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The number of Australians gambling at risky levels is at its highest level in six years, according to the latest national gambling survey from The Australian National University. Nineteen point four per cent – or almost one in five – Australian adults reported gambling at risky levels in the past year.

Lead author Associate Professor Aino Suomi said that while overall gambling participation has steadily decreased over the past 15 years, the recent increase in people gambling at harmful levels is cause for concern.

In September, leaders of the Pacific region joined together in the Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting. For policy watchers and regional insiders, this meeting is very much a spectator sport; set plays, high stakes and no shortage of sideline commentary.

Held under the theme ‘Iumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent’, this was a milestone event for the government and people of Solomon Islands, hosting the meeting for the first time since 1992.

Share your daily commute to help ANU Green understand how our community navigates between campus and home, including those who have a hybrid or remote working arrangement. The survey takes under five minutes to complete and is open to all ANU staff and students who work or study in Australia.

Your feedback will be used to help calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with working or studying at ANU and inform our strategies for a greener future. Survey closes on Sunday 19 October. 

I wrote to staff on 25 September about the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) cease work order and provisional improvement notice (PIN), noting that with staff agreement, the Health and Safety Representative (HSR) lifted the cease-work direction on 23 September 2025.

Last Thursday, HSR advised the PIN has now also been withdrawn.

Read more: COO Update – Commencement of Comcare monitoring and compliance activity in CASS

The Nixon Implementation Working Groups are coming to the end of their 12-week sprint examining what actions we need to take in response to the Review’s recommendations so we can improve the experience of studying and working at ANU and embed our best cultural practices across the University.

The Working Groups and the Community Reference Panel will present their findings and recommendations at a day-long event coming up on Friday 17 October. More details will be shared next week including how to register and how to submit questions in advance.

The ANU Information Security Office is hosting a month of tips, events, workshops and prizes for all staff and students as part of Cyber Security Awareness Month. This week’s focus is passphrases.

A passphrase uses four or more random words as your password. For example, ‘crystal onion clay pretzel’ or 'red house sky train'. The longer the passphrase, the harder it is for hackers to crack.

Tips for building strong passphrases:

ANU is supporting this Friday 10 October by recognising the importance of taking a holistic approach to wellbeing across campus. The day is an annual observance designed to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilise efforts in support of mental health. This year’s theme is Connect with your community. Connecting with our communities, where we feel safe, seen and heard, helps us feel cared for and supported, which is essential for our mental health.

Check out the for daily wellbeing and connection tips throughout October.

More information on the University’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing services is available on the website.

Friday 17 October, 6–9pm

On Behalf of the Living unfolds on two levels: an exploration of humanity’s preoccupation with life after death and the story of one anthropologist’s experiment—taking his lifelong “participatory” research on a Papua New Guinea island to its logical, if counter-intuitive, conclusion.

Saturday 18 October, 10am–4.30pm  

Get ready to design the future at TEDxCanberra 2025, where the theme The People’s Blueprint takes centre stage. In an era where change is inevitable, but direction is uncertain, this event offers a bold new vision.

The brilliant speakers will share powerful ideas that reframe systems, challenge the status quo and propose bold, community-led solutions to today’s most pressing challenges.

Tuesday 21 October, 12–2pm

Experience innovation in action at the College of Systems and Society Showcase at the ANU Sport Hall. Explore interactive projects from six schools and connect with staff, students and industry partners.

Wednesday 22 October, 6–8pm

Join feminist scholar Kirsten Ainley for an insightful lecture exploring how post-conflict and climate-related reconstruction can promote gender justice.

Drawing on international legal developments and feminist theory, Professor Ainley examines how rebuilding already built environments offers opportunities to address systemic inequalities.

Monday 10 November, 9am–5pm

This one-day symposium will see the launch of two new academic papers, from Professor Jenny Hocking AM and Professor Frank Bongiorno AM. It will also include a panel discussion with political and media experts and a discussion on political cartoons.

