Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

Joel Robinson

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

<h3 data-end="3697" data-section-id="q3n5ak" data-start="3672">&nbsp;</h3>
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Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

A collection of just 25 large-format apartments and penthouses overlooking Goodwin Park is entering the Coolangatta market, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marea-residences-coolangatta-27-27a-dixon-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Maréa Residences</a> combining a low-density, residential-only approach with uninterrupted park and Pacific Ocean outlooks.

Located at 27 Dixon Street, Maréa comprises three and four-bedroom residences alongside a limited number of dual-level penthouses, with the project positioned between Goodwin Park and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/coolangatta-qld-4225">Coolangatta</a>’s coastal precinct.

Construction has commenced, with completion currently estimated for late 2027. Three-bedroom residences are priced from $1.8 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374005]

The project has been designed around its northern outlook across the park, with the building’s architecture, landscaping and material palette intended to establish a connection with the neighbouring green space. The residences have been configured to maximise natural light and views across Goodwin Park towards the ocean.

Inside, the material palette incorporates timber, stone and brushed brass, complemented by curved detailing and ambient lighting. Kitchens and bathrooms carry the same natural material approach, while residences also include basement parking, storage and lift access.

Maréa’s penthouses are arranged over two levels and include private pools, adding another layer to the project’s focus on larger-format apartment living. Across the development, residences are configured with three or four bedrooms rather than the broader mix of smaller apartment types commonly found in larger projects.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374010]

Resident amenity is concentrated at rooftop level, where landscaped entertaining terraces and pools take advantage of elevated views across Coolangatta and the Pacific Ocean.

The project has so far been particularly well received by local owner-occupiers and downsizers, according to Urban Activation Property Sales and Marketing Director Matt George, with the residential-only format, construction quality and northern park outlook among the features resonating with purchasers.

“The uninterrupted northern aspect overlooking Goodwin Park has been a key point of difference, with buyers attracted to the sense of serenity and open space the park provides, while still enjoying easy access to the ocean and being within walking distance of the lifestyle and amenities Coolangatta has to offer,” George said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374002]

“The combination of high-quality construction, a residential-only building, park outlook and proximity to the beach has resonated strongly with the local downsizer market.”

The Dixon Street address is within walking distance of Coolangatta Beach and the broader southern Gold Coast coastline, including the surf breaks at Snapper Rocks and Kirra. Coolangatta’s cafés, restaurants and retail are nearby, while Gold Coast Airport is also within close proximity.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150999]

Maréa Residences brings parkside apartments to Coolangatta

Melbourne developer PDG has secured Victorian Government approval for its $1.5 billion Southbank development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-one-1-queens-bridge-street-southbank-vic-3006">The One</a>, clearing the way for the long-dormant riverfront site opposite Crown to finally be developed.

The Minister for Planning has approved the project at 1-29 Queens Bridge Street, with the Department of Transport and Planning issuing the planning permit following its assessment.

The approval will allow PDG to develop the prominent 5,059 sqm site with a major mixed-use tower comprising premium apartments, including branded residences, a luxury hotel and boutique office space.

PDG acquired the site in late 2024, with its position directly opposite Crown's main entrance and near Melbourne's Arts Precinct making it one of Southbank's most significant remaining development opportunities.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3933013e-6332-4386-b9be-089df05caf17" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.22%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sITIgBqDL0N3VNSMwWEmF5UA.uvcsRyu" />

Designed by COX in collaboration with ODO and PDG, the tower's architecture draws on the movement of the Yarra River, with six vertical pleats running the height of the sculpted facade.

The project will also see the heritage-listed Queens Bridge Hotel restored and incorporated into the development&nbsp;with new hospitality and public uses, including a rooftop venue.

A significant component of The One will be its residential amenity.

More than 5,000 sqm of resident facilities will be delivered across a single level, making it one of the largest consolidated residential amenity offerings proposed in an Australian apartment development.

The planning approval also incorporates a major upgrade of Queensbridge Square, which PDG will deliver in partnership with the City of Melbourne.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="73167fcd-1031-4b6f-a408-a064cfe45ed1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.17%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Pf1AEWxw6SNmBqR0zQW5lyEze.MtxgFp" />

The existing square will be revitalised as a new civic and pedestrian space along the Yarra River, strengthening the connection between the project, Southbank and the riverfront.

