Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin on Wednesday introduced to parliament legislation for an act of recognition, initiating a bipartisan step towards recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution.

"We do not underestimate the challenge of achieving nationwide consensus," she told parliament.

"Change will not happen without support from across the political spectrum and the support of the majority of Australians."

The federal government in September put on hold plans for a referendum to constitutionally acknowledge indigenous people until there was more community awareness and support.

Ms Macklin said the bill, which has a two-year sunset clause, would help build momentum for successful constitutional change.

"It is important to recognise that this bill is not a substitute for constitutional recognition," she said.

"The Australian constitution is the foundation document for our laws and our government, but it is silent on the special place of our first Australians."

Ms Macklin said the bill took an important step towards changing that situation.

The draft law includes a review to provide advice to a future parliament about the questions that should be put at a referendum.

The review will be given to the minister and tabled in parliament before the legislation's expiration date.

A joint parliamentary committee will examine the bill and is expected to report back in late January.

Reconciliation Australia has welcomed the bill as "another important step towards recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our nation’s founding document".

The Federal Government has released exposure draft legislation and explanatory memorandum to allow GST instalment payers in a GST net refund position to continue to use the GST instalments option.

Under the proposed changes, GST instalment payers who move into a GST net refund position will have continued access to the GST instalments option with an instalment amount each quarter of zero.  Any refunds or liability will be reconciled in their annual GST return.

The Treasury is inviting interested parties who wish to comment on the proposed legislative changes.  Information about the exposure draft and how to submit are found here.

The Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA)  has launched a new website and Rating Certification System (RCS).

"This is about changing the experience for the consumer, making the systems that underpin the issuing of energy certificates stronger and linking our professional assessors with the Australian public in an engaging way," ABSA CEO, Rodger Hills said.

"We have had some great feedback about the site, which is much easier to navigate and helps to educate the Australian public about what is building sustainability and how to build better and more efficient homes.

"In these times of such huge concerns over power and water costs, making  buildings more energy efficient, better performing thermally and constructed from low-carbon materials means cold hard savings for homeowners and society in general," he said.

"Houses built today shape the energy, water and resource demands for decades to come.  Making them efficient now will reduce the cost-of-living for homeowners and benefit society over the full life of the building," he said.

"The new website helps people to understand what efficient homes are all about and the new RCS system for our assessors  ensures that the issuing of energy rating certificates  for new homes is simpler, more robust and less open to manipulation.

"We must do all we can to ensure that this system is truly robust and of the highest standards and quality," he said.

"We see ABSA assessors as professionals who deserve to have a similar profile in the community as say engineers and architects.

"This is about ensuring quality and connecting consumers with professional assessors," he said.

The rate of homelessness in Australia was 49 persons for every 10,000 persons enumerated in the 2011 Census, up 8 per cent from 45 persons in 2006, according to estimates of the prevalence of homelessness released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS found that there were 105,237 people who were homeless on 9 August 2011, or 0.5 per cent of the Australian population.  Although the homeless rate rose by 8 per cent in the five years to 2011, the number of people who were homeless rose 17 per cent in those five years which also reflects the increase in the population over that time. 

Most of the increase in homelessness between 2006 and 2011 resulted from the rise in the number of people living in severely crowded dwellings, up from 31,531 in 2006 to 41,390 in 2011.  And about three quarters of the increase in the overall homelessness estimate to 2011 was accounted for by people who were born overseas.

On Census night 2011 the rate of homelessness was highest in the Northern Territory (731 per 10,000 persons) and lowest in Tasmania (32 per 10,000 persons).

Most homeless people were not sleeping rough or in improvised dwellings (only 6 per cent of all homeless persons in 2011).  The largest homeless group were people living in severely crowded dwellings accounting for 39 per cent of the homeless.  The next largest group was people staying in supported accommodation for the homeless (20 per cent of the homeless in 2011), with 21,258 people in this group in 2011, up 23 per cent on the number in 2006. 

At the time of the 2011 Census 60 per cent of homeless people were aged under 35 years, compared to 46 per cent for the general population.

For more information see Census of Population and Housing: Estimating Homelessness, 2011 (cat. no. 2049.0).

Almost 250 organisations that provide crucial emergency response services to communities across the nation are among the recipients of new Volunteer Grants.

Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Management, Nicola Roxon, said the Australian Government is providing emergency response organisations with over $850,000 in grants to help them keep supporting their local communities.

The Australian Government’s Volunteer Grants 2012 initiative is supporting 4800 not-for-profit volunteer organisations across Australia and through these grants, more than 166,000 volunteers will be better equipped to assist those who are facing hardship remain connected to their community, Ms Roxon said.

"Getting families back on their feet after a disaster is another priority. In the last financial year alone the Commonwealth contributed $3 billion in post disaster support.

"These investments are crucial to our disaster preparedness but it’s also important that families and communities do what they can to prepare as well."

The grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 can be used by community organisations to purchase much-needed equipment, as a contribution towards training courses, background checks or transport costs of volunteers with disability who are unable to drive.

In Australia, more than six million people volunteer each year, accounting for over one-third of the population.

For more information, visit www.fahcsia.gov.au or call the Volunteer Grants Hotline on 1800 183 374.

Community organisations with ideas on how to tackle joblessness and poverty in their local community could receive funding to implement their strategies with the launch of round two of the Local Solutions Fund.

"We delivered the first round of the Local Solutions Fund in July and it has kick-started some fantastic programs and initiatives around the country," Minister for Human Services, Kim Carr said.

Initial expressions of interest for funding close on 4 December 2012.

Contact details and more information about the Local Solutions Fund and the application process is available by clicking here.

A planning and design tool that encourages the consideration of dogs in public open spaces has won the inaugural 2012 Pet Friendly Planning Award.

The 'Matrix of Like Design Considerations' - a tool that can be used to demonstrate synergies between guidelines that influence design in the built environment was entered by the National Heart Foundation of Australia (SA Division).

The search for a planning project that best considered the needs of our pets was launched in July by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) and the Petcare Information Advisory Service (PIAS).

Heart Foundation Acting CEO, Wendy Keech said the Heart Foundation was very proud to receive this award as dog ownership produces considerable health benefits and provides an important form of social support that encourages dog owners to walk.

"With the high level of dog ownership in Australia, the relationship between dog ownership and physical activity levels is important." Ms Keech said.

"With 67 per cent of adults not doing the recommended amount of physical activity, these design considerations will encourage more people to be active, reducing their risk of heart disease - Australia's biggest single killer.

Two commendations awarded in the 2012 Pet Friendly Planning Awards went to the Hume City Council at Broadmeadows in Victoria and the Onkaparinga City Council in South Australia.

The Judges said both local authorities provided good examples of how the provision of pet friendly places could be advanced. Their entries demonstrated extensive research, community engagement, and thorough consideration of the design that went into the development of enclosed dog parks.

More than $26 million is up for grabs for community groups to showcase the best of Australia's Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts.

Arts Minister Simon Crean called on community organisations to apply for the 2013-14 Indigenous culture, languages and visual arts funding round to support a range of cultural projects including the revival and maintenance of Indigenous languages.

"As home to the world's oldest living culture Australia has a unique cultural story to tell-not only are we welcoming to greatest diversity of cultures—we are also producing some of the most exciting and dynamic new art forms on earth," Mr Crean said.

"Our rich Indigenous tradition and culture is part of our national and international identity and is one that we must continue to preserve, promote and show pride in.

"The funding supports activities by community organisations in urban, regional and remote areas including cultural festivals, music, dance and theatre, multimedia workshops with young people, professional visual arts practice and networks of language centres."

Funding is available through the following programs:

• Indigenous Culture Support which helps to maintain Indigenous culture through community involvement, assists the transmission of knowledge and skills across generations and develops and supports new forms of cultural expression.
• Indigenous Languages Support which provides funding for the maintenance and revival of Australia's Indigenous languages.
• Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support which provides funding for Indigenous art centres and industry service organisations.

The 2013-14 funding round closes to applications at 11.59pm AEDST on 1 February 2013.

There is a plan to roll out free wireless internet across central Adelaide by the end of next year.

A feasibility study has been done and firm proposals are being sought from information technology businesses.

The South Australian Government will contribute $1 million to the project and Adelaide City Council will put in half as much.

SA Premier Jay Weatherill said the coverage would be in public areas such as Rundle Mall, Victoria Square and the Riverbank precinct.

"We want to project the image of Adelaide being a modern, progressive city and to do that you've got to have the latest technology," he said.

"This will give us the real edge on any other capital city in the nation because we want to attract more people into the city and this is how you get public life, you give people the opportunities to do the things they need to do in public spaces."

Mr Weatherill said there were similar public wi-fi networks in cities including Singapore, Auckland, Wellington, Prague, Chattanooga and Luxembourg.

"We are already running a 12-month trial of free wi-fi on all Adelaide Metro trams and 20 buses," the Premier said.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said the project would complement an existing network which offered free wi-fi connection at more than 100 businesses in the city's cafe areas.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the highest life expectancy estimates ever recorded in Australia.

Director of ABS Demography, Bjorn Jarvis, said that the Deaths, Australia, 2011 publication showed that life expectancy figures continued to increase over the ten year period ending 2011.

"Under current estimates, a boy born today could expect to live 79.7 years while a girl could expect to live 84.2. A male currently aged 65 could expect to live a further 19 years and female a further 22 years," Mr Jarvis said.

"Comparatively Australia is doing really well, our male and female combined life expectancy figure of 81.4 years is higher than the rate in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and the USA according to United Nations estimates.

"Of the states and territories, life expectancy is highest in the Australian Capital Territory with 81 for males and 84.8 for females and lowest in the Northern Territory with 74.9 for males and 80.5 for females," he said.

The standardised death rate is the lowest ever recorded, falling to 5.6 deaths per 1,000 people in 2011 from 6.6 in 2001.

"We have seen death rates fall by around 1 person per 1,000 over the last ten years with falls recorded for both males and females," Mr Jarvis said.

There were 146,900 deaths registered in Australia in 2011, a record high number.

Further details are in Deaths, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3302.0). State, territory and sub-state information is also available for download from the ABS website.