WSA Co has today released a Request for Tender for the provision of Land Survey Services for the Western Sydney Airport project. This procurement is being undertaken using an open tender approach.

The procurement seeks to obtain detailed land surveys of the airport site including: cadastral survey; topographic survey; utilities survey, including underground and overhead services and utilities; and orthorectified aerial photography.

These services are required to support the preparation by WSA Co of a reference design for the Stage 1 airport development.

A copy of the tender documentation is available on the WSA Co website at www.wsaco.com.au.

The tender will close at 11:59pm (AEDST) on 27 November 2017.

All enquiries relating to the tender should be submitted to tenders@wsaco.com.au

Transport for NSW will deliver 8600 extra weekly services when a new train, bus and ferry timetable is introduced on 26 November.

How timetable changes may affect customers:

- train lines or platforms may change at different times of the day or week

- train, bus and ferry times may have changed

- customers may now need to interchange to complete their journey

- there could now be an express service or faster trip

More information is available online at transportnsw.info and at bus, ferry and train stations across the network. Customers can also call 131500.

Staff will be available at stations across the network to assist customers through these changes. Customers with special needs should seek out staff assistance, especially at busy stations like Central, Town Hall and Parramatta.

Another milestone was reached this week, with the second Productivity Bootcamp class from Campbelltown graduating this week.

Productivity Bootcamp is an intense eight week course designed to prepare young people for the building and construction industry. Although focused on developing work-ready industry skills in formwork, steel, concreting, carpentry and general ground work, the Bootcamp goes much further, arming students with a wide variety of lifestyle management skills such as personality aptitude, finance/budgeting, communication skills, health, nutrition and fitness.

The program was established by Paul Breen, Director of Productivity Force, who had become frustrated with the skills shortage in the industry and the difficulty for construction businesses to attract and maintain apprentices – with almost 50% of all apprentices dropping out by the second year.

Bootcamp helps address this issue, by allowing young people to begin the course without the need of first having to apply for an apprenticeship. Upon completing the eight week course, the graduates are more confident, more knowledgeable about the industry and more successful in gaining future employment.

Campbelltown City Council is looking forward to continuing to work with Productivity Bootcamp next year on creating further opportunities for local youth.

For further information on Campbelltown City, visit www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au

Let us remind you.

Superman, The Deer Hunter, and Grease were the must-see movies of the year, while John Travolta along with our very own Olivia Newton John were singing about the ‘One that they Want’.

Parents everywhere were rushing to the shops, trying to find the ‘must have’ Christmas presents which were Stretch Armstrong, Evel Knievel stunt bike and Star Wars figurines – some things never change!

Neville Wran was re-elected as premier of New South Wales, in a huge victory reported in the press as a ‘Wranslide’ (they knew how to write headlines back then) and, thanks to the vision of Gough Whitlam, the rapidly growing population of Western Sydney finally had a hospital to call its own, right in the heart of Westmead.  

Built on the site of the former speedway and Parramatta showgrounds, Westmead Hospital will reach the big 40 in November of 2018.

To celebrate, Westmead Medical Research Foundation is asking anyone who has ever visited, been treated or worked at Westmead Hospital to share their stories and photos with us.

If you have photos from 1978 wearing the 70’s fashion, or remember driving your Holden VB Commodore to the official opening of the Hospital, please send your memories to wmrf@wmrf.org.au. 

We would love to hear from you!

Parramatta Leagues Club has unveiled plans to build a $130 million dollar sport and entertainment precinct adjacent to the new 30,000 seat Western Sydney Stadium.

This precinct will feature a 200-room hotel and luxury leisure centre including an aquatic centre, gymnasium and state of the art function facilities.

“It will be a landmark development for Parramatta” Parramatta Leagues Club Chief Executive Bevan Paul said. “We want people to see it as somewhere to take the family and celebrate events both on game and non-game days”.

“With social infrastructure of this kind, people living in Parramatta will have greater choices when it comes to their leisure and entertainment and people outside Parramatta will have another reason to visit and extend their stay.”

Work has already started on the first part of this development, a 750 spot multi-storey carpark. “Once complete, this $30 million dollar structure will make it easier for Members and Visitors to access the Club, during the construction period and after the Precinct is finished” Mr Paul added.

During the construction phase, this project will add 800 jobs to the Western Sydney economy and once completed, 300 new, ongoing jobs to Parramatta.

The carpark is on track to be completed in the first half of 2018. If the Club receives planning approval from the State Government, the hotel and leisure centre is forecast to open in 2019, the same year as the Western Sydney Stadium.