PDG Founder and Managing Director Vince Giuliano said the approval represented a major milestone for a site which has remained largely underutilised for more than 15 years.

“This is the most significant Planning Permit approval Melbourne has seen in recent years,” Giuliano said.

“For more than 15 years, this site has remained underutilised. This approval enables us to deliver a project that will contribute meaningfully to the revitalisation of Southbank, restore and reactivate an important heritage building, and create a new civic and hospitality destination for Melbourne.”

The latest approval follows an earlier planning permit issued by the City of Melbourne covering demolition works across part of the site at 9-29 Queens Bridge Street. Those demolition and early works are already underway.

PDG has also started generating early interest in the residential component from owner-occupiers ahead of a planned public launch in early 2027.

PDG secures approval for $1.5bn Southbank apartment development, The One

Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

Education

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/63938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Six Australian universities made the top 100 best global research institutions in the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), released today – two more than the previous year.
Monash University and the University of Sydney were the two newcomers to the top 100 club, joining Melbourne, Queensland, Western Australia and Australian National University.
More than half of Australia’s public universities now feature in the world’s best 500 research institutions.
This year marks a change in the methodology to the ARWU rankings, which is based purely on a university’s research performance.
“The ARWU is noted for the stability of its methodology, which means that normally, unless an institution won a Nobel Prize or recruited a large number of Highly Cited Researchers, large movements did not occur,“ said Natalie Mast, associate director for performance analytics at the University of Western Australia.
“The main driver of movement this year has been a change in the methodology used to determine highly cited research criteria,” she said.
“Previously, ARWU utilised both the old and the new highly cited researcher lists, and this is the first year that only the new list was used.”
The old list included anyone who had been named a highly cited researcher up to 2011, and included publications going back to 1981. The new list, which was developed in 2014, is updated annually, and focuses on publications from the last decade.
Mast said: “This has allowed Chinese universities – Tsinghua and Peking – to break into the top 100 for the first time."
Within the ARWU rankings, 50% of the total score of an institution is determined by a small number of individuals, made up of Nobel Prize winners (staff and alumni) and highly cited researchers.
Mast noted: “The ARWU has traditionally favoured established universities, as Nobel Prizes awarded to alumni and staff, which can provide a value for up to 100 years, have a significant impact. By changing the highly cited research criterion, newer universities have an greater opportunity to rise in the ranking.”
“There had been agitation from ARWU and universities, which urged Thomson Reuters to clean the list. It was advantageous to older researchers because they had a longer body of work. Now it allows high-performing mid-career researchers to be classified as highly cited,” said Mast.
The rankings point to some interesting global trends. While older universities in Europe and the US seem to be falling in these rankings, those universities in Spain, China, South Korea and Australia are on the rise.
She added that, through increased investment, Chinese universities were likely to continue to improve in these rankings.
Mast noted that the rankings needed to be viewed in perspective. “The score assigned to an institution in the ARWU is a percentage of the top-ranked institution, which has always been Harvard. This year, the university ranked 100. The University of Utah, attained a score of 25.4.”
According to Tony Shiel, deputy director of the office for research at Griffith University, these results show that you get a consistently good university education in Australia.
“The rankings show that Australia has a good top end, and middle end, meaning that quality runs deeply across the sector,” said Shiel.
Western Sydney University and RMIT made the top 500 list for the first time – both have recently invested in research.
QUT, which now features in the top 300, wasn’t even in top 500 two years ago.
“There are a few making quick rise,” said Shiel. “Whether that continues or not will be interesting to see.”
“Research is important as it enhances the brand, which then in turn attracts international students,” said Shiel.
These rankings place Australia in a good position in a fast moving part of the world, he added.
“It positions us well to have better collaborations with Asian partners, especially in China, as we will be taken more seriously,” he said.
Howerver, Shield said these results were just another indicator and we should not place blind trust in these outcomes, no matter how positive.
Harvard, Standford and UC Berkeley universities gained the top three spots for being the best in the world at research.
While the US had 50 universities in the top 100, the UK featured the second highest with eight universities.
Claire Shaw is education editor, The Conversation and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/team#claire-shaw" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Six Australian universities make the global top 100 list

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Set to open in 2018, the construction for Victoria's first vertical school has begun with the Premier, Minister for Education James Merlino and local member Martin Foley turning the first sod of soil and launching a new state government authority that will oversee building of new, and upgrade of existing local schools and early childhood centres.

