The state of design review: a conversation with Australia's government architects

This article presents a cross-continental dialogue between Kirsteen Mackay (South Australian Government Architect), Stuart Harrison (Government Architect Western Australia and Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne), and Paul Finch (Programme Director, World Architecture Festival; former Chair of CABE, UK). The conversation was conducted online in March 2025, across Adelaide, Perth, and London. It explores the evolution of design review within UK and Australian planning systems. Finch outlines the UK's trajectory from the Royal Fine Art Commission (1924) to CABE (1999), highlighting a shift toward transparent, multidisciplinary processes. Mackay and Harrison discuss the adaptation of these principles in Australia, focusing on South Australia's Integrated Design Commission and its transition into a statutory framework. The discussion identifies key themes for the success of design review processes, including: early engagement, confidentiality, continuity, and the balance between advisory input and regulatory authority. It also considers the role of professional leadership in shaping responsive governance structures. The dialogue is relevant to planners interested in how design review can be embedded within policy and practice to support improved urban development outcomes and public value.

What Is “Labor” About Labor State Governments In Australia?

Removal of judges Historically, judges appointed by the English monarch held office at the pleasure of the Crown ( durante bene placito ). Thus, it was possible for judges to be dismissed peremptorily and without cause. The struggle between the English Parliament and the Crown, which ultimately led to the subjugation of the latter to the former, also led to the advancement of judicial independence. Judicial independence of the Crown was eventually secured by Article III, s 7 of the Act of Settlement 1701 (Eng), which provided as follows: The judges’ commissions be made quamdiu se bene gesserint [during good behaviour] and their salaries ascertained and established; but upon the address of both Houses of Parliament it may be lawful to remove them. At the federal level, judicial independence was given constitutional protection in s 72(ii) of the Commonwealth Constitution . This provides that federal judges (that is, Justices of the High Court and judges of the other courts created by the Commonwealth Parliament) ‘[s]hall not be removed except by the Governor-General in Council, on an address from both Houses of Parliament in the same session, praying for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity’. In the case of South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, it is simply provided that it would be lawful to remove judges of the Supreme Court upon the address of both Houses of Parliament, although the Supreme Court judges in South Australia and Western Australia are stated by a separate provision to hold and remain in office ‘during good behaviour’. The grounds of ‘proved misbehaviour’ or ‘incapacity’ are expressly specified in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. The standard mode of removal is an address of both Houses of Parliament in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, or an address of the Legislative Assembly in Queensland (the only State with a bicameral parliament), the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. In addition, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory all provide for the convening of ad hoc bodies where an allegation of misbehaviour or incapacity has been made to the designated authority. These bodies are tasked with determining whether on the facts the misbehaviour or incapacity of the judge warrants his or her removal as a step prior to an address in Parliament to remove the judge.

At a state and territory level, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has the highest average income and the lowest levels of disadvantage compared to all other states and territories in Australia. However, a state- and territory-based measure hides disadvantage at the local level by averaging out any disadvantaged areas with the less-disadvantaged areas. A spatial analysis of disadvantage can highlight where people are experiencing disadvantage, and can help inform the government's response to disadvantaged and marginalised people. This article shows that there is suburb-level disadvantage in the ACT, primarily due to housing costs. However, we also find that using the Socio-economic Index for Individuals (SEIFI), there are even disadvantaged households in less-disadvantaged ACT suburbs, and these disadvantaged households do not show up in the suburb-level data due to the averaging of advantaged with disadvantaged households within a suburb. This is particularly so in the ACT due to a policy of peppering public housing (where many disadvantaged people live) within less-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (commonly called mixed tenure). We argue that this mixed tenure policy means that area-based service provision may not be as efficient in the ACT, and that the ACT Government policy of providing services from town centres is an appropriate response. We also argue that due to the higher cost of living in the ACT, the onset of financial stress can be very fast if the main income earner loses a job.

A review of Australian health privacy regulation regarding the use and disclosure of identified data to conduct data linkage.

