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Fresh restrictions in Sydney following latest COVID cluster Sydney, Dec 22: The city of Sydney reintroduced strict restrictions on December 20 as confirmed cases related to a newly-discovered coronavirus cluster has increased to 68.The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30 more locally acquired coronavirus cases on December 19 night, and an additional six cases in hotel quarantine, making the total number of cases related to the cluster in Northern Beaches to 68, Xinhua news agency reported. Among the 30 new locally acquired cases, 28 are linked to the Avalon cluster, while investigations are ongoing into the source of the remaining two cases, both of whom live on the Northern Beaches. After the COVID cluster was found, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on December 20 morning announced several new restrictions to be applied to Greater Sydney from December 20 midnight. Household gatherings will be limited to 10 visitors. One person per 4 square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor settings including hospitality venues and places of worship. A cap of 300 people will apply for hospitality venues and places of worship. Singing
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and chanting at indoor venues will not be allowed. Dance floors will not be permitted, except for weddings, when a maximum of 20 from the bridal party will be permitted. Berejiklian said the government will work with health officials to monitor the development and intend to provide further clear advice for the community ahead of Christmas. Greater Sydney and the Central Coast will join Northern Beaches as the red zone as announced by Victoria, and those from these areas cannot enter Victoria from December 20 midnight. The state of NSW currently accounts for 4,748 coronavirus cases and 53 deaths.
At the official opening in Parramatta , Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said, “The Wipro-AWS Launch Pad will offer in-house technical expertise for businesses as well as a physical studio to help enable seamless cloud adoption and improve business operations.” Wipro’s Senior Vice President and Business Head of Asia Pacific & Japan Manoj Nagpaul said Wipro is seeing a rising demand from clients in the Asia Pacific region. “This state-of-the-art centre focuses on delivering the best of Wipro offerings on Amazon Web Services to meet this demand and enable digital transformation for our clients,” Mr Nagpaul said. “Our relationship with India is focused on creating strong pathways for trade and investment, with a particular emphasis on the digital and technology sectors. I’m delighted to see the strength of NSW’s relationship with India celebrated in Western Sydney,” Mr Ayres said. He further said Wipro-AWS Launch Pad is built upon the NSW
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Government’s commitment to help businesses transform and adapt to a new way of working. “We are investing $1.6 billion into a Digital Restart Fund to make NSW the digital capital of the southern hemisphere. Sydney is becoming a global hub, with more than 600 multinational corporations basing their regional headquarters in the city,” Mr Ayres said. AWS Head of Partner Success for Asia Pacific and Japan Corrie Briscoe said there is a huge opportunity for Australian businesses to tap into the combined expertise of Wipro and AWS to accelerate digital transformation. “We are pleased to support Wipro to showcase truly innovative experiences that can be developed on AWS. Wipro’s solutions, coupled with the security and scalability that AWS offers, helps us to effectively problem-solve for customers, bring efficiencies to their operations, and accelerate their move to the cloud,” Ms Briscoe said. Wipro started its journey in Australia more than 15 years ago and now has more than 1000 employees in NSW alone.
NEWS FROM NEW SOUTH WALES
New consulate rules could make documentation costlier for local community Sydney, Nov 22: There is widespread concern in the community with new rules introduced by the Consulate General of India in Sydney under which certain documents will now need to be certified by a Notary Public rather than a Justice of Peace ( JP).
Wipro and AWS inaugurate innovation centre in Parramatta Sydney, Nov 28: Leading global information technology company Wipro Limited and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have jointly launched a new state-of-theart co-innovation centre in Parramatta. The Wipro-AWS Launch Pad is designed to empower Australian businesses to adopt cloud services.
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While a JP has a legal obligation to provide their services for free, Notary Publics can charge up to $600 an hour (in 6 minute intervals) to certify documents. Assuming 10 minutes to certify a document, a family of four having their Indian passports certified could be forced to pay nearly $400 including GST to a Notary Public, whereas a JP would have performed this service for free. Certifying a document means that the notary or JP has viewed an original document (such as a passport) and a copy of the original, and confirmed the copy is a true copy of the original document. Witnessing the execution of a document involves the notary or JP confirming that the applicant signed the document in the notary or JP’s presence. The rules released by the Consulate General of India in Sydney effectively state that it is no longer willing to accept copies of documents certified or witnessed by JPs. The Consulate General cites that these rules are based on new guidance from “NSW authorities” that prohibits
JPs from witnessing or certifying copies of overseas documents. However, this is only half-correct. A few more investigations tell a different story. While JPs cannot witness the execution of overseas documents (e.g. a JP cannot witness the execution of a signature on a foreign passport application), this is not a new restriction. Further, the NSW Department of Communities and Justice has clarified that an NSW JP can certify a foreign document as a true copy of an original if they have both the original and copy physically in front of them, meaning there is nothing preventing a JP from certifying a copy of an Indian passport. Despite being made aware of this, the Consulate General insists that those posting in documents to VFS Global (which manages Indian passport and visa applications) must have those documents certified by a Notary Public, or otherwise visit VFS
in person despite the ongoing pandemic. Mr Salimath confirmed that the new guidance issued by the Consulate was based purely on guidelines issued to the Consulate General by the Department of Communities and Justice, rather than a policy implemented independently by the Consulate General. According to Mr Salimath, no legal advice has been sought by the Consulate General. Given the increasing pressure on household incomes due to COVID-19, especially amongst migrant families, the Consulate General has a critical role to play in ensuring that the notarial services it requires remain as accessible as possible, within the scope of the law.
NSW Government: Calling all businesses to the jobs capital Sydney, Dec 20: Domestic and international businesses looking to relocate or expand their jobs footprint are encouraged to apply for assistance such as payroll tax relief, with the $250 million Jobs Plus Program now open. Premier Gladys Berejiklian unveiled the program in November as part of the 2020-21 NSW Budget, which is designed to provide support to private and non-government sectors seeking to invest in job creating projects, proposals and partnerships. Ms Berejiklian said the program would see the commitment to create or support up to 25,000 jobs by 30 June 2024. “This is about putting NSW centre stage in supporting investment and creating jobs,” Ms Berejiklian said. “We want to attract businesses from around the world and across the country to make NSW their new home as we set our state up for a dynamic recovery.” Treasurer Dominic Perrottet called on all eligible businesses
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to apply, with a suite of support measures available to make it easier than ever to relocate to NSW. “This is $250 million of government funding to turbocharge private sector investment in NSW and accelerate the creation of sustainable jobs,” Mr Perrottet said. “NSW is still the nation’s economic powerhouse and we want to not only keep it that way, but build our economy back up better and stronger than ever.” Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the program would provide support to businesses committed to job creation. “This program is the first of its kind, providing support such as payroll tax relief for newly created jobs, fast-tracked planning approval pathways and advice, a one-stop-shop Jobs Plus Concierge, subsidised training programs aimed at building specialised skills and access to
NSW Treasurer Dominic free or subsidised government spaces and accommodation,” Mr Ayres said. The NSW Government is committed to supporting the jobs of the future by laying the foundation to build world-class industries supported by physical and digital infrastructure. Sydney and NSW are the most attractive locations in the Asia Pacific to set up growth businesses in a post-COVID world. This program is a clear signal to the world that we want your business and investment.
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