Designed by <a href="http://www.hayball.com.au/projects/south-melbourne-primary-school/">Hayball</a>, the P-6 South Melbourne Primary School, located on Ferrars Street, will have five levels with open space on each level according to a Victorian Government media release.

<blockquote>
On a compact inner urban site of 5000m2, it will be located in the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area which is expected to grow to 80,000 residents over the next 40 years.

Involving the development of a new model for school and community, a key innovation is the unprecedented integration of shared school and community facilities. As well as a government primary school for 525 students, the project includes an early learning centre, administration, multi-purpose community rooms, a recreation hub (indoor netball courts) and associated amenities.
<cite><a href="http://www.hayball.com.au/projects/south-melbourne-primary-school/">Hayball's description</a> of the new South Melbourne Primary School</cite>
</blockquote>

To read more about the project, see the new <a href="http://www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools/South-MelbourneFerrars-St.aspx">Victorian School Building authority's website</a>.

Select an image below to view the larger renders of the new school, originally posted on the Premier's Facebook feed.
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Alastair Taylor

Victoria's first vertical school to rise in South Melbourne

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/62964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
A university education is a highly valued commodity in Asia. Australia has benefited from this in terms of the economic advantages international education has brought.
In 2015, there were 272,095 higher education international students in Australia who contributed almost A$12.5 billion to the economy. The vast majority were from Asia.
They also supported thousands of jobs and businesses across the property, hospitality and retail sectors in cities and regions.
However, developments in the higher education sector in a number of Asian countries may threaten Australia’s billion-dollar education industry.
<h2>Who are the rising Asian players?</h2>
The US and UK dominate the international education market in Asia, hosting 19% and 10% of the global share of international students.
More recently, however, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have become more attractive destinations for Asian and non-Asian students, including those from the Middle East.
The attraction is due to a variety of factors, such as scholarships, job opportunities in the region, cultural and geographical advantages, and governments investing in higher education.
In 2013 these countries combined hosted 7% of the global share of international students, edging out Australia, which has 6% of the market share.
Many are looking to reform and improve their higher education sectors. Some have plans to almost double their international student intakes over the next four years. China is seeking to grow numbers by 500,000, Japan by 300,000 and Malaysia by 200,000 by 2020.
While Australia also aims to almost double its intake to close to a million by 2025, the Asian countries' targets may well prove formidable competition.
Malaysia and Singapore are attractive because of the availability of local jobs after graduation. Regardless of where they are from, international students on Singapore government-funded tuition grants are contractually obligated to work for locally based companies in the republic for three years. The aim of the scheme is to meet labour shortages and harness the skills of the graduate workforce.
In Australia, however, international students have few scholarship opportunities, and no local jobs specifically waiting for them after graduation.
Having an Australian qualification does not necessarily mean an international student will be employed in Australia. Here any foreigner – which is how international students are regarded once they finish their studies – must possess the skills Australia needs and/or undergo a skills assessment by the relevant Australian authority before they will be granted permission to work.
The movement of international students from developing nations to developed nations is no longer the norm within the region.
In South Korea, for instance, students are studying in Indonesian universities with the prospect of gaining employment with South Korean-based companies in Indonesia.
<h2>Moving up the global rankings</h2>
Asian universities are also punching their way up university rankings.
In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015-2016, Asian universities outperformed Australian universities in the top 100 list.
Nine Asian universities in comparison to six Australian universities made the top 100.
The top Asian university, the National University of Singapore (NUS), ranked 26th, above Australia’s best performer, the University of Melbourne, which is 33rd.
And while there are more universities in Asia than in Australia, what is significant about such rankings is that key Asian universities are fast becoming globally recognised as premier research and teaching institutions. They are overtaking Australian institutions in the competitive higher education space.
The QS World University Rankings place Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University as the leading institution for universities under the age of 50 years.
Asian universities again dominated, with 16 institutions in the top 50 under 50. Australia had six universities in this category, with 14th-ranked University of Technology Sydney leading the pack.
Together with robust funding support from the government, NUS strategies for simply being the best include high calibre-recruitment, a commitment to innovation and collaborations with overseas partners such as the Singapore-based NUS-Yale College.
Asian education hubs have ambitions not only to maintain their positions but also to increase the number of their institutions at the high end of these rankings.
In 2013, Japan for instance launched its Top Global University Project to place ten or more of its universities in the global top 100. Like Singapore, the Japanese government has been providing generous funding to its premier universities to achieve this goal. The government invests millions of dollars in annual subsidies for its leading research and education institutions.
<h2>How can Australia stay competitive?</h2>
What can traditional players like Australia, the US and the UK do to maintain their competitive edge?
With Asian universities becoming some of the best in the world, it is vital that the traditional markets provide strong research funding support to their universities to build up their research and innovation strengths.
In 2013, according to the OECD, Australia invested 2.112% of its GDP in research and development. This is marginally more than the UK (1.664%), China (2.015%) and Singapore (2%), yet significantly less than Japan (3.482%), Korea (4.149%) and the US (2.742%).
Asian students and their families value quality education. Eventually they will look to universities that have globally recognised quality brands, which would help students with their own professional mobility.
A way for Australia to stay competitive would be through research collaborations and partnerships with Asian institutions.
If traditional and emerging markets are competing for students, it is imperative that strong research and teaching links be formed between universities from both sides of the divide.
One aspect of this discussion policymakers might want to consider is becoming host to satellite campuses from world-renowned universities.
So far only Carnegie Mellon has an offshore campus in Australia.
Having such satellite campuses creates not only diversity and internationalisation in the Australian higher education space, but also provides other benefits. These include more competitive choices of institutions on Australian soil, as well as greater opportunities for students to move between countries on exchange.
Having top Asian universities set up campuses in Australia promotes increased flows of top students and staff. This would help strengthen Australia’s position in the region as a high-quality education hub.
Catherine Gomes is senior lecturer, RMIT University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-gomes-12634" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Rising players in higher education: the countries to watch out for