A new Australian genus in the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is described,Kangaraneusgen. nov., withK. arenaceus(Keyserling, 1886)comb. nov.(New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) as the type species and also including two other species:Kangaraneus amblycyphus(Simon, 1908)comb. nov.(Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) andK. farhanisp. nov.(Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania). The new genus is included in the informally termed Australasian ‘backobourkiine’ clade due to the presence of its putative synapomorphies, specifically a single patellar macroseta on the male pedipalp and its median apophysis forming an arch over the radix. It includes medium-sized orb-weaving spiders (total length 3–12 mm) with distinct humeral humps on the almost triangular abdomen. Therefore, within the backobourkiines, it is somatically most similar toNovakiellaCourt & Forster, 1993 but differs considerably in male genitalic characters, including a C-shaped median apophysis with an acute tip. Genitalia are most similar to those inQuokkaraneusCastanheira & Framenau, 2023 from which the new genus differs by the lack of the white colouration and the shape of the abdomen.

To determine the seroprevalence and aspects of the epidemiology of canine adenovirus (CAdV) and canine herpesvirus (CaHV-1) in European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Australia. Serum samples were collected opportunistically from foxes in 1991-1994 in Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA) and in 1980-1984 and 1990-1994 in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The sera were examined for antibody to CAdV and CaHV-1 using ELISAs. Seroprevalence in the different regions was determined for both viruses and the CAdV data were analysed for interactions between decade of collection, age, season, region and gender using logistic regression. The overall prevalence of antibody to CAdV was 23.2% (308/1326) but was significantly higher in sera collected in the eastern states of Australia (47%: 233/498) than in WA (9%: 75/828). Overall, in NSW and the ACT, there was a significantly lower prevalence in juveniles than in adults and the prevalence in juveniles in the 1990s was significantly lower than in the 1980s. The prevalence was also significantly lower in the autumn than in the winter for juveniles but the reverse held for adults. The NSW and ACT data were subdivided into eastern (including the ACT) and western regions. This revealed a significantly higher prevalence in the winter than in the autumn for the west and the reverse in the east. In WA, the northern rangeland regions of WA had lower prevalence (1.9%) than the southern agriculture regions (10.7%). Seasonally, there was a peak prevalence in the spring dropping through the summer and autumn and rising again in the winter. This seasonal pattern was also found in the combined data for all sites in the 1990s. There was no gender difference in prevalence of CAdV either overall or in different regions. The overall prevalence of antibody to CaHV-1 was 2.2% (28/1300). The small number of positives allowed only limited statistical analysis that did not reveal any differences in decade of collection, age, season or region. CAdV infection is common in the Australian fox population whereas CaHV-1 infection is rare. For CAdV, the age and seasonal patterns of seroprevalence were generally consistent with the recruitment of young susceptible foxes into the population in the spring and the accumulation of infections with age. The differences in regional prevalences correlated with fox density. The low prevalence of antibody to CaHV-1 suggests that CaHV-1 may be a more suitable vector than CAdV for bait delivery of immunocontraceptive antigens to foxes in Australia.