Students can book special tickets by applying the code ‘student’ during checkout.

Some treasures at ANU can be seen with your own eyes. But not this one, not just yet.

Tucked away in the ANU Archives is a secret that won’t be revealed for another two decades – the ANU 75th Anniversary Time Capsule. Sealed in 2022 to mark the University's milestone year, this capsule captures a snapshot of life at ANU.

It holds a mix of 23 physical and digital items. From the everyday and quirky (such as Etta the duck and a baby size ANU t-shirt), the past that made ANU what it is (damaged terracotta tile from the roof of University House), to more formal records (first detection of the Gravitational Wave) of the University's achievements and challenges.

The capsule is strictly off-limits until 2046, when ANU celebrates its centenary. Until then, it sits quietly preserved.

The capsule reminds us of the passage of time, the importance of memory and the excitement of leaving something meaningful for those who come after us.

From Tuesday 4 November, you will be able to self-identify your current gender at any given time through ANUHub without needing to provide supporting documentation. More appropriate language will be used to describe gender and will allow you to accurately represent your identity.

ANU is improving how we collect data to better reflect our diverse community. This change is a step toward more inclusive data collection.

Learn more: Updates to gender data collection for ANU students

Every student’s story is different and together they help paint a bigger picture of life at ANU. By completing the Uni Student Wellbeing Survey, you can share your experiences and help us see what’s working well and what needs to change to better support you.

only takes around 10 minutes to complete, it’s anonymous and participants go into the draw to win prizes, including one of three $300 Prepaid Mastercards, one of three $100 Prezzee eGift Cards and 25 ANU merchandise packs with a candle and scarf.

Set4ANU Mentors play a vital role in supporting new students and easing their transition into university life. Mentors are responsible for supporting mentees socially, helping build their study skills and working as ANU guides, introducing the physical space and linking mentees into University services. To get a better idea of what mentors do, you can read about Steven's Set4ANU Mentor story.

As a mentor, the program offers you an opportunity to build your interpersonal, communication and leadership skills, make new connections and friendships. You can also count your volunteer hours towards ANU+.

Apply now to be a Semester 1 2026 Set4ANU Mentor and join a friendly team of senior students to make a difference in the lives of our new students.

Learn more: Apply now to become a Set4ANU Mentor

If your research demands advanced computing power, this is your opportunity to secure access to one of Australia’s most powerful systems.

The National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS) leads Australia's grant programs for high-performance computing (HPC) access. The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) and the Pawsey Supercomputing ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Centre, Australia's two Tier-1 HPC facilities, jointly deliver hundreds of millions of computing hours to outstanding researchers.

To apply, visit the NCMAS website at , review the eligibility criteria and submit your application. Applications for NCMAS 2026 open tomorrow, Wednesday 8 October and close on Friday 31 October.

ANU staff and students have free and unlimited access to the Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) Conference – The Future of Sustainability, running virtually from 5–7 November.

This virtual conference brings together staff, students and sector leaders from across Australasia to share ideas, explore best practice and inspire action.

Don’t miss the chance to be part of the leading sustainability event for the tertiary education sector. You can register for free with your ANU email address.

For many graduates, entering the workforce is what first comes to mind when considering options after university.  

However, five recent graduates chose to continue their studies in Suzhou, China, spending a year improving their Chinese language skills as China in the World, China Studies Fellows. This was made possible with support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Halfway into their Fellowship, we asked the first cohort to share their motivation to undertake the year-long endeavour as well as their experiences studying Chinese at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou.

Help is available if you need it. If you are dealing with a personal or university-related issue, ANU encourages you to seek support through the Student Safety and Wellbeing team by emailing student.wellbeing@anu.edu.au or calling 02 6125 2211, Monday to Friday, 9am-4pm.

You can also visit our Urgent Support page for a list of 24/7 and crisis support options.

For life threatening emergencies first call 000 (or 0000 if dialing from an internal phone), then call ANU Security at (02) 6125 2249