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The world of work has become an increasingly difficult environment for young people. Youth unemployment in Australia is persistently higher than for other age groups.
In response, our governments have delivered one-size-fits-all policies that focus on national targets encouraging education programs to make unemployed young people more “work ready”.
These approaches assume that, with the right education or training, a young person will be able to get a job. However, this is not the case, especially for young people who live in areas of high youth unemployment.
To reduce youth unemployment, education and labour market policies must go beyond a focus on individual young people to offer solutions at a community level.
Rural and regional areas hit hardest
Youth unemployment has been a feature of developed economies since the 1980s. As the Australian economy continues to open to global competitive pressures, the decline in the availability of manufacturing work and the growth of the services sector have changed the nature of work.
However, as recent research has highlighted, youth unemployment rates vary in different places and local communities.
Rural and regional areas are among the hardest hit by these changes. Places such as outback Queensland and the New South Wales Hunter Valley have youth unemployment rates of 28 percent and 22 percent respectively.
These levels of youth unemployment reflect these regions’ reliance on industries that are changing rapidly and may no longer provide reliable local employment.
These powerful shifts are not adequately recognised at a policy level.
Policies targeted at youth currently encourage the development of individual human capital. This takes place through a one-size-fits-all approach focused on increasing levels of educational qualification, with the promise that young people will find professional work.
This kind of future is not available to all young people, no matter how “work ready” they may be, especially for those in areas with high youth unemployment.
Again, these policies ignore the reality of the forms of work available in different local communities.
Does this matter in a world where young people are encouraged to be as mobile as possible in search of work and a fulfilling future?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes, for reasons connected with the role of local communities in shaping young people’s identities and pathways through work.
The critical role of local communities
Australian and international research has shown the critical role that processes of identity construction play both in young people’s engagement with work and in the strategies they use to survive unemployment.
Rural and regional young people are key examples of this process. Research has demonstrated the importance of local community connections for young people’s orientation towards their future in work. This applies even to those whose imagined futures take them beyond the boundaries of their local communities.
In one example from this research, a young man who imagines a future as a teacher described his plans in terms of existing family connections to the profession and the availability of accommodation with family members who lived close to the nearest regional university.
This process, in which young people imagine futures around established community connections and ways of life, is common in regional areas. While schools encourage young people to plan their own individual futures, the lives of relatives and other community members continue to shape their desires and perceptions of what is possible for them.
Community support in tough times
These communities may also be zones of high youth unemployment. Research conducted in former manufacturing centres of the UK with high unemployment shows that local community relationships provide critical support when times are tough. These local networks may also provide access to casual employment.
However, these communities operate as both resources and limits to young people’s biographies. The resources they offer may not provide opportunities beyond their local place, and young people may be personally invested in forms of work that reflect the history of their community. For example, young men may aspire to futures in manufacturing that are no longer locally available.
Similar <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781403939326">results</a> have been found in rural Australia, where established expectations about suitable work may not reflect actually existing opportunities available to local youth.
As a consequence, people must re-evaluate who they are and who they can become. This re-negotiation of personal identity is a key aspect of navigating changing labour markets in areas of high youth unemployment.
A complex policy issue
Youth unemployment is a complex policy issue with no silver-bullet solutions. Simple approaches based on individual employability are destined to fail.
Local communities and young people themselves are grappling with rapid economic change.
To be successful, education and training programs must work with local communities alongside investment in regional economies aimed at creating new employment opportunities when established industries leave.
Only in this way can education and employment policies support young people to navigate regional Australia’s changing labour markets.
David Farrugia is lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-farrugia-243862" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
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Youth unemployment: local communities essential for helping young people find work

