Mission Australia

ABSTRACT With the growth in reporting of sustainability information and the necessity to improve the credibility and trustworthiness of this information, independent assurance of sustainability information is becoming increasingly important. Internationally, we have seen the recent development of reporting standards on sustainability and climate‐related information, accompanied by the development of assurance standards by the IAASB. With countries and companies increasingly reporting this information and adopting these standards, the need for high‐quality research has never been greater. In this perspectives article invited by the editor‐in‐chief, we identify trends in the most recent sustainability assurance research (107 publications in leading journals from 2018–2025), examining research methods, topics and publication outlets. To identify how this body of research has the potential to inform assurance standard‐setting, we develop an assurance quality framework (adapted from the IAASB's Audit Quality Framework) and code these publications against the elements of this developed framework. We also identify and categorise from these 107 publications any references to, and implications for, assurance standards. In this way, we outline current level of knowledge and identify potential future research topics. The changing assurance environment, challenges remaining and gaps in the research allow us to identify unresolved issues needing further research, which can also inform future policy and practice.

Abstract Transient luminous events (TLEs), such as sprites, have been investigated via observations and simulations for decades. Recent TLE research has focused on effects leading to the delay of a sprite from its parent lightning flash. Here we investigate a sprite with by far the longest recorded delay to date, a delay of almost a full second (916.6 ± 16.6 ms) from the onset of the parent flash, as observed from the ISS during the ILAN‐ES campaign on 6 February 2024. Based on meteorological, satellite, and ground‐based ELF data, we reconstruct a realistic charge configuration for the parent thunderstorm. We input this reconstructed charge configuration to a 3D quasi‐electrostatic model in order to simulate regions of possible sprite inception as a function of time corresponding to this sprite event following the lightning. We demonstrate how the observed delayed sprite could have been incepted by a prolonged piecewise pattern of the current in the parent flash.

Abstract Italy and the Italian Red Cross (ItRC) have recently developed a strong institutional partnership aimed at the promotion of international humanitarian law (IHL), both domestically and in international fora. This cooperation has been particularly evident in the last few years and culminated during the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (International Conference) in 2024, when Italy and the ItRC worked side by side in the preparation of the event and actively followed up to turn commitments into concrete outcomes. Their close coordination also stands out in the participation and engagement of relevant administrations and national stakeholders in Italy’s National IHL Committee, re-established in 2021, whose role and functioning features prominently in this contribution as a concrete example of Italy and the ItRC’s renewed collaboration. Through a qualitative review of previous initiatives, including the adoption of the first IHL Voluntary Report, the cooperation on a new IHL military manual and the joint engagement in the last International Conference, this paper assesses how cooperation between States and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies influences both IHL’s implementation and its elevation as a political priority, analyzing enabling factors, suggesting avenues for further improvements and potentially illustrating an example that could inform similar efforts in other national contexts.

Adolescence is a critical developmental phase during which young people are vulnerable to the experiences of mental ill-health and social exclusion (consisting of various domains including education and employment, housing, finances and social supports and relationships). The aims of this study were to (i) obtain an understanding of the relationships between social exclusion, mental health and wellbeing of young people; and (ii) identify potentially modifiable targets, or population groups that require greater or targeted supports. Data were obtained from the Mission Australia 2022 Youth Survey, Australia's largest annual population-wide survey of young people aged 15-19 years (n = 18,800). Participants' experiences of social exclusion in different domains were explored (e.g., prevalence, co-occurrence and controlling for differences in demographic characteristics). Multivariable linear regression models were used to map the relationships between social exclusion domains and mental health and wellbeing, controlling for confounding factors where necessary. Sixty per cent of all young people experienced social exclusion in at least one domain, 25% in multiple. Young people who identified as gender diverse, Indigenous, living in a remote/rural or socio-economically disadvantaged area and with a culturally diverse background were more likely to report social exclusion. A strong association was seen between all domains of social exclusion and poor mental health (e.g., higher psychological distress and loneliness, reduced personal wellbeing, reduced sense of control over their life and a more negative outlook on the future). Notably, difficulties in socialising and obtaining social support were critical factors linked to increased psychological distress and reduced wellbeing. Findings underscore the need to address multiple domains of social exclusion concurrently, and in collaboration with youth mental healthcare. Prevention efforts aimed at early identification and intervention should be prioritised to support young people vulnerable to social exclusion. Screening approaches are needed to identify individuals and groups of young people in need of support, and to facilitate care coordination across multiple providers.

