SAM is looking for passionate, motivated people to join its volunteer program.
They need a welcoming attitude and a willingness to learn and engage.
Volunteers at SAM fulfil a range of roles across the museum, including greeting visitors at entry points, supervising the galleries and responding to questions about artworks and exhibitions, and assisting with public and educational programs.
Interested people will have to act quickly though, as applications close on Friday, March 15.
More details can be found at Volunteer at SAM – Shepparton Art Museum.
COVID climb
Four years on from the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic, and the housing landscape has changed dramatically around Australia.
All signs are that the legacy of COVID will be with us for a long time yet.
Property data analyist CoreLogic has reviewed the numbers between the WHO’s declaration on March 11, 2020 and February 2024.
It found its national Home Value Index surged 32.5 per cent in that time, adding about $188,000 to the median value of an Australian dwelling.
That major growth only came after an initial dip though, with housing values initially falling by 1.7 per cent between March 2020 and June 2020 before surging 30.8 per cent higher. The market then slumped 7.5 per cent as interest rate increases started to bite.
Another increase followed though, as inventory dried up and migration boomed, the index rising 9.5 per cent between February 2023 and February this year.
Nationally, rents have jumped 32.4 per cent since March 2020, adding about $150 a week to the median dwelling rent.
In regional Victoria, the median value of a home rose by $143,966 since the declaration, or 33.9 per cent, to $568,772.
Rentals in regional Victoria rose by 26.4 per cent or $96 to $459 since the declaration.
To put those figures in perspective, for the same period of time before the COVID-19 declaration, the median home value for regional Victoria rose by 23.1 per cent and rentals increased by 8.1 per cent.
Navigating pay equality for small business
The Pay Equality Toolkit, developed by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission with funding from the state government, has been launched to help small and medium-sized enterprises achieve pay equality in their workplaces.
The government said the toolkit would give business owners and leaders the resources they needed to take action on the gender pay gap.
It includes a pay equality compass to help assess the strengths and opportunities for businesses, as well as guides and templates for creating an equal pay policy.
“The business owners we spoke to told us that small businesses need practical advice about achieving pay equality that is tailored to their specific needs,” Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Ro Allan said.
“We have worked with experts in gender equality as well as numerous small to medium enterprises throughout Victoria to produce this practical toolkit.”
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