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The literacy levels of construction workers are low relative to other industries, and yet prescriptions about how to work safely are often buried inside long and complicated documents.
Our research suggests workers may not even read these documents before they commence work. Also, no matter how complex they are, documents cannot cover all eventualities. There’s a gap between the way work is described in formal health and safety documents and the way it is practised on site.
Visual methods, including video, can overcome some of these difficulties. For a long time videos have been used to communicate health and safety information to workers. But safety training videos are often produced by technical experts or media companies and shown to workers in stand-alone presentations. In such uses, workers are passive audiences to generic video materials.
Construction companies are legally required to consult workers on health and safety issues, but this is often done in a very formal top-down way, rendering it meaningless.
This is a missed opportunity because construction workers possess a wealth of knowledge based on their practical experience, often gained over many years. Research conducted at RMIT University (undertaken in partnership with Melbourne-based firm CodeSafe Solutions) examined the potential for digital and mobile technologies to be used to access, capture and share workers’ health and safety knowledge.
In the research, construction workers were involved in making films about their everyday work practices. Unlike documentary, in which subjects have little or no say in how they are portrayed, participatory video engages people in making films about their everyday experiences.
Construction workers received basic media training before making digital videos about their work practices. The video making enabled workers and managers to understand and reflect on the way work is routinely done and, in doing so, identify constraints and enablers of safe and healthy ways of working. Only when watching the video footage did managers and workers identify problems inherent in standard operating procedures that were either poorly understood or impractical due to physical features of the work environment.
Gaps were identified between the way work was documented and the way that it is routinely practised. Understanding these gaps meant they could be discussed and collaboratively resolved.
In several instances work equipment, processes or procedures were redesigned to improve safety. In some instances tasks that had been undertaken the same way for many years were redesigned to make them safer. Both workers and managers described how watching the video footage gave them a different perspective and enabled them to view and understand work in new ways.
In one example an access platform erection process was redesigned after workers were seen working adjacent to an unprotected edge.
The collaborative redesigning of a long established work task reveals how workers’ tacit knowledge – which is not easily captured or written down - was made explicit and usable through the participatory video activities.
Once made, the digital videos are disseminated at participating worksites using quick response codes, accessible via smartphones. Some workers share these videos with workers outside their organisations, while others show them to builders and principal contractors to explain why they need to work in certain ways to remain safe.
The workers described video as being a powerful way to share “know how” as opposed to “know what.”
Digital and mobile technologies are now an integral part of everyday life. Using a smartphone to capture and share knowledge, experiences and ideas in video format is not only possible, but now second nature to many. The research shows it can also improve construction workers’ health and safety.
Helen Lingard is professor, Construction Occupational Health and Safety, RMIT University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-lingard-170971" target="_blank">here</a>.
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