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The article explores blacklisting of real estate tenants in Australia as of August 2017. Topics include real estate agents' process of screening tenants, requirement to disclose too much personal information for renters, and use of a tenancy blacklist or database. Also discussed are the rules of tenancy blacklisting, how to find out if one has been blacklisted, and information included in tenancy reports.

Global climate change and local development make water supply one of the most vulnerable sectors in Australia. The Australian government has therefore commissioned a series of projects to evaluate water availability and the sustainable use of water resources in Australia. This paper discusses a river system modelling platform that has been used in some of these nationally significant projects. The platform consists of three components: provenance, modelling engine and reporting database. The core component is the modelling engine, an agent-based hydrological simulation system called the Integrated River System Modelling Framework (IRSMF). All configuration information and inputs to IRSMF are recorded in the provenance component so that modelling processes can be reproduced and results audited. The reporting database is used to store key statistics and raw output time series data for selected key parameters. This river system modelling platform has for the first time modelled a river system at the basin level in Australia. It provides practitioners with a unique understanding of the characteristics and emergent behaviours of river systems at the basin level. Although the platform is purpose-built for the Murray-Darling Basin, it would be easy to apply it to other basins by using different river models to model agent behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the development of a software that can assign a whale shark a digital fingerprint based on a photograph of pattern spots on its back. Ecotourists send in snapshots, which are fed into a database called the Whale Shark Photo-Identification Library. This allows the Ecocean to track the movements of individual sharks as well as the dwindling of the general population. The number of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia declined on average from 2001-2005.

The article discusses initiatives to create and deploy an electronic health record (EHR) system. The system is designed to reduce medical errors and lower health care delivery costs. The author compares approaches and experiences in the United Kingdom (U.K.), United States, and Australia. In Australia and in the U.K., the process of developing the EHR system is funded and controlled by the government. However, in the United States, the government is neither funding nor calling for a centrally located database of EHRs. The article discusses many of the privacy, capacity and technological concerns about the development of EHR systems.

Focuses on storms and pontoons at Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Design of an interactive compact disc by researchers that help engineers to build safer platforms for tourists and marine biologists; Use of computer simulation of cyclones to create a realistic database of wave data by a team from James Cook University and the Cooperative Research Centre for the Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef.

The article reports that the federal government of Australia has announced that it will oversee car manufacturers' efforts in recalling vehicles installed with faulty automotive parts company Takata airbags. It mentions that Takata airbags contain a chemical that turns volatile over time. It states that the Australian government has given manufacturers until July 2018 to publish a recall schedule and a searchable database.

This section offers news briefs on the pharmaceutical industry. Merck Serono has warned healthcare professionals in Ireland to take risk minimization measures to avoid accidental overdose when switching patients between Siazen formulations. Companies were requested by Health Canada to add risk statements, specially the risk of metaemoglobinaemia, to the labeling of their benzociane-containing products. About 250,000 valid case report was entered by the Australian TGA to its internal database.

The article focuses on the Atlas of Living Australia, an online database that has reached about 30 million species records. Atlas has the largest collection of information on the animals, fungi, and plants in the country. It provides access to more than 350 small and large datasets. Its Explore Your Area application enables users to enter address or location in finding recorded species.

The article focuses on the National Office of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Inc. (RACI). It notes on the new membership database fully implemented by RACI employees Regiona Colleluori and Robyn Taylor at the National Office. Also noted is the support given by Financial Officer Mary Pappa to the National Office, as well as the Branches and Divisions of RACI.

Reports on the development of a mammals stranding database and a scientific research network to help identify the occurrence stranding in Australia. Prevalence of stranding along the coasts of Tasmania and Bass Strait; Commitment of the government to help research; Reinforcement of progress through capacity building, training, resource sharing and collaborative projects.

Presents news briefs concerning oil spills as of December 2003. Call of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council regarding the submission of information for an electronic database of oil spill prevention and cleanup equipment; Efforts of the Waterways Authority in monitoring an oil pollution incident in New South Wales; Information on a demonstration staged by environmentalists at the office of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds in Lorient, France.

Focuses on herbariums in Australia. Information provided by databases on herbariums; Amount of money needed to computerize the remaining half of the collections and make the database available across the Internet.

Presents information on the Australian National Coroners Information System, the world's first national database of coronial information.

Deals with the privacy issues that emerged with the proposed national health database that contains details of patient medical records in Australia.

Relates that researchers at 39 Australian universities have accessed via the Internet a vast library of science and technology databases. The agreement between the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; Which databases included; Contact point.