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This article contributes to construction regulatory reform programs currently underway in Australia, the United Kingdom ('UK') and beyond. It does so by proposing six regulatory design principles in pursuit of a goal of ensuring that dwellings are built so as to keep residents safe. The article critically examines perspectives from regulatory theory, workplace health and safety, and civil aviation to distil the six principles. It concludes by offering an example of how the principles may holistically be applied as a tool for regulatory analysis and design in the context of construction practitioner competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the standard forms of contract used in the Australian construction industry in 2014. Topics include risk allocation in project management, construction contracting in Australia, and the amendments made to standard forms. Information is provided on the limitations of liability and efficiency in project administration.

The article discusses the teaching of construction law in Australian educational institutions such as the Melbourne Law School as of February 2014, focusing on curriculum design and the best practices for teaching law students about construction-related issues. The Australian construction industry and ignorance of the law are assessed, along with efforts to teach law to construction professionals. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and dispute avoidance procedures (DAPs) are examined.

A biophysical whole farm system model was used to simulate the interaction between the historical climate, soil and pasture type at sites in southern Australia and assess the balance between productivity and greenhouse gas emissions (expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2-eq.) intensity of beef cow-calf grazing systems. Four sites were chosen to represent a range of climatic zones, soil and pasture types. Poorer feed quality and supply limited the annual carrying capacity of the kikuyu pasture compared to phalaris pastures, with an average long-term carrying capacity across sites estimated to be 0.6 to 0.9 cows/ha. A relative reduction in level of feed intake to productivity of calf live weight/ha at weaning by feeding supplementary feed reduced the average CO2-eq. emissions/kg calf live weight at weaning of cows on the kikuyu pasture (18.4 and 18.9 kg/kg with and without supplementation, respectively), whereas at the other sites studied an increase in intake level to productivity and emission intensity was seen (between 10.4 to 12.5 kg/kg without and with supplementary feed, respectively). Enteric fermentation and nitrous oxide emissions from denitrification were the main sources of annual variability in emissions intensity, particularly at the lower rainfall sites. Emissions per unit product of low input systems can be minimized by efficient utilization of pasture to maximize the annual turnoff of weaned calves and diluting resource input per unit product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modem form of legislation designed to achieve "security of payment" within the building and construction industry was introduced into New South Wales in 1999. The primary aim was to ensure that cash flow was maintained for all participants in the contractual chain. A decade later, legislation based upon the New South Wales model is in place in all States and Territories and there is a substantial body of case law governing how the Acts work in practice. At the same time, however, significant differences in approach across jurisdictions as to key planks of the legislative platform have the potential to defeat its original intent. This article proposes, therefore, that the Australian construction industry faces a moment of decision as to the future of such legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On an annual basis, approximately 2,500 U.S. Marines and Sailors deploy to Australia on 6-month training rotations. Active duty personnel are generally immunologically naïve to pathogens endemic to tropical Australia, a vulnerability that could significantly impact medical readiness. To estimate risk, we screened 628 post-deployment serum samples by ELISA for serological evidence of infection with Ross River virus (RRV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus endemic to tropical Australia. Samples that tested above the negative cutoff value were paired with their pre-deployment samples to identify deployment-related seroconversion. These paired samples were further investigated with a live virus neutralization assay to assess specificity. There was a single RRV seroconversion and 49 false-positive results. In the context of these analyses (i.e., limited sample numbers collected between the months of March and October), we assess the RRV risk to MRFD as low and encourage strategies such as avoiding and preventing mosquito bites to mitigate the existing risk over widespread vaccination programs, if an FDA-approved vaccine becomes available. The Panbio RRV ELISA lacks the specificity to draw conclusions based on seropositivity from large-scale surveys of U.S. personnel.

Infection with the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei can result in a life-threatening disease known as melioidosis. Historically, melioidosis was a common infection in military forces serving in Southeast Asia, and it has the potential to have a serious impact on force health readiness. With the U.S. Department of Defense's increasing strategic and operational focus across the Pacific Theater, melioidosis is an increasingly important issue from a force health protection perspective. U.S. Marines deploy annually to Darwin, Australia, a "hyperendemic" region for B. pseudomallei , to engage in training exercises. In an effort to assess the risk of B. pseudomallei infection to service personnel in Australia, 341 paired samples, representing pre- and post-deployment samples of Marines who trained in Australia, were analyzed for antibodies against B. pseudomallei antigens. Serological evidence of possible deployment-related infection with B. pseudomallei was found in 13 Marines. Future prospective studies are required to further characterize the risk to service members deployed to melioidosis endemic areas.