Abstract This chapter describes a multi-agent thinking swarms operating collaboratively with a human team on the ground. It is the result of a multi-year project funded by the Australian Defence Force, led by Mission Systems, to determine the “art of the possible” in regard to what can be achieved with today’s technology, as applied to human-machine teaming at the tactical level. We show that robots and humans need to guide one another to achieve compelling results and that although none of this is easy, there are techniques that allow us to build a scalable system of systems to meet real-world goals.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> Understanding when and why groundwater recharge occurs is of fundamental importance for the sustainable use of this essential freshwater resource for humans and ecosystems. However, accurately capturing this component of the water balance is widely acknowledged to be a major challenge. Direct physical measurement identifying when groundwater recharge is occurring is possible by utilizing a sensor network of hydrological loggers deployed in underground spaces located in the vadose zone. Through measurements of water percolating into these spaces from above, we can record the potential groundwater recharge process in action. By using automated sensors, it is possible to precisely determine when recharge occurs (which event, month, or season, and for which climate condition). Combined with daily rainfall data, it is possible to quantify the &lsquo;rainfall recharge threshold&rsquo;, the amount of rainfall needed to generate groundwater recharge, and its temporal and spatial variability. Australia&rsquo;s National Groundwater Recharge Observing System (NGROS) provides the first dedicated sensor network for observing groundwater recharge at an event-scale across a wide range of geologies, environments, and climate types representing a wide range of Australian hydroclimates. Utilizing tunnels, mines, caves, and other subsurface spaces located in the vadose zone, the sensors effectively record &lsquo;deep drainage&rsquo;, water that can move beyond the shallow subsurface and root zone to generate groundwater recharge. The NGROS has the temporal resolution to capture individual recharge events, with multiple sensors deployed at each site to constrain the heterogeneity of recharge between different flow paths, and to quantify (including uncertainty bounds) rainfall recharge thresholds. Established in 2022, the network is described here together with examples of data being generated.

Due to the expense and complexity of real-world data collection, machine learning applications in ocean acoustics demand ever-faster and more realistic models for training. In this talk, I discuss some recent GPU technologies which support hardware accelerated ray tracing and how they can be exploited to boost the throughput of certain types of calculations. Firstly, I describe RTX-Prop, which is a large-scale range-dependent Gaussian beam model which benefits from hardware-acceleration of bounding volume hierarchy searches and geometry intersection calculations. Designed to ingest oceanographic forecasts from the Royal Australian Navy’s Bluelink system, RTX-Prop has been developed as an embedded model to support tactical decisions by autonomous underwater vehicles. In the second application, I discuss hardware acceleration in the context of high-frequency sonar simulation. By synthesising fine-scale environmental detail, we have previously shown that simulated imagery can be almost indestinguishable from real data. Simulated sidescan and SAS imagery from our S4 model has recently become the basis of a machine-learning pipeline for training detectors and classifiers for naval mine countermeasures. [Work supported by the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Coorperative Research Centre.]

Availability and accessibility of opioids are a worldwide problem. In low-resource settings, such as Ethiopia, access to opioids is either limited or nonexistent and legally restricted in health care settings. This study aimed to identify barriers for the availability and accessibility of opioids in Ethiopian rural and regional health care settings. A mixed-method case study design was used. A total of 220 nurses from primary, secondary, and tertiary health care settings were invited to participate in a survey of knowledge and practice. For the qualitative interview, 38 participants were recruited from educational facilities, health services, and the community across a region. Barriers in availability and accessibility of opioid analgesics were expressing pain considered as a sign of weakness, lack of knowledge, side effect concerns about prescribing morphine, only doctors being authorized to prescribe morphine, lack of foreign currency to import morphine ingredients, and inequity in accessing morphine in hospitals and none in rural health care settings. The findings of this study indicate that opioids, particularly morphine, were not consistently available and accessible to all patients in need. Health professionals lacked knowledge about opioids. Strengthening the existing pain-free initiatives and improving the type, dose, and supply of morphine could help reduce needless suffering and enhance access to essential pain medicines for those in need.

Simple SummaryPuppy raisers volunteer their time to take care of, and train, selected puppies until they are mature enough to undertake advanced training to become assistance dogs. Emerging evidence suggests a central role for puppy raisers in bringing out the best in assistant dog puppies. However, most puppy raisers are not professional dog trainers and, to optimise outcomes, they may require various kinds of support from the host organisation that places the puppy in their home, as well as from their personal networks and local communities. From a behaviour change perspective, coordinated efforts at different levels would be expected to better enable puppy raisers to improve training outcomes for the puppies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential application of a well-established behaviour change framework to the practice of puppy raising. After discussing relevant findings, we suggest a holistic approach to supporting puppy raisers and propose a behaviour model to help volunteers improve their puppy raising practice.Puppy raising (PR) programs recruit volunteer community members (raisers) to raise assistance dog (AD) candidates from puppyhood until the dogs are ready for advanced training. Once qualified, ADs assist human handlers with a disability to live more independently. Unfortunately, about 50% of all puppies do not meet the behavioural standards required for further training after completing a PR program. This increases costs and lengthens the time taken for a handler to obtain an AD. Research has identified several factors that influence raisers’ experiences. It has also shown that raisers’ socialisation and training practices affect perceived puppy behaviour. Drawing on the argument that puppy raiser practices are central to improving overall puppy raising program outcomes, this paper interprets recent findings within the framework provided by the behaviour change wheel—an established behaviour change framework—to suggest a coordinated approach to supporting puppy raisers. The recommendations will allow future research to employ more objective measures and more rigorous experimental designs as the field attempts to corroborate existing findings and develop evidence-based models of practice.

A major barrier to Victorians with a terminal illness accessing voluntary assisted dying is the Commonwealth Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences ) 2005 (the Code), which prohibits the use of any electronic forms of communication when discussing suicide. The proliferation of telehealth as a means of access to medical practitioners as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the anachronistic prohibition of such communication in relation to voluntary assisted dying, particularly in Victoria, as the federal law arguably prohibits its use. In this paper we explore the definition of suicide and its application to voluntary assisted dying and argue for a revision of the Code, to enable equitable and timely access to voluntary assisted dying for people of Victoria.