Counsellors are asking to be brought into the Medicare Benefits Scheme as growing demand for mental health services in rural, regional and remote areas wait times increase.

Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) president Di Stow says despite the inability for counsellors to diagnose clients, they could provide essential care for those struggling while awaiting for psychologists with counselling costs proving a high barrier to clients in remote areas.

The majority of votes counted in a New Caledonian referendum opposed proposed independence from France. 

Less than 44% of New Caledonians voted in the referendum, with the low turnout partly because of a boycott called by members of the Indigenous Kanak population who are in a 12-month period of mourning over COVID-19 related deaths. 

The referendum was the third under the Noumea Accord, a peace agreement signed in 1998. 

Brisbane Olympic Swimmer Madeline Groves has revealed in an interview on ABC yesterday that she was sexually abused from the age of 13 by a person who still works in the sport. 

It comes after the swimmer withdrew from the Tokyo Olympic Trials in June accusing leading coaches in the sport of misconduct and a culture of ‘misogyny and perversion’ in the sport.

Groves has said that she was ‘molested by an adult male’ while another coach would control what she ate and make sexist comments to her.

QLD Greens MP Michael Berkman has filed a complaint in regards to a number of ‘deeply concerning’ social media posts allegedly made by QLD prison officers. 

The comments were made by individuals on a Facebook post made by the page of the Together Queensland Prison Officers’ Union about a riot at the Capricornia Correction Centre in Rockhampton and according to Berkman, ‘include descriptions of incidents inside correctional centers with details that appear to breach confidentiality.’

In an Australian first, Victoria Police has launched a specialist unit to investigate serious cases of family violence involving its employees following the recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. 

The Professional Standards Command will review Victoria Police policies and procedures relating to police employees and family violence and will also investigate cases where the victim is a Victoria Police employee as well as current and historical allegations of sexual assault. 

Traditional owners on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula are preparing to challenge the decision to build a nuclear waste dump on their land. 

Last week, the Federal Government determined the national radioactive waste storage facility would be built at Napandee, a property near Kimba. 

Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation's (BDAC) primary argument against the decision is that traditional owners were not included in discussions with local landholders and townspeople, who were asked to vote on whether they supported the choice of site.