The Government will soon be inviting submissions for large-scale projects under Round 5 of the Green Army program following a discussions with  teams and councils for a round dedicated to long-term projects.

Organisations will be invited to submit multi-project proposals showing how they could use between three and 15 Green Army teams over a period of two to three years from July 2016 to improve their local environment.

It will encourage organisations and councils to think about how Green Army teams could be used across a broad area of land over a longer period of time to maximise outcomes for their region, a nationally-listed threatened species or a heritage place.

To date, 1,145 Green Army projects have been announced and more than 550 projects rolled out across Australia.

Round 5 of the Green Army Programme will open in March 2016 for projects commencing from 1 July 2016. For more information about the new round, visit australia.gov.au/greenarmy.

Community groups, including councils, across Australia have been invited to apply for grants through the 2015-16 round of the Community Heritage and Icons Grants program.

A total of up to $337,000 is available for grants between $2,500 and $10,000 this financial year for community organisations that promote community engagement with places on Australia's National Heritage List.

This is an exciting opportunity for councils to build on successes from the 2014-15 Community Heritage and Icons Grants program, which included support for the Waverley Council's website and exhibition highlighting the history of post-war Jewish immigrants in the Bondi area, including the Jerusalem steps at the Bondi Beach Pavilion

Applications for funding are open until 22 March 2016.

Further information about Community Heritage and Icons Grants, including the programme guidelines and application form, is available at environment.gov.au/community-heritage-icons-grants.

The Government this week tabled its response to the 2015 Regional Telecommunications Review report, which made 12 key recommendations to improve telecommunications access in regional, rural and remote Australia.

In its response, the Government noted that adjustments need to be made to current consumer safeguards to stay up-to-date with changes to available telecommunications technologies and consumer expectations.

The Productivity Commission has been asked to undertake an inquiry into the future requirements of the Universal Services Obligation (USO) in an evolving telecommunications market, with the Terms of Reference to be issued shortly.

The Government will also examine the overall consumer safeguards framework to ensure that regulations are fit-for-purpose and take into account ongoing developments in communications technology.

The Government's full response is available at communications.gov.au/regionaltelecommunications-review

From 1 May 2016, Australia's certified timber industry will have new sales opportunities in taller structures - up to 8 storeys - for buildings including apartments, offices and hotels. This follows changes to the National Construction Code (NCC), facilitated by the Forest and Wood Products Australia.

The new code essentially means that it will be easier to use timber building systems in Class 2, Class 3 and Class 5 buildings up to 25 metres in effective height, which is approximately 8 storeys. The use of timber construction in these buildings was formerly restricted to 3 storeys, unless an 'alternative solution' was designed and documented to gain approval.

New building options will include both traditional timber framing and innovative massive timber systems, such as cross laminated timber and Glulam, and require the use of appropriate layers of fire resistant materials, specified design detailing and sprinkler systems.

The Australian mid-rise building industry, which has not seen significant changes in decades, is set to experience developments that will not only create new opportunities for designers, builders, developers and purchasers, but will also drive greater demand for both lightweight and heavy certified timber building systems.

More information about these changes is available at this link.

With more than 3,000 seasonal workers employed in Australia in the horticulture, agriculture and accommodation industries, Federal Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Migration will continue its inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP).

The inquiry is focused on:

• the role of seasonal workers in growing the horticulture, agriculture and accommodation industries
• labour recruitment issues and the impact on Australian jobs, and
• increasing access for overseas women and youth workers.

Committee Chair Louise Markus MP said the SWP provides many benefits, including ensuring a supply of labour in areas of shortage and remittances for seasonal workers.

"It is vitally important that the integrity of the SWP is maintained in order to grow our industries, reduce illegal labour practices, and protect seasonal workers," Mrs Markus said.

The Committee will take evidence from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Department of Employment.

The Government has announced more than $750,000 for 18 projects from the Festivals Australia program that will assist community members living in regional and remote Australia to participate in or attend an arts-driven experience at a festival or community celebration.

The funding will support 18 high-quality, innovative, festival-related projects that aim to encourage community participation and attendance and support partnerships and collaboration across the arts and culture sector.

This funding round includes both single and multi-year projects that will take place across six states and territories and represent a range of art forms from music, circus arts, community arts, multimedia, digital arts and craft.

Visit the Festivals Australia page for more information about how to apply for the next round and a list of current funding recipients.

Councils have been invited to the inaugural National Family Violence Summit being held in Canberra next month on 17-19 March.

The summit is a grass-roots event driven by the community services sector with the Tara Costigan Foundation taking the lead as the main facilitating body, and BaptistCare the principal sponsor.

It will bring together the combined expertise and experience of Australia's frontline service providers, thought leaders and political decision makers to work towards delivering real change in the way we work to defeat family violence.

Registrations to the summit are open at this link.

The Government will provide a streamlined pathway to Australian citizenship for many New Zealanders who have been living in Australia for at least five years via a new visa pathway announced recently.

While New Zealanders already have special arrangements that allow them easily to enter and then reside in Australia, these arrangements do not provide a pathway to citizenship.

The new visa pathway will be available from 1 July 2017 for Special Category Visa holders who are ordinarily resident in Australia and, at the time of application, have lived in Australia for at least five years. These new arrangements will give many New Zealanders permanent residence status and enable them to apply for Australian citizenship if they meet certain criteria.

Further information can be found on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website.

Inverell Council is the latest in a growing list of government organisation to using drone technology for landfill surveys.

As part of their review of Inverell landfill, Inverell Shire Council has engaged a team of environmental engineers who used a drone equipped with 42 megapixel camera to produce high resolution topographical mapping of the entire site in a matter of minutes. The imagery captured by the drone will be used to identify long term solutions for management of leachate, stormwater, landfill and environmental factors.

Inverell Shire Council mayor, Paul Harmon says effective landfill management is a key priority for the council in light of increased volumes of waste and projected population growth and that best practice waste management was vital to sustainable growth.

Read more on this story on the Resource Recovery website.

A study recently released by a US-based research firm has revealed that drivers searching for parking are estimated to be responsible for around 30 per cent of inner-city congestion in any given built environment, and that smart parking solutions are likely to cut congestion and pollution, reduce stress among drivers and boost economic activity.

Smart parking solutions use remote sensors and wireless communications to monitor available parking spaces and relay information to drivers via mobile devices. Trials have begun in some of the world's most dynamic cities, including San Francisco, Copenhagen, Madrid, London and Nice.

Authorities in Nice have reported a 30 per cent saving in operational costs and a 10 per cent reduction in pollution and congestion. Another study has found smart parking in San Francisco to have cut the time drivers spend searching for a space by 43 per cent.

A pilot of the smart parking technology is planned for Canberra this year. Read more about this technology and some of the other trial outcomes at this link.