Lack of assertiveness in the workplace is a major contributor to poor performance.

Could you be more Assertive at work?

Well, there is a way to get what you want, without being pushy...

Learn the 3 key components of Assertion Messages, in this clip from a Great Managers MasterClass, and be more Assertive!

CANCER doesn’t discriminate and soon, thanks to work being done at Children’s Medical Research Institute in Westmead, neither will its diagnosis and treatment.

At the moment, the speed and accuracy with which all types of cancers are identified and treated can vary, according to where you are in the world and your access to experienced clinicians. Children’s Medical Research Institute wants to change all that with ProCan®.

One mum who sees the value of ProCan is Rene. While living in South Africa, her daughter Linke was diagnosed at the age of one with an aggressive form of leukaemia. After weeks of dealing with a baby who was constantly sick with no official diagnosis, a blood test revealed something was not quite right. Finally, a bone marrow procedure revealed the cancer.

After six months of chemotherapy, Linke was still unwell and their doctor gave little hope.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for her, there is no proven treatment for her. Maybe do some research’,” Rene said. “So I went home and that same day I sent about 130 emails to medical professionals all over the world.’’

She received a response from Dr Luciano Dalla-Pozza, Head of Oncology at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, CMRI’s partner hospital, who said he would help. Rene moved countries, bringing her family to Sydney so Linke could have access to specialised care.

“She began treatment on a clinical trial within 24 hours. By the end of the first month on this new treatment, Linke was in remission. Three weeks is all it took on the right treatment,’’ Linke said.

ProCan could have made this a very different experience for Rene and Linke.

Over the next five years, the scientists at Children’s Medical Research Institute will analyse the proteome of tens of thousands of cancer cells from all over the world. They will compile this data and use advanced computer analysis to compare it with pathology results, genome sequencing, as well as response to treatment. This will allow CMRI to develop the ProCan test, so any cancer doctor anywhere in the world can have their patient’s cancer diagnosed faster. What’s more, they will know which treatment is most likely to work for that patient’s particular cancer, and equally important, which treatments won’t work. This will save crucial time and lives.

“Hearing about ProCan was breathtaking,’’ Rene said. “It will mean that every child has the opportunity of getting the right treatment, with the greatest chance of success, first time around. Regardless of where a child lives.’’

To find out more about the work being done on ProCan and other research projects at Children’s Medical Research Institute visit cmri.org.au

Campbelltown City Council recently attended the 10th World Chambers Congress at the Sydney International Convention Centre, to strategically profile Campbelltown City to an international audience.

The World Chambers Congress is the premier event of its kind, bringing chamber, business, education institutes and government figures together in one single gathering.

Held for the first time in Sydney, the Congress provided the rare opportunity to strategically profile Campbelltown City to a diverse international audience, obtain an audience with some of the world’s most prominent business leaders and promote the employment and investment opportunities within Campbelltown to more than 1000 delegates from 110 countries.

Throughout the three day event there was considerable interest from many overseas contingents about the growth the city is experiencing, as well as the opportunities that projects such as the Campbelltown Health and Education Precinct and the CBD Revitalisation present.

For further information on Campbelltown City, visit www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au

As part of the club’s ongoing commitment to women’s football, the Western Sydney Wanderers W-League Mentoring Program is designed to help players plan for success, build on their personal brand whilst also aiming to support both their mental health and physical well-being.

Supported by Western Sydney University, the program is focused on developing bright futures for the Wanderers' elite female players, ensuring that they get the support and confidence to manage their home, work and football life balance as well as introducing them to the right networks that will help broaden their career opportunities.

The first session of the program was hosted by Nikki Heald from Corptraining and was designed to help the W-League team build their personal brand and work on their networking skills.

The second session saw the players meet their Mentors for the very first time with 30 of Western Sydney’s most accomplished leaders in business, charities, sport, the arts and media industries coming together to celebrate a greater professional pathway for Wanderers W-League players.

Western Sydney Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas said he was extremely proud of the program and the commitment that has gone into bringing it to life.

“This year we enter our sixth Westfield W-League season and during our time we have had the pleasure of seeing a great number of highly impressive young women play for our team,” said Tsatsimas.

“We introduced this program to help our elite female players develop not only on the field but off it also.

“Our goal was to create a program that has tangible benefits for our W-League players and I believe the response we have had so far and the incredible list of both male and female ambassadors coming on board is an outstanding achievement.”