The subfamily Trombidiinae Thor. 1935 in the acarine family Trombidiidae, with a world-wide distribution. is critically reviewed and redefined . In previous classifications. based largely on adults. the affinities of several genera were obscured by the convergent morphology of their adult instars . The number of genera known as larvae is now increased from three to seven. The following genera are recognized: Pollicotrombium . gen . nov., type-species Caenothrombium miniatum Womersley (1 sp.); Austrothrombium Womersley (7 spp.); Caenothrombium Oudemans; Xenothrombium Oudemans (1 sp.); Dinothrombium Oudemans (= Angelothrombium Newell & Tevis as adult; = Isothrombium Andrk as larva); Clinotrombium , gen. nov., type-species C. antares , sp. nov. (4 spp.); Nippotrombium , gen. nov., type-species N. kekko , sp. nov. (1 sp.); Acritrombium , gen. nov., type-species A. striatum , sp. nov. (1 sp.); Paratrombium Bruyant (6 spp. of larvae); Trombidium Fabricius ( = Sericothrombium Berlese; = Holothrombium Feider, as adult; = Metathrombium Oudemans, as larva; ? = Atomus Latreille, as larva), with subgenera Trombidium and Teresothrombiurn Feider; Archithrombium Feider; Dolichothrombium Feider. The following new species are described: Austrothrombium scaurum (ad., Australian Capital Territory); A. mullewaense (ad., Western Australia); A. porongorense (ad., Western Australia); Clinotrombium antares (larva, on spider, South Australia); C. bellator (larva, on spiders, South Australia); C. commoni (larva, on noctuid moth, Australian Capital Territory); C. dumosum (larva, on noctuid moth, ?Mauritius); Nippotrombium kekko (larva, on noctuid moth, Japan); Acritrombium striatum (larva, on tetrigid grasshoppers Paratettix spp., Queensland); Trombidium ( Teresothrombium ) breei (larva, on satyrid butterfly, Britain and Europe). The larva, egg and deutovum of Pollicotrombium miniatum are described. The adults of Austrothrombium australiense (Hirst), A. hirsutum (Womersley), A. insigne (Hirst) and A. kondininum (Hirst) are redescribed. Keys are provided for adults and/or larvae where appropriate. Beronium , gen. nov., is erected for Hoplothrombium coiffati Beron (larval) (Microtrombidiinae) from Morocco.

BackgroundThe objective is to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Australian National Hand Hygiene Inititiave implemented between 2009 and 2012 using healthcare associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia as the outcome. Baseline comparators are the eight existing state and territory hand hygiene programmes. The setting is the Australian public healthcare system and 1,294,656 admissions from the 50 largest Australian hospitals are included.MethodsThe design is a cost-effectiveness modelling study using a before and after quasi-experimental design. The primary outcome is cost per life year saved from reduced cases of healthcare associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, with cost estimated by the annual on-going maintenance costs less the costs saved from fewer infections. Data were harvested from existing sources or were collected prospectively and the time horizon for the model was 12 months, 2011–2012.FindingsNo useable pre-implementation Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia data were made available from the 11 study hospitals in Victoria or the single hospital in Northern Territory leaving 38 hospitals among six states and territories available for cost-effectiveness analyses. Total annual costs increased by $2,851,475 for a return of 96 years of life giving an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $29,700 per life year gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed a 100% chance the initiative was cost effective in the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, with ICERs of $1,030 and $8,988 respectively. There was an 81% chance it was cost effective in New South Wales with an ICER of $33,353, a 26% chance for South Australia with an ICER of $64,729 and a 1% chance for Tasmania and Western Australia. The 12 hospitals in Victoria and the Northern Territory incur annual on-going maintenance costs of $1.51M; no information was available to describe cost savings or health benefits.ConclusionsThe Australian National Hand Hygiene Initiative was cost-effective against an Australian threshold of $42,000 per life year gained. The return on investment varied among the states and territories of Australia.

A major obstacle for empirical tests of hypotheses concerning the evolution of dioecy in flowering plants is the limited number of species that possess both cosexual and dioecious populations. Wurmbea dioica (Liliaceae) is a diminutive, fly‐pollinated geophyte native to temperate Australia. Marked geographical variation of floral traits is evident, particularly with respect to sex expression. A survey of phenotypic gender in 45 populations from Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Victoria (Vic) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) revealed two contrasting patterns. Populations in SA, Vic, and ACT were uniformly dimorphic for gender, containing female and male plants, whereas populations in WA were either monomorphic or dimorphic. In most dimorphic populations varying numbers of male plants produced hermaphrodite flowers (male inconstancy). There was a significant negative relationship between female frequency and the proportion of inconstant male plants. Depending on region and population, male plants produced more flowers of larger size than females. In WA monomorphic populations often occurred on rich, moist soils at high density, whereas dimorphic populations were more commonly found at lower density on shallow soils in drier areas. In an area of sympatry, plants with contrasting sexual systems flowered at different times and were ecologically differentiated. The patterns of gender variation in W. dioica indicate that dioecy has evolved via the gynodioecious pathway. The spread of females in monomorphic populations may be favoured where ecological conditions result in increased selfing and inbreeding depression in hermaphrodites.

