# Australia daily digest — 28 Oct 2026

Six Australian releases, led by the ABS reporting annual CPI growth of 4.3% to September 2026. In Queensland the government released a child safety inquiry delivery update, Victoria approved a licence to restart the Patricia-Baleen gas fields and welcomed AI stroke imaging firm Nicolab, and NSW registered its first motor neurone disease notifications. The AFP also charged a Sydney man over alleged laundering of $123 million.

Source-local date: Wednesday 28 October 2026 (Australia/Sydney). 6 release(s). Canonical: https://mediarelease.co/digests/au/2026-10-28/

## Releases

### [Commission of Inquiry child safety reforms underway](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02408-commission-of-inquiry-child-safety-reforms-underway-28102026.html)

Issued by: Deb Frecklington, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity; Amanda Stoker, Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence · Original source: https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/106313

The Queensland Government has released a three-month delivery update on implementing the Child Safety Commission of Inquiry, with seven recommendations in progress or complete and the remaining 41 on track over the coming 21 months. The government accepted or accepted-in-principle 48 of the Anastassiou Inquiry's 52 recommendations and committed $200 million to reforms. A Child Safety Cabinet Committee overseeing implementation has met eight times, and new rules limit hotel and motel emergency accommodation.

### [Victoria Becomes Home To Lifesaving Stroke Care Research](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02407-victoria-becomes-home-to-lifesaving-stroke-care-research-28102026.html)

Issued by: Anthony Carbines, Minister for Economic Development · Original source: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-becomes-home-lifesaving-stroke-care-research

Melbourne will be the Asia-Pacific base for Nicolab, a Dutch developer of AI stroke imaging software, with a research and development centre creating 20 high-skilled jobs and support from the $150 million Victorian Investment Fund. Its StrokeViewer platform, which cuts serious stroke assessment times from hours to minutes, has helped clinicians assess more than 12,000 suspected stroke patients across regional Victoria since 2023, according to Minister for Economic Development Anthony Carbines.

### [First MND notifications registered](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02406-first-mnd-notifications-registered-28102026.html)

Issued by: Ryan Park, Minister for Health · Original source: https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/first-motor-neurone-disease-notifications-received

NSW Health has received 40 motor neurone disease notifications from clinicians as at 27 October 2026, four of them retrospective, after NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to make MND a notifiable condition. Medical practitioners have been required to notify cases since 1 September 2026 under the Public Health Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease) Order 2026. Health Minister Ryan Park said the surveillance data could help plan services and support research into the disease's causes.

### [Sydney man charged for allegedly laundering $123m of criminal proceeds](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02405-sydney-man-charged-for-allegedly-laundering-123m-of-criminal-proceeds-28102026.html)

Issued by: Australian Federal Police · Original source: https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/sydney-man-charged-allegedly-laundering-123m-criminal-proceeds

A 40-year-old Sydney man has been charged over his alleged role in a transnational network suspected of laundering more than $123 million for organised crime syndicates. Taskforce Avarus, an AFP-led initiative with AUSTRAC, the ACIC and Australian Border Force, executed search warrants in Strathfield and Burwood on 27 October, seizing about $750,000 in cash, luxury handbags and watches. The AFP will allege he controlled shell company accounts used to convert proceeds into cryptocurrency or remit them overseas.

### [CPI rose 4.3% in the year to September 2026](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02404-cpi-rose-4-3-in-the-year-to-september-2026-28102026.html)

Issued by: Australian Bureau of Statistics · Original source: https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/cpi-rose-43-year-september-2026

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.3 per cent in the 12 months to September 2026, up from 4.0 per cent in the year to August, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Housing was the largest contributor at 5.2 per cent, driven by new dwellings and electricity, while transport rose 8.7 per cent on higher fuel prices. Trimmed mean annual inflation was 3.6 per cent, and the CPI rose 1.3 per cent over the September quarter.

### [Backing Victorian Gas To Keep Prices Low](https://mediarelease.co/au/mr02369-backing-victorian-gas-to-keep-prices-low-28102026.html)

Issued by: Jaclyn Symes, Minister for Energy and Resources · Original source: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/backing-victorian-gas-keep-prices-low

A production licence has been approved to restart the Patricia-Baleen gas fields off Victoria's Gippsland coast, granted to Cooper Energy, a subsidiary of Amplitude Energy, through the Commonwealth-Victoria Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority. The project is expected to deliver up to 15 petajoules of gas over its lifetime, equivalent to seven per cent of Victoria's gas use last year, with production expected from 2028 to 2035 through the existing Orbost Gas Plant.

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