There are three W-League Mentoring Events we’re hosting in conjunction with the program:

• Westfield W-League Round 3 home match against Brisbane Roar 10 November 2017 – Hosted in the Elettra Room at Club Marconi followed by private suite seating in Marconi Stadium
• Sydney Derby Double Header 9 December 2017 – Hosted in the Legends Room at ANZ Stadium
• Player/Mentor function – TBC 2018

A stressful time

When a marriage or de facto relationship breaks down, it can be a stressful time.  Part of this process may involve the separation of assets, which may include the family home, business interests, investments, savings and superannuation.   If a mutual agreement cannot be reached, the Court can determine the settlement.  The right financial and legal advice at the early stages of this process can help a party to navigate their way through the Family Law system and make decisions about their assets and superannuation that provides a better outcome. 

Superannuation Splitting as part of a property settlement

Superannuation is an asset that can usually be divided as part of a property settlement.  Sometimes it is not possible to split superannuation.  For example:

a.  When the interest is of little or no value, when it would not be cost effective to do so (see The Commonwealth Attorney-General’s guide “Splitting Laws – Frequently Asked Questions”);

b.  In the recent case of Goudarzi & Bagheri (No. 2) the Court considered the exclusion of the husband’s retirement pension from the property pool.  It is noted that the wife received in excess of $1.4 million by way of an adjustment on account of the husband’s pension.

Superannuation agreements

Following a divorce or other relationship breakdown, parties are able to make a “superannuation agreement” about how any superannuation benefit of either party will be split.  There are rules about what this agreement needs to say.  An agreement can also be made before or during a marriage or de facto relationship, detailing how any superannuation will be split on marriage or relationship breakdown. 

If a superannuation agreement meets certain legal requirements, the agreement is binding and the trustee of a superannuation fund is required to implement the agreement.  A Court cannot make an order about a superannuation interest that is dealt with in a superannuation agreement.

Court orders

If there is no agreement between the parties about how to deal with superannuation, then the Court can be asked to make a property settlement order that specifies how superannuation is to be split.  If this order is properly constructed, the Court order is binding on the trustee of a superannuation fund, who has to comply with it.

Some complicating factors

There is some complexity relating to the division of superannuation benefits.  For example:

a.  There are different types of superannuation benefits (for example, accumulation and defined benefit funds, allocated pensions, complying pensions and annuities).  They each have different rules.

b.  An important part of considering property settlement terms and the split of any superannuation benefit involves requesting information from a superannuation fund about the benefit (this request can be made by a spouse) and ensuring that the benefit is valued in accordance with the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations.

c.  Consideration should be given to how superannuation interest can be split.  For example, a split may occur in the form of a specific dollar amount (base amount) or as a percentage of the balance of the party's superannuation fund.   This can make a significant difference to the settlement outcome.

d.  The parties should consider the eligibility criteria to access superannuation benefits.

e.  For a splitting order to be binding on the Trustee of a Superannuation fund, certain requirements must be followed including the provision of procedural fairness to the Trustee.

f.   The splitting of superannuation carries its own tax implications. For example, financial advice should be obtained in relation to a payment made under a family law split being a capital gains tax (CGT) exempt event.  When dealing with splitting certain tax concessions like roll-over relief can apply.   Some funds will even have untaxed elements or other schemes not subject to tax.  Advice may also identify wealth management strategies (for example, spouses going through separation may wish to consider the structure of their superannuation asset holdings to be in a position to optimise the $1.6 million transfer balance cap). 

g.  There are time limitations that may apply.  For married couples, applications for property adjustment must be made within 12 months of a divorce becoming final. For de-facto relationships, applications for property adjustment must be made within 2 years of the breakdown of a de facto relationship.

Benefits of consulting with a family lawyer

The law in relation to superannuation provides parties with more flexibility in the way that property settlements are structured.  A spouse may consider the option of splitting superannuation to ensure that there is a more equitable outcome for both parties.  

Knowing what you or your client may be entitled to is important in ensuring that any asset distribution (which can include superannuation benefits) is fair.  Our specialist family law lawyers work closely with qualified accountants and financial planners to give you or your client the guidance that is needed. Speak to one of them today!

Contact us on 1800 300 170 or email us at familylaw@matthewsfolbigg.com.au

Disclaimer:  Family law situations can be complex and sometimes they can involve serious issues.  Information outlined is proposed to provide general guidance only. Due to the seriousness of legal matters as well as the uniqueness of your individual situation, professional advice should be sought. For advice, please contact one of our Family Lawyers.