NSW Health: Be on the look out for serious bacterial illnesses
Businesses urged to remove unfair contract terms ahead of law changes
- Consider both points of view: if you think a term is necessary to protect your business’s legitimate interest, consider the term from the other party’s point of view.
- Include counter-balancing terms: check that your contract has appropriate counter-balancing terms. For example, if you consider that your business reasonably needs the ability to unilaterally change the product or service being provided under the contract, does the contract also allow your customers to exit the contract without penalty when this occurs?
- Avoid broad terms: don’t have terms that are as broad as possible. Make sure terms are only as broad as reasonably necessary to protect your business’s legitimate interests.
- Meet your obligations under the Australian Consumer Law: don’t have terms that seek to avoid your business’s obligations under the Australian Consumer Law. For example, don’t include terms that seek to limit your customers’ consumer guarantees rights, or terms that seek to disclaim any representations your business may have made outside of the contract.
- Be clear: Use clear and simple language in your contracts.
- Be transparent: ensure key terms are clearly drawn to the attention of your customers during the sign-up process, and any renewal process.
- In 2023, suppliers in the fertiliser industry agreed to amend their contracts following an ACCC investigation into unfair contract terms.
- In 2022, Fowler Homes Pty Ltd provided a court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC, admitting that its standard home building contract contained unfair contract terms.
- In 2022, the Federal Court declared that 38 contract terms used in contracts entered into by Fujifilm Business Innovation Australia or Fujifilm Leasing Australia (together, Fuji) with many thousands of small businesses were unfair, following court action by the ACCC.
- Funeral service providers Parkside Funerals and Bowra & O’Dea each provided the ACCC with a court-enforceable undertaking, committing to remove potential unfair terms from their funeral services contracts, among other commitments.
- $50,000,000;
- three times the value of the "reasonably attributable" benefit obtained from the conduct, if the court can determine this; or
- if a court cannot determine the benefit, 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period.
- Standard form contracts made or renewed on or after 9 November 2023.
- A term of a contract that is varied or added on or after 9 November 2023.
Fairer democratic elections to return for City of Sydney
- ensure the same rules that govern voting by non-residential electors in all other LGAs in NSW will apply to the City of Sydney
- make the preparation of non-residential elector rolls much less onerous and costly and relieve the City of Sydney of a significant administrative burden
- deliver cost savings for the City of Sydney that can be redirected towards services and infrastructure for the local community

1112 nurses and midwives made permanent by Minns Labor Government
- 138.2 nurses in the Hunter New England LHD
- 119.2 nurses in South Western Sydney LHD
- 109.1 nurses in Western Sydney LHD
- 104.4 nurses in South Eastern Sydney LHD
- 99.4 nurses in Sydney LHD
- 82 nurses in Northern Sydney LHD
- 61.4 nurses in Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
- 57.1 nurses in Central Coast LHD
- 56.1 nurses in Western NSW LHD
- 51 nurses in Northern NSW LHD
- 50 nurses in Nepean Blue Mountains LHD
- 43.3 nurses in Mid North Coast LHD
- 41.6 nurses in Murrumbidgee LHD
- 41 nurses in Children's Hospital Network
- 26.6 nurses in Southern NSW LHD
- 6.5 nurses in Far West LHD.
Healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression -- and new research may explain why

- moderate alcohol consumption
- healthy diet
- regular physical activity
- healthy sleep
- never smoking
- low-to-moderate sedentary behaviour
- frequent social connection
Water world? Methane, carbon dioxide in atmosphere of massive exoplanet

New super-fast flood model has potentially life-saving benefits for australia

Helicopter-based observations uncover warm ocean water flows toward Totten Ice Shelf in Southeast Antarctica

