Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
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Lots of stuff this week – with Optus still causing trouple
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https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/doh-releases-30-20-rule-fact-sheet
DoH releases 30/20 rule fact sheet
The new telehealth compliance measure came into effect on 1 October, despite calls to delay its implementation.
The 30/20 rule limits the number of MBS items GPs can claim for providing telehealth services.
03 Oct 2022
The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoH) has released a new
fact sheet aimed at helping GPs to comply with the recently implemented
30/20 telehealth rule.
The new compliance measure means any GP, other medical professional (OMP) or
consultant physician who claims 30 or more relevant telephone attendance
services on 20 or more days in a rolling 12-month period will be in breach of
the 30/20 telephone rule.
All breaches of the rule will be referred to the Director of the Professional
Services Review (PSR).
‘With telephone items now a permanent feature of the MBS, high-value
comprehensive patient care will be supported by this rule,’ the fact sheet
states.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/govt-cracks-down-on-gp-telephone-consults/
Govt cracks down on GP telephone consults
An official says GPs can avoid breaching the new rule by switching to video
Sarah Simpkins
4 October 2022
The so-called 30/20 rule limiting GP telephone consultations is finally being rolled out.
Under the rule, any GP who claims 30 or more relevant telephone attendance services on each of 20 or more days in a 12-month period will be automatically referred to the Professional Services Review (PSR).
Telephone services provided and claimed from 1 October will be counted under the new rule, which was delayed twice this year after lobbying by the RACGP and AMA.
Last week, the GP groups urged Minister for Health Mark Butler to delay the new compliance regime once more.
“This pandemic is not over, and now is not the time to tie our hands behind our backs and restrict phone consults,” said RACGP president Adjunct Clinical Professor Karen Price.
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Monday, 26 September 2022 10:58
Townsville University Hospital runs Dell Technologies storage solutions
Townsville University Hospital has deployed American technology company Dell Technologies' storage solutions Dell PowerStore 5000T and Dell PowerScale to provide near real-time reporting to enable hospital staff deliver better patient outcomes and access current information.
Townsville University Hospital (TUH) is the tertiary referral hospital for Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS), supporting 250,000 people across northern Queensland, including isolated indigenous communities.
Previously, TUH relied on older technologies: dashboards used in the wards had low reload times and obtaining accurate medical histories was a slow process because patient records had to be found and manually updated.
The hospital then looked for vendors to revamp its system. It chose Dell Technologies’ storage solutions for its performance, redundancy, scalability, and flexibility.
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ABC reporter deletes tweet claiming investment bank ‘on the brink’
Emma Rapaport and Tom Richardson
Oct 3, 2022 – 7.32pm
A tweet by ABC business journalist David Taylor suggesting a major international investment bank was “on the brink” was deleted on Monday afternoon – around the same time the public broadcaster said it had reminded the reporter of its social media guidelines.
Taylor’s October 1 tweet fed a social media frenzy of rumours, misinformation and unverified claims that European investment banks Credit Suisse or Deutsche Bank could be set to collapse and spark the biggest financial crisis since 2009.
The tweet had attracted more than 6400 retweets and 28,000 likes by Monday lunchtime as other journalists, financial newswires, business commentators, and social media users speculated about the identity of the investment bank and consequences of a major default for global financial markets.
Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the tweet that claimed a “credible source” had warned of an investment bank being on the brink.
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‘Price sensitive tweet’ by journalist should never have been sent
Edmund Tadros Media and marketing reporter
Oct 4, 2022 – 6.46pm
A tweet by an ABC journalist suggesting a major international investment bank, taken to be Credit Suisse, was “on the brink” set off a social media frenzy partly because readers assume business reporters will vet sensitive information about a company before sharing it with the public.
That’s the view of Angel Zhong, an associate professor at RMIT University who studies how media coverage affects the markets, who added that the extra weight given to a business journalist’s comments on social media meant the “price-sensitive tweet” should never have been sent.
Dr Zhong said the difference between finance influencers – known as finfluencers – and business reporters is the expectation reporters will fact-check their information with multiple sources before publishing or broadcasting.
“My response is most [reporters] do fact-checking before they report and journalists typically tend to feature multiple facts and voices in every article. So there’s typically rigorous fact checking,” she said.
“However, that’s referring to news articles or broadcasts, not tweets. This tweet is a little bit different from what we normally see in business and finance news.
“My response to this tweet is, it is what I’d call a price-sensitive tweet. I’d say that unless there is rigorous fact-checking before sending the tweet I’m personally strongly against the idea of sending such a tweet.”
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https://medicalrepublic.com.au/health-reform-flatlines-without-data-sharing/78494
5 October 2022
Health reform flatlines without data sharing
By Wendy John
Interoperability is a big word but nothing will change unless it happens.
Interoperability – or data sharing – is the linchpin for all meaningful health reform in Australia.
Why is this so? Michelle O’Brien explains all. She’s one of Australia’s most respected voices in digital health and joins us this week for a cuppa in The Tea Room.
Michelle says that early disease detection (think Minority Report for healthcare), virtual care at home, better management of chronic disease and preventative health are all only possible with interoperability. MBS reform and outcome-based remuneration also hinge precariously on this aspect of digital health systems.
As a former business executive at Medical Director and MediRecords, Michelle is leading the charge for interoperability at next month’s Wild Health Summit in Melbourne.
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Auckland latest go-live with new maternity information system
Tuesday, 4 October 2022
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
Te Whatu Ora – Te Toka Tumai
Auckland has gone live with the BadgerNet Global maternity clinical information
system (MCIS), joining three districts that are already using the solution.
MidCentral, Tairāwhiti and Counties Manukau all upgraded to Badgernet Global in June 2021, after using the previous BadgerNet MCIS for a number of
years.
Te Toka Tumai implemented across its maternity services in May 2022. Particular
functions are still under development for the clinical teams to use, including
the Badgernotes function, which Auckland is planning on implementing in early
2023.
Julie Patterson, director of women’s health Te Whatu Ora – Te Toka Tumai
Auckland says the Badgernotes function will allow māmā and whānau to view and
interact with their own records and share these with their GP or lead maternity
carer as appropriate.
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Tuesday, 04 October 2022 16:28
Telstra gets in on data leak action, staff data posted online
By Sam Varghese
Telstra has reported a data breach, with the names and addresses of 30,000 current and former staff being posted online.
Australia's biggest telco was in a rush to play down the leak, saying on LinkedIn that this was not due to a breach of any Telstra system.
It appears the data was filched from workforce management software company, Pegasus, which was providing a rewards program for Telstra staff.
The leak was posted on the same forum on the clear Web on which an attacker posted data from Optus late last month.
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Today Date : Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Australian Digital Health delegation explore partnerships in Chennai
October 03, 2022
High-level Australian Digital Health delegates are in India
as a part of the Australia – India Business Exchange 2022 Business Mission
organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Australian Government.
The delegation met with the Tamil Nadu Government and local healthcare industry
representatives at a roundtable on 'Digital Transformation in Healthcare -
Opportunities for collaboration between Australia and Tamil Nadu' organised by
the Australian Trade and Investment Commission in partnership with the
Confederation of Indian Industry at Chennai on Wednesday 28 September 2022.
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Tuesday, 04 October 2022 10:43
Government should also share blame for Optus fiasco: Budde
By Sam Varghese
Well-known independent telecommunications consultant Paul Budde says while Optus has bear a lion's share of the blame for the recent massive data breach, the government was not totally off the hook.
"As with so many policies there has been a serious lack of vision from the government and therefore also no clear strategy attached to it," he told iTWire on Tuesday. "There are a dozen or so initiatives that are not aligned and sometimes conflicting with each other."
Optus announced the breach on 22 September. However, only last evening did the company specify the numbers affected, with a total of 2.1 million taking a hit.
Budde attributed the government's shortcomings to reasons similar to those which had caused Optus to stumble. "As we are saying with the Optus breach as well, decisions are made on the fly without proper process," he explained.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/optus-ups-number-of-medicare-cards-breached-586178
Optus ups number of Medicare cards breached
By Richard Chirgwin on Oct 7, 2022 12:25PM
Includes 17,000 numbers that are still current.
Optus has revised the number of its customers whose Medicare card numbers were exposed in a recent data breach to 43,000.
Last Sunday, minister for government services Bill Shorten put the number of Medicare numbers exposed at “about 36,900”.
In an update posted today, Optus said 17,000 current Medicare card numbers and 26,000 expired card numbers were exposed.
“Optus can confirm that we have communicated with all contactable customers who have had their Medicare card number exposed”, the carrier said.
News of the data breach, which Optus says exposed 9.8 million customer records, first emerged two weeks ago.
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https://wildhealth.net.au/surgeons-to-blame-for-slow-uptake-of-robots/
5 October 2022
Surgeons to blame for slow uptake of robots
Surgeons are the “main obstacle” to gaining enough evidence to justify the wider use of robotic surgery, researchers say.
Writing in a MJA perspective, the authors, led by Dr Wei Shen Tan, urologic oncology fellow at the University College London and including Dr Anthony Ta, a Melbourne-based robotic surgeon, said finding high quality data remained a challenge.
Proponents of the technology say it offers several advantages over its conventional surgical counterparts, including stereoscopic 3D vision with surgical field magnification and precise controlled instrument movement.
Opponents claim there is a lack of evidence to support its use and a high cost attached to robotic surgery.
But according to the authors, it is the surgeons who are the major issue.
“Surgeons remain the main obstacle to the success of surgical randomised trials,” they wrote.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/hackers-strike-again-midland-health-services
Hackers strike again in Midland health services
The Pinnacle Midlands Health Network flagged an IT breach on 28 September.
By Adam Ang
October 05, 2022 03:12 AM
Some health services in the Midland region were hit by hackers last week.
The Pinnacle Midlands Health Network reported a breach on 28 September, impacting some of its IT services in the Pinnacle group regional offices and general practices under Primary Health Care Ltd. across Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupō-Tūrangi, Thames-Coromandel and Waikato.
In a statement on Tuesday, the network, which serves about 450,000 patients in 87 practices, said the affected IT was "immediately taken offline and contained."
However, malicious actors had already accessed sensitive information from the system, "which could include commercial and personal details."
"At this point in time, we cannot confirm what specific data or information may have been accessed, but we are working through a process to better understand that," said Justin Butcher, CEO of Pinnacle Inc., the parent company of the network.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/new-digital-health-command-rise-victoria
New Digital Health Command to rise in Victoria
It is part of the Victorian government's latest hospital infrastructure project.
By Adam Ang
October 06, 2022 01:54 AM
A new Digital Health Command will be established in Victoria as part of the state government's latest hospital infrastructure project.
According to a media release, this facility will enable the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) and Royal Women’s Hospital (RWH) to support regional, rural and smaller metropolitan services that care for patients locally through virtual care and specialist clinician-to-clinician consultation. This in turn will streamline patient flow and improve access to specialist services across Victoria.
It will also monitor health outcomes, providing data to support future clinical trials and the development of new medical technology.
The University of Melbourne was tapped to co-design the Digital Health Command, which is also being built as part of the redevelopment of the adjoining Parkville precinct.
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https://www.clintel.com.au/news/day-hospital-software-my-health-record/
CareRight My Health Record Integration
Integration with My Health Record:
Clintel has successfully integrated our flagship CareRight product with My Health Record. This new feature is available to all CareRight clients in their latest release. If you would like to discuss getting the most out of our My Health Record integration, contact the HelpDesk and we can get you started.
Features:
Once a patient has been verified and access has been granted to their My Health Record, providers will be able to access a wide range of material covered by the My Health Record including health summaries, prescriptions, pathology and imaging, discharge summaries and previous hospital admissions. The integration also allows providers to add material to a patient’s My Health Record including allergies, prescriptions, clinical notes and medications.
How to access My Health Record:
Once access has been granted to a patient My Health Record, then selecting the My Health Record tab in the patient dashboard will provide a search form and grid view. Initially this will default to documents in the last two years, however the search function will allow providers to search My Health Record with the following filters:
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By date range, defaulting to last 2 years.
– By document type (i.e., checkboxes for “Shared Health Summaries”,
“Discharge Summaries”, etc.), defaulting to All.
– By status – defaulting to “Approved”
– By author name, or HPI-I
– Only show documents uploaded from the current CareRight instance.
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Digital agency ‘humiliated’ by adverse audit office review
Tom Burton Government editor
Oct 6, 2022 – 6.08pm
Digital Transformation Agency chief Chris Fechner says he and his agency were humiliated by an audit office review that found widespread lack of compliance with procurement rules.
The Australian National Audit Office examined nine IT projects the DTA undertook – including the COVIDSafe app – concluding the DTA “did not conduct the procurements effectively and its approach fell short of ethical requirements”.
Several of the projects related to the urgent rebuild of the myGov website after COVID-19 lockdowns saw it crash. But the ANAO was critical of the DTA for directly sourcing from procurement panels rather than opening up to the market. It was particularly critical of the DTA for extending contracts rather than re-tendering.
“The DTA’s frequent direct sourcing of suppliers using panel arrangements does not support the intent of the CPRs [Commonwealth Procurement Rules] including the achievement of value for money,” the ANAO found.
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https://www.seek.com.au/job/58631328?type=standard
APS6 Digital Health Educator
DFP Recruitment
Brisbane QLD
Government - Federal (Government & Defence)
$55 - $60 per hour
Contract/Temp
27 Sept, 2022
Brisbane based Federal Government Agency, is responsible for
national digital health services and systems, with a focus on engagement,
innovation, clinical quality, and safety. This department is tasked with
getting data and technology to work for patients, consumers and the health-care
professionals who look after them. This role has the potential to extend for up
to 3 years.
About the role
Our client is seeking an APS6 Digital Health Educator to
be accountable under limited direction to perform work that is complex or
sensitive, working with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Skills and Experience
- Understanding of aboriginal medical service, their workflows and potential challenges in day to day practice
- Knowledge of Electronic Prescribing, My Health Record and Securing Messaging or demonstrated ability to rapidly acquire this knowledge
- Previous experience in working with health clinicians and understanding of use of clinical information systems
- Previous experience in delivering change management within the health sector
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/procurement-manager-21102022
Procurement Manager
APS6
($101,757 - $114,800)
Technology
Services Division > Procurement, Contract Management
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 21 Oct 2022
Division Overview
Technology services – responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
Primary Purpose of Position
The APS6 Procurement Manager position is accountable to undertake work that is complex in nature, work under limited direction with the opportunity for reasonable autonomy and accountability to assist with the management of procurement processes and contract management related to the My Health Record, included but not limited to the National Infrastructure Operator, Services Australian, Oracle and the API Gateway contracts.
The APS6 Procurement Manager will exercise both initiative and judgment in the interpretation of policy and in the application of practices and procedures. The role will be responsible to provide detailed technical, professional, and/or policy advice in relation to complex problems and may assist in strategic planning, internal and external stakeholders, where support and advice will be given on procurement and contract management compliance.
Essential Requirements
Ability to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a higher clearance if required by the Agency. Ability to obtain and maintain national police check.
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https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/careers/crm-manager
CRM Manager
EL1
($125,047 - $142,618)
Technology
Services Division > Info/Comm Tech (ICT)
Brisbane,
Canberra, Sydney
Closing - 9 Oct 2022
Division Overview
Technology services – responsible for the operation of high quality, trusted, reliable and secure national digital health infrastructure and health support systems.
Primary Purpose of Position
Reporting directly to the Director, Incident & Problem Management, the CRM Manager is responsible for the Agency’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM instances. This management includes strategic planning, business analysis, design, and development/configuration oversight. To manage such a broadly-used system successfully, the successful applicant will have strong interpersonal skills and experience in onboarding staff to new tooling.
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https://www.seek.com.au/job/58718538?type=standout
APS5 Administration Coordinator (Division Procurement and Recruitment)
Australian Digital Health Agency
Brisbane QLD
Other (Administration & Office Support)
$90,901 - $98,303
Full time
5 October, 2022
About the Agency
The Australian Digital Health Agency (Agency) is responsible for national digital health services and systems, with a focus on engagement, innovation and clinical quality and safety. Our focus is on putting data and technology safely to work for patients, consumers and the healthcare professionals who look after them across Australia.
About the Role
We have an excellent opportunity for a client focused, agile and solutions-based thinker to join our Policy, Programs and Engagement Division (PPED) as an APS5 Administration Coordinator.
As the Coordinator you will be required to work as part of a high performing Division within a complex environment. The major responsibilities of this role will include undertaking administration tasks to successfully manage vacancies within the Division including facilitating the front-end administration for recruitment and end-to-end process administration for procurement.
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https://www.ama.com.au/gpnn/issue-22-number-39/articles/my-health-record-rule-42-compliance
My Health Record Rule 42 Compliance
Published 6 October 2022
The AMA would like to remind members of the importance of compliance with the privacy regulations for the My Health Record system.
Rule 42 of the My Health Records Rule 2016 requires healthcare provider organisations to have, communicate and enforce a written policy addressing a range of prescribed matters. This is commonly referred to as a My Health Record security and access policy.
To assist healthcare provider organisations, the Australian Digital Health Agency has developed a number of education resources to support healthcare provider organisations to comply with Rule 42, including the recently released eLearning module specifically concerning developing a My Health Record security and access policy. To access the eLearning module, along with a range of other training resources, healthcare providers can register for a free account here.
The Agency also runs regular webinars and virtual classroom sessions outlining how to develop a My Health Record security and access policy.
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Alcidion - A message from our Managing Director
Late last year, Alcidion partnered with the Australasian Institute of Digital
Health in launching the inaugural Women in Digital Health program. Alcidion
Product Lead Rhian Sketcher and Project Manager Sam Townsend took part in the
program and I wish to congratulate them on their recent graduation. As part of
the Program Advisory Committee, it was a pleasure to watch Sam, Rhian and all
the participants take a leap ahead in their personal professional development
and graduate with new skills and a strong support network.
I would also like to congratulate South Tees NHS Foundation Trust who recently
went live with Better Meds' electronic prescribing and medication
administration (ePMA) system integrated with Miya Precision. This was an
exciting milestone for all involved, with South Tees being the first in the NHS
to implement an ePMA module as part of an Alcidion Electronic Patient Record
(EPR) program. We look forward to continuing to work with the team on their
digital transformation journey as the roll out continues.
As many of you would be aware, this quarter Alcidion released its Annual
Report, detailing a year of growth, with the acquisition of Silverlink PCS
signalling our entry into the PAS market. Now more than ever, digital
advancements in healthcare are producing new standards and requirements, and I
would like to thank our investors for their continued interest in, and support
for Alcidion, as we strive to transform healthcare delivery through better
clinical decision making and hospital workflow processes.
In this edition of our investor newsletter, we share two recent blogs from
Project Manager Renee Schofield and Implementation Consultant James Faithfull,
a recent interview I completed as part of the Henslow Innovator series, and an
update on recent activity within the business. We also invite our investor
community to join us as we co-host ‘The Front Line of Virtual Care’ webinar
with Sydney Local Health District and RPA Virtual Hospital from 9:30am – 10:30am
AEDT on Tuesday November 8.
Sincerely,
Kate Quirke
Managing Director
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10:00pm, Oct 5, 2022 Updated: 10:22pm, Oct 5
Nation plummets in global digital index, as expert blames poor NBN decisions
George Hyde Reporter @george_hyde
Poor mobile and broadband stability have dragged down Australia’s ranking in the global ‘digital quality of life’ index, despite gains in internet affordability and electronic governance.
Australia was ranked 35 of 117 countries in the 2022 Digital Quality of Life index, released by internet privacy company Surfshark.
Israel was ranked first, Denmark was second, and Germany was third.
Researchers analysed 117 countries according to internet affordability, internet quality, e-infrastructure, e-security and e-government.
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Thursday, 06 October 2022 10:01
NBN’s new campaign urges seniors to embrace the internet
The NBN has launched its first national campaign Made for Meaningful Connections to encourage senior Australians to use the internet more frequently.
The campaign connects seniors with the digital tools they need to make most and benefit from the internet.
NBN’s new webpage contains information on what to consider when purchasing an NBN-powered plan from a phone and internet provider to support the initiative.
The page also links to helpful resources like NBN’s Online Skills Check and Resources (Oscar), as well as a checklist to help simplify the connection process.
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Telstra reveals data breach hit 30k employees after Optus’ cyber attack, reports claim
By Isabel Mcmillan
NCA NewsWire
October 4, 2022
As millions deal with the repercussions of the Optus data breach, Telstra has reportedly been dealing with a smaller breach of its own.
Up to 30,000 names and email addresses of past and present Telstra staff were uploaded to the same forum where the Optus breach was shared last week.
On Saturday, Telstra group executive for transformation, communications and people Alex Badenoch said the data breached dated back to 2017, and was of a third party that had provided a rewards program for Telstra staff.
The released information contained both first and last names, along with work email addresses of 30,000 people who had worked for the telecoms giant before 2017.
12,800 of the names leaked were still employed by Telstra.
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Tuesday, 04 October 2022 10:26
Australia Post joins the crowd reselling NBN broadband connections
By Sam Varghese
Australia Post has joined the somewhat crowded field of companies reselling broadband plans, with the company announcing on Tuesday that it would offer eight plans.
In a statement, Australia Post said the plans could be bought either at its participating outlets or else online, adding that there were no lock-in contracts.
The fastest plan offers a speed of 250Mbps and costs $115.50 per month; the slowest offers download speeds of 11Mbps and is $40.50 a month. The usual disclaimers about the promised speed apply.
Executive general manager Retail, Catriona Noble, said the company played an important role in keeping Australians connected.
"Which is why we are delighted to be launching Australia Post Broadband on the NBN network," she said. "This is the second product in our growing telecommunications portfolio as we continue to diversify our business.
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Enjoy!
David.
4 comments:
..... claiming "30 or more relevant telephone attendance services on 20 or more days in a rolling 12-month period will be in breach of the 30/20 telephone rule."
So, over 365 days (12 months) only 30 telephone attendance services can be claimed (that is 1 service every 12 days which averages 1.6 services every 20 days.
Have I got that right? If yes then what a farce. Forget it.
Correction:
The 1st threshold is 30 in 1 day. If you do that 20 times (20days of >30) then they investigate & ask for excuses (maybe they will stop paying for any extra).
@11.00 AM Thanks for that clarification. So I can claim 25 to 29 services every day and I will be OK. Correct?
@12:39PM Well, that is VERY clear. Why do the bureaucrats make it sound so complicated? Their language is all garbled. No wonder people get I to 'trouble'.
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