To examine the relationship between structural characteristics of Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and breaches of the aged care quality standards. Facility-level analysis of audits, sanctions and non-compliance notices of all accredited Australian RACFs between 2015/16 and 2018/19. Structural factors of interest included RACF size, remoteness, ownership type and jurisdiction. Two government data sources were joined. Each outcome was analysed to calculate time trends, unadjusted rates and relative risks. Non-compliance notices were imposed on 369 RACFs (13%) and 83 sanctions on 75 RACFs (3%). Compared with New South Wales (NSW), non-compliance notices were less likely in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory (NT), more likely in South Australia (SA), and comparable in Western Australia (WA), Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). RACFs with more than 100 beds and RACFs located in remote and outer regional areas (vs. major cities) also increased the likelihood of non-compliance notices. Compared with NSW, sanctions were less likely in Victoria, Queensland, NT and WA and comparable in SA, Tasmania and ACT. Additionally, the likelihood of sanctions was higher for RACFs with more than 40 beds. For both non-compliance notices and sanctions, no significant relationship was found with RACF ownership type. We partially confirmed other Australian findings about the relationship between RACF structural characteristics and regulatory sanctions and reported new findings about non-compliance notices. Routine and standardised public reporting of RACF performance is needed to build trust that Australia's latest aged care reforms have led to sustained quality improvements.

Summary The 1970s has been a period of significant change in the types and styles of religious education in Australian schools, both government and independent. 1 The current diversity in approach is not known widely nor is it widely recognized for its educational significance. This article sets out to consider the variety of approaches to religious education for senior classes in Catholic schools in Australia. Perspectives on the developments in this context could also have some relevance for interpreting the theory and practice of religious education in other settings. 1Following a series of Ministerial Inquiries into the place of religion in education in the government schools in each state during the 1970s, some state Departments of Education have initiated curriculum development projects in religious education – Tasmania, 1972 (terminated 1974); South Australia, 1974; Queensland, 1975; Western Australia, 1978. In addition, in both Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, Higher School Certifica...