Study reveals reductions in breast cancer screening uptake during COVID-19 pandemic
Could my child have low iron? And what are my options if they do?
Yianna Zhang, The University of Melbourne; Amanda Patterson, University of Newcastle, and Ken Ng, The University of MelbourneAround 75% of infants aged six to 12 months and 25% of toddlers aged one to two years in Australia don’t get the recommended dietary intake of iron.
Despite their small size, weaning infants and children require similar amounts of iron to adults. The iron is crucial for supporting their rapid growth in blood and muscles, immunity, brain development and learning.
Untreated iron deficiency can progress to anaemia – severe iron deficiency where there are insufficient healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body. Alarmingly, anaemia affects around 8% of Australian children under five, and if untreated, can be associated with developmental setbacks and later cognitive deficits.
How do I know if my kids have iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency in children is often associated with vague or no symptoms, especially if it has not progressed to anaemia.
Symptoms can include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, poor behaviour, frequent infections, and pica (eating non-food substances such as paper, clay or soil).
Diagnosis typically involves a blood test that screens for iron markers such as ferritin, a protein that stores iron. Doctors often recommend these tests for people who are at high risk, detailed in the figure below.
What are the first options for treatment?
When iron deficiency and anaemia are caused by a lack of dietary iron, both can often be effectively addressed through changes to the diet and oral iron supplements.
The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne recommends boosting intake of iron-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, leafy greens and legumes, and drinking less than 500mL (about two cups) of cow’s milk per day. This is because cow’s milk has been associated with reduced iron stores in young children.
Doctors might also prescribe oral iron supplements. A course of liquid or tablets would usually be recommended for a minimum of three months , during which follow-up blood tests can show how well the child is responding to the supplementation.
Existing evidence suggests supplements are a more effective way to replenish iron stores than dietary changes alone, and ferrous sulfate is the most effective iron supplement for young children.

Navigating the side effects
Iron supplements are known to have some nasty side effects including constipation, nausea, diarrhoea, dark stools, and stained teeth. This may make compliance challenging, especially for young children. The approaches to alleviate side effects vary depending on the child.
The doctor may recommend alternative supplements as some may be better tolerated than others. Another option is to adjust the dosage, with lower dose supplements or taking it every other day.
Consuming iron supplements with food or immediately after eating can also lessen side effects. However this may result in reduced absorption, and should be discussed with your doctor.
For cases where iron supplements don’t appear to be working or where compliance is an issue, iron infusions may be prescribed by your doctor. These involve injecting iron over multiple visits at a hospital and/or specialist clinic, with each session potentially lasting an hour or more.
How can I prevent iron deficiency in my kids?
To prevent iron deficiency, it’s important to keep an eye on your child’s iron intake, and the factors that may influence their absorption.
For example, drinks which contain tannins (tea, coffee, chocolate drinks) may inhibit iron absorption. But vitamin C and organic acids from fruits and vegetables, as well as high-quality proteins such as those found in meat and fish, can promote absorption.
From infancy, following the national feeding guidelines will help to support your child’s iron status. This includes introducing iron-rich solid foods from around six months of age for healthy breastfed infants to replenish their iron stores from birth.
Around six months is also the prime time for introducing foods to minimise risk of food allergies, including to iron-rich foods such as seafood and nut butters.
From 12 months onwards, children’s diets should align with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, emphasising a balanced, nutritious diet encompassing a range of foods. Diets following this pattern should deliver ample iron from meats, breads and cereals, as well as iron absorption promotors such as oranges, capsicum and other fresh fruits and vegetables?.
In cases where the child is a picky eater, or where access to a diversity of foods is limited, look for fortified iron options such as in bread, drinks (for example juice for kids over 12 months, and Milo for older kids), and breakfast cereals.
If your child is diagnosed with iron deficiency, remember each path to recovery is unique. Consultation with a GP or dietitian can help tailor solutions catering to their specific needs.
Yianna Zhang, Sessional tutor, The University of Melbourne; Amanda Patterson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, and Ken Ng, Senior Lecturer & Course Coordinator (Master of Food Science), The University of Melbourne
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Disclaimer: These articles are not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Pittwater Online News or its staff.