Geoscience Australia is marking 80 years of geological and geophysical operations by launching a new 10‑year national geoscience strategy to guide exploration, resource assessment and hazard mapping. The strategy is expected to steer federal investment in continent‑scale datasets such as deep seismic profiles, gravity and magnetics surveys, and national drilling programs that support critical minerals targeting. For miners and consultants, the roadmap signals continued access to pre‑competitive data to de‑risk greenfields exploration and infrastructure planning across remote basins.

Government plans to ban cash retentions in construction contracts aim to “prevent the abuse of retention payments in construction”, signalling a major shift in how risk and defects liability are managed across UK projects. The move would directly affect standard forms such as NEC and JCT, where 3–5% retentions are commonly withheld through practical completion and defects periods. Contractors and subcontractors could see significant changes to cashflow, security instruments (bonds, project bank accounts) and commercial negotiation of quality and defect-remedy provisions.

Plug-in balcony solar panels will go on sale in Lidl stores across Great Britain within months, following government moves to modernise regulations for “plug-and-play” devices that connect via a standard mains socket without formal installation. The UK is drawing on continental experience, where Germany alone adds around 500,000 such micro-PV units a year, to cut household grid demand and exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices linked to the Iran war and wider Middle East conflict. In parallel, the new Future Homes Standard will require most new low-rise homes to incorporate on-site renewable electricity generation, predominantly roof-mounted PV, alongside low-carbon heating such as heat pumps or heat networks.