The first case of COVID-19 in Australia was diagnosed on 25 January 2020 [1]. In response, the Australian Federal and State governments implemented staged restrictions, including international and state border closures and physical distancing requirements in public spaces. Between 23 and 26 March, nonessential services, including gyms, restaurants and places of worship were closed, and, on 29 March, the government urged Australians to stay at home other than for essential reasons (i.e. care giving, exercise, and to access healthcare, food and supplies). Data from one large sexual health clinic in Melbourne showed a rapid decline in postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) dispensing following implementation of restrictions [2]. A survey of gay and bisexual men (GBM) accessing preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) from the same clinic found that among 178 GBM reporting daily PrEP use in January to February 2020, 23% subsequently reported PrEP cessation in May (during restrictions) and 5% switched to on-demand PrEP, with participants reporting no longer engaging in casual sex and reduced number of sexual partners [3]. Although these data suggest that some GBM have reduced their PrEP use, findings are limited by self-report and it is not yet known whether these data reflect broader community trends beyond this single site. We extracted PrEP prescribing data from 42 primary care and sexual health services across Australia participating in the Australian Collaboration for Coordinated Enhanced Sentinel Surveillance of Blood-borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ACCESS) [4]. Specialized data extraction software installed at participating services extracts and links patient data across clinics over time [5]. We compared trends in weekly PrEP prescribing before (1 January 2019 to 31 March 2020) and after (1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020) the implementation of restrictions using segmented linear regression. We estimated the immediate drop in PrEP prescriptions following restrictions by comparing the predicted number of weekly PrEP prescriptions in the week starting 1 April 2020 (first week in the time-series following implementation of all restrictions) based on prerestrictions and during-restrictions trends. The ACCESS study was approved by the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee (project 248/17). Between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2020, 52 596 PrEP prescriptions among 19 876 individuals (96.3% male individuals) were recorded at ACCESS clinics. Between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2020 (prerestrictions period), there was an average of 718 PrEP prescriptions per week across the network. During this period, the weekly number of PrEP prescriptions was stable, with an estimated decline of 0.2 prescriptions per week (P = 0.734). PrEP prescriptions declined by an estimated 236 at the week following implementation of restrictions, representing an immediate 33.3% decline in prescriptions (P < 0.001). Between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020 (during-restrictions period), the average number of PrEP prescriptions per week was 543 (a 24.4% decline compared with the prerestrictions period overall). We then observed a nonsignificant increase of 10.6 prescriptions per week during the restrictions period (P = 0.178) (Fig. 1).Fig. 1: Weekly preexposure prophylaxis prescriptions across 42 Australian services from January 2019 to June 2020, with segmented linear regression trends for prerestrictions (1 January 2019 to 31 March 2020)∗ and during-restrictions (1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020) periods.In New South Wales and Victoria (representing 77% of PrEP prescriptions in the study), the largest absolute declines in PrEP prescribing were observed. In Victoria, estimated weekly PrEP prescriptions fell from 294 to 188 (36% decline; P < 0.001); in New South Wales, estimated weekly prescriptions fell from 250 to 165 (33.9% decline; P = 0.002). Declines were also observed in the Australian Capital Territory (32--17; 46.9% reduction; P = 0.001), South Australia (50--35; 30.5% reduction; P = 0.005), and Tasmania (17--9; 47.1% reduction; P = 0.002) with no change in Western Australia (P = 0.806) and Queensland (P = 0.404). Declines in PrEP prescribing may be due to decreased sexual activity among PrEP users or decreased attendance at clinical services, although seeking medical care was exempt from COVID-19 restrictions and many clinics provided telehealth consultations. A recent online survey found that among 940 Australian GBM, the mean number of sexual partners decreased more than 12-fold after participants first reported becoming 'concerned' about COVID-19. Further, only 16% of respondents who reported having casual sex prior to COVID-19 continued to do so following the implementation of restrictions [6]. Rapid changes in PrEP use among GBM, alongside changes in sexual behaviour mediated by the implementation of social restrictions, may have salient implications for the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Although we did not detect a continuing decline in PrEP prescribing during restrictions, ongoing community transmission of COVID-19 across multiple Australian states suggests sustained and potentially additional restrictions are likely, with the state of Victoria already returning to lockdown status for the second time in late July. Reduced sexual activity may help interrupt community transmission of HIV and STIs. However, if sexual activity begins to return to pre-COVID-19 levels without a congruous and timely rebound in testing and PrEP use, this may create potential for increased transmission. Ongoing behavioural and epidemiological surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic will be important in monitoring the effects of COVID-19 on HIV and STI diagnoses. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the contribution of the ACCESS team members who are not co-authors of this article; Jason Asselin, Burnet Institute; Lisa Bastian, WA Health; Deborah Bateson, Family Planning NSW; Scott Bowden, Doherty Institute; Mark Boyd, University of Adelaide; Denton Callander, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Allison Carter, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Aaron Cogle, National Association of People with HIV Australia; Jane Costello, Positive Life NSW; Wayne Dimech, NRL; Jennifer Dittmer, Burnet Institute; Basil Donovan, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Carol El-Hayek, Burnet Institute; Jeanne Ellard, Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations; Christopher Fairley, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre; Lucinda Franklin, Victorian Department of Health; Jane Hocking, University of Melbourne; Jules Kim, Scarlet Alliance; Scott McGill, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine; David Nolan, Royal Perth Hospital; Stella Pendle, Australian Clinical Laboratories; Victoria Polkinghorne, Burnet Institute; Long Nguyen, Burnet Institute; Thi Nguyen, Burnet Institute; Catherine O'Connor, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Philip Reed, Kirkton Road Centre; Norman Roth, Prahran Market Clinic; Nathan Ryder, NSW Sexual Health Service Directors; Christine Selvey, NSW Ministry of Health; Toby Vickers, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Melanie Walker, Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League; Lucy Watchirs-Smith, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; Michael West, Victorian Department of Health. The authors also acknowledge all clinics participating in ACCESS. Funding/support: ACCESS receives core funding from the Australian Department of Health. Funding for particular outcomes is also provided by the Blood Borne Virus & STI Research, Intervention and Strategic Evaluation Program (BRISE), an NHMRC Project Grant (APP1082336), a NHMRC Partnership Grant (GNT1092852), and the Prevention Research Support Program, funded by the New South Wales Ministry of Health. Author contributions: M.W.T. conducted the data analysis and lead the initial draft. P.P. contributed to data curation and analysis. R.G., M.E.H., and M.A.S. coordinate the Australian Collaboration for Coordinated Enhanced Sentinel Surveillance (ACCESS). Role of the funders/sponsors: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Conflicts of interest M.W.T. has received speaker's fees from Gilead Sciences. M.A.S. received grants from the Australian Department of Health. Burnet Institute receives unrelated investigator-initiated research grants from Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, Merck/MSD, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

