 million parcels over the Black Friday period — and they’re gearing up for an even bigger season this year. To manage demand, Australia Post has boosted its network by adding more free Parcel Lockers and opening new parcel-only Post Offices with 24/7 self-service options in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. Customers are being urged to stick to the recommended posting deadlines to avoid delays: Christmas Delivery Cut-Off Dates Parcel Post: • Same-state metro — Mon, Dec 22 • Interstate metro — Fri, Dec 19 Express Post: • Same-state metro — Tue, Dec 23 • Interstate metro — Tue, Dec 23 People sending parcels to or from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, or regional and remote areas should allow extra time. Source : 9News 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 researchers are sounding the alarm as new data shows children are abandoning key developmental activities in favour of scrolling on social media. A University of South Australia study tracking more than 14,000 students aged 11–14 found that daily social media use has exploded — rising from 26% in 2019 to 85% in 2022, a 200% increase since before COVID-19. As screen time surged, participation in traditional activities collapsed: Kids who never read for fun jumped from 11% to 53% Those who never took part in arts activities rose from 26% to 70% Students who never joined extra-curricular music climbed from 70% to 85% Social media non-users dropped from 31% to just 3% Researchers also found boys showed a sharper decline in reading, while girls used social media more frequently. Unlike other habits that returned to normal after lockdowns — such as TV watching and gaming — social media use remained high. UniSA researcher Mason Zhou said social media has become so dominant that it is replacing activities crucial for healthy development, including sport, creative play and reading. “These changes happened during a critical stage of adolescence and have persisted years after restrictions ended. That could mean lasting consequences for young people,” he warned. The findings come as Australia prepares to roll out a national social media ban for under-16s. Experts say the study highlights where extra support will be needed to help kids reconnect with enriching activities. Co-researcher Professor Dot Dumuid said programs encouraging young people to return to sports, arts, music and reading are vital. “Kids involved in these activities generally do better at school, build stronger identities, develop social skills and enjoy better mental health,” she said. Dumuid also noted that while the ban may reduce social media use, children may shift to gaming or other platforms — making it important to monitor how their behaviours change. 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. 2025 අංක 17 දරන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරී පනත, ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද ගැසට් නිවේදනයකින් පසුව, දෙසැම්බර් 1 වන දින නිල වශයෙන් බලාත්මක වනු ඇත. මෙම පනත මගින් රටේ සියලුම සූදු ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අධීක්ෂණය කිරීම සඳහා තනි, ස්වාධීන නියාමකයෙකු ස්ථාපිත කරන අතර ජාතියේ සූදු නීති රාමුවේ ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමක් සනිටුහන් කරයි. මෙම පනත මගින් සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරියක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට හැකියාව ලබා දෙන අතර, එමඟින් නැව් තුළ සහ කොළඹ වරාය නගරය තුළ ඇතුළුව කැසිනෝ, මාර්ගගත ක්‍රීඩා, අක්වෙරළ ක්‍රීඩා මෙහෙයුම් සහ ඔට්ටු ඇල්ලීමේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අධීක්ෂණය භාර ගනු ඇත. බලාත්මක වූ පසු, නීති සම්පාදනය දිගුකාලීන නීති තුනක් අවලංගු කරයි: අශ්ව රේසිං ආඥා පනත, සූදු ආඥා පනත සහ 2010 කැසිනෝ ව්‍යාපාර (නියාමනය) පනත. පවතින ක්‍රියාකරුවන් නව නියාමකයා යටතේ අනුකූලතාවයට මාරු වීමට අවශ්‍ය වනු ඇත. රාජ්‍ය මූල්‍ය පිළිබඳ පාර්ලිමේන්තු කමිටුව විසින් අනුමත කිරීමෙන් ටික කලකට පසු අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී මුල් පනත් කෙටුම්පත ඒකමතිකව සම්මත කිරීමෙන් පසුව ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සිදු කෙරේ. නීති සම්පාදකයින් අවධාරණය කළේ අධිකාරියේ අරමුණ වන්නේ අංශය ප්‍රමිතිකරණය කිරීම, මුදල් විශුද්ධිකරණයට එරෙහි පියවර ඇතුළුව අනුකූලතාව ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සහ සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරයට සහ ආර්ථික වර්ධනයට සහාය වීම සඳහා විභව සමාජ හානිය අවම කිරීමයි. පනතේ කාල නිර්ණය වැදගත් වන අතර එය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ක්‍රීඩා වෙළඳපොළ කෙරෙහි ප්‍රධාන ආයෝජන සහ නව ජාත්‍යන්තර අවධානයට සමපාත වේ. අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී, මෙල්කෝ විසින් ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.2 ක සිහින නගරය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම විවෘත කරන ලද අතර එය රටේ විශාලතම පුද්ගලික ආයෝජනය සහ දකුණු ආසියාවේ සමාගමේ පළමු ව්‍යාපෘතියයි. "ඉන්දියාවේ මැකාවු" ලෙස ස්ථානගත වීමේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අභිලාෂය ස්ථාවර නියාමනය සහ ඵලදායී පාලනය මත රඳා පවතින බවත්, එමඟින් නව අධිකාරිය අනාගත සංවර්ධනය සඳහා මූලික අංගයක් බවට පත් කරන බවත් කර්මාන්ත විශේෂඥයින් මීට පෙර AGB වෙත පැවසීය. සූදු නියාමන අධිකාරියට නීත්‍යානුකූලව බලාත්මක කළ හැකි සමාජ වගකීම් කේත නිකුත් කිරීමට බලය පවරා ඇති අතර, ඉඩම් පදනම් කරගත් සහ දුරස්ථ ක්‍රීඩා ක්‍රියාකාරකම් දෙකටම එහි ප්‍රවේශය පුළුල් කරයි. මෙම ඒකාබද්ධ ප්‍රවේශය විනිවිදභාවය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම, ආයෝජකයින්ගේ විශ්වාසය ඉහළ නැංවීම සහ අංශයේ දිගුකාලීන ස්ථාවරත්වයට සහාය වීම අරමුණු කරගත් බව බලධාරීන් පවසයි. Source : agbrief More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Melbourne’s tram network — the largest in the world — is still far from meeting national accessibility standards, with a new audit showing little progress over the past five years. According to the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO), only 18% of tram services in 2023–24 were fully accessible, meaning low-floor trams aligned with level-access stops. Low-floor tram numbers have risen by just 3% since the previous review, and accessible stops have only increased from 27% to 29%. For people with mobility challenges, the impact is significant. The report found they often wait up to 30 minutes longer for an accessible tram compared to other passengers. The state government received 10 recommendations after the last review — but has completed only five. The Department of Transport and Planning has since sought legal advice over its failure to meet national accessibility deadlines and developed several strategies, none containing clear targets, timelines or funding. The human cost is clear. Terry Wesselink, 60, who lives with a connective tissue disorder and uses a mobility walker, says her nearest tram line often has steps and too few level platforms. She sometimes drives up to four kilometres just to reach an accessible stop. “I’m not valued as a human being because my needs are not being taken into account,” she said. One in five Victorians has a disability. Yet accessibility laws introduced in 2002 required tram platforms to be fully compliant by 2022 — a deadline Victoria has already missed. Current plans also suggest the state will miss the 2032 deadline for converting the entire fleet to low-floor trams. Greens MP Katherine Copsey called the lack of progress “shameful” and urged the government to invest more urgently. Premier Jacinta Allan said her government is making upgrades, including through the Metro Tunnel project, but advocates say much more is needed to fix gaps between old and modern infrastructure. As Ms Wesselink put it: “Level tram stops don’t come with ribbon-cuttings. They’re simple things we just need to do.” 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. Western Australia has honoured its top scientific talent at the 24th Premier’s Science Awards — and Sri Lankan oceanographer Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi has taken home one of the night’s biggest titles. Professor Pattiaratchi won the People’s Choice Award, earning an impressive 7,880 votes from colleagues and supporters across the scientific community. The award recognises researchers whose work inspires the public and contributes meaningfully to the State. The event celebrates WA’s leading innovators and is supported by Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Western Australia, Scitech, the WA Museum and other major institutions. WA Premier Roger Cook praised this year’s winners, calling them essential to driving innovation and shaping the State’s economic future. He highlighted that supporting world-class researchers is central to the government’s long-term plan to strengthen and diversify the local economy. Government leaders also noted that science and innovation play a vital role in tackling global challenges, creating new industries and improving life for communities across WA. The awards reflect the depth of expertise in the State — from emerging researchers to internationally recognised leaders like Professor Pattiaratchi. Professor Pattiaratchi’s win shines a spotlight not only on Western Australia’s research excellence, but also on the global impact of Sri Lankan scientists making waves around the world. Source : WA.Government.au More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .