The University of Wollongong is running eight events across the Illawarra and South Coast this week as part of National Science Week, with organisers expecting thousands of locals to take part. UOW’s Associate Professor Theresa Larkin has coordinated the program for four years. She said the events ranged from small in person sessions to a live ABC Illawarra broadcast with a potential audience of 300,000. “Science needs everyone, it needs critique and it needs diverse opinion,” Larkin said. “We really need to share our advances in science, our progresses and our challenges to anyone who is willing to listen.” The…
Author: Charlotte Lewin
Warrawong will get a dedicated social worker and peer support worker for the next three years, after youth charity Youth Insearch secured philanthropic funding to work directly in the suburb’s schools, community centres and public spaces. Warrawong’s violent crime rate has climbed to 154.7 per cent above the NSW average in the year to March 2026, up from 117.5 per cent the year before, according to BOCSAR data, Youth Insearch CEO Stephen Lewin said the workers would target young people who typically avoid mainstream services. “The young people experience very high disadvantage and systemic family trauma,” Mr Lewin said. “They’re not the…
Disability support workers could soon face mandatory qualification requirements, as the sector moves to implement recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission. Reforms taking effect from July 2026 target the registration of supported independent living and platform providers. While they don’t mandate individual worker qualifications directly, TAFE NSW head teacher of Human Services and Disability, Christy Lewin, expects mandatory requirements for workers to follow. Currently, holding a Certificate III in Individual Support is an industry expectation rather than a legal requirement, but Mrs Lewin says that’s likely to change as the sector moves toward a more professional, formally qualified workforce, mirroring…