BackgroundThe provision of smoking cessation support in Australian drug and alcohol treatment services is sub-optimal. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of an organisational change intervention to reduce smoking amongst clients attending drug and alcohol treatment services.Methods/designA cluster-randomised controlled trial will be conducted with drug and alcohol treatment centres as the unit of randomisation. Biochemically verified (carbon monoxide by breath analysis) client 7-day-point prevalence of smoking cessation at 6 weeks will be the primary outcome measure. The study will be conducted in 33 drug and alcohol treatment services in four mainland states and territories of Australia: New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and South Australia. Eligible services are those with ongoing client contact and that include pharmacotherapy services, withdrawal management services, residential rehabilitation, counselling services, and case management services. Eligible clients are those aged over 16 years who are attending their first of a number of expected visits, are self-reported current smokers, proficient in the English language, and do not have severe untreated mental illness as identified by the service staff. Control services will continue to provide usual care to the clients. Intervention group services will receive an organisational change intervention, including assistance in developing smoke-free policies, nomination of champions, staff training and educational client and service resources, and free nicotine replacement therapy in order to integrate smoking cessation support as part of usual client care.DiscussionIf effective, the organisational change intervention has clear potential for implementation as part of the standard care in drug and alcohol treatment centres.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12615000204549. Registered on 3 March 2015.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1401-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Inhalation of asbestos fibres is the predominant cause of malignant mesothelioma. Domestic exposure to asbestos is a major community concern in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) because of loose-fill asbestos home insulation. Little is known about how trends in mesothelioma rates in the ACT compare with those elsewhere. The objective of this study was to describe trends in mesothelioma rates in the ACT and compare them with those for the rest of Australia. We used de-identified data from the ACT Cancer Registry (1982- 2014), and the Western Australia (WA) Cancer Registry and the Australian Cancer Database (1982-2011). We calculated crude mesothelioma rates, by 3-year periods, for the ACT and for the rest of Australia (excluding WA). We used Poisson regression to analyse mesothelioma trends from 1994 to 2011 (complete reporting period) using an indirect standardisation approach to adjust for age and sex. There were 140 mesothelioma cases reported to the ACT Cancer Registry between 1982 and 2014 - 81% male and 19% female. Between 1994 and 2011, age- and sex-adjusted mesothelioma rates in the ACT increased over time, on average by 12% per 3-year period (relative risk [RR] 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99, 1.26). Compared with the rest of Australia (excluding WA), ACT rates were, on average, lower (RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.69, 1.02), but they increased at a higher rate (RR 1.12 per 3-year period; 95% CI 0.99, 1.27). These results are strongly influenced by the higher rate of mesothelioma observed in the ACT in 2009-2011, when ACT rates became similar to those for the rest of Australia (excluding WA). Although mesothelioma rates may have increased more in the ACT than the rest of Australia (excluding WA) during the past two decades, there is considerable uncertainty in the trends. More information is needed regarding the health risks associated with living in a house with loose-fill asbestos insulation. This is the subject of further studies within the ACT Asbestos Health Study.