Suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians and accounts for the deaths of more young people than car accidents.

We need to acknowledge those who are doing ground-breaking work in this area.

The Australian Mental Health Prize seeks to recognise Australians who have made outstanding contributions to either the promotion of mental health or the prevention and treatment of mental illness in areas such as advocacy, research or service. I would like to encourage clinicians, health professionals and the public at large to nominate the people they feel should be recognised for their work. More information and nomination forms can be obtained from www.australianmentalhealthprize.org.au. Entries close on August 31. For those who are living with the burden of mental illness every day, thank you for your support. 

I am pleased to advise that our Sydney lawyers, Makinson d’Apice have informed us today that the company 'Bronze, Bill The Bastard' (BBTB) has been registered and that the Australian Tax Office has issued an ABN. 

The BBTB group decided that a limited liability company structure was required to seek the necessary approvals to fundraise and apply for grants to bronze Carl Valerius’s life sized statue of Australia's Famous Warhorse - 'Bill the Bastard', Major Michael Shanahan and the four Tassie troopers: refer to www.billthebastard.org.

Dr Gray said that the next step is to register with the ACNC to achieve charitable status, then approval from Fair Trading NSW to allow us to raise funds for the project. The company is applying for deductible gift recipient status (DGR) so that any donor can claim donations over $2 as a tax deduction.      

The 'Bronze, Bill the Bastard' group has also been informed by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) that our company constitution will allow the 'Bronze, Bill The Bastard' company to “piggy back” on FRRR’s DGR status. FRRR is a not-for-profit organisation that was set up to assist organisations in rural communities to qualify for tax deductible gift recipient status.

Dr Gray is pleased that the corporate and legal processes are almost completed, to allow the 'Bronze, Bill The Bastard' group to start fund raising in a few weeks. 

Almost 40 per cent of people who have bought goods or services online experienced problems with their purchase, according to a recent NSW Fair Trading survey.

More than 1100 people participated, with 39 per cent saying they’d had problems with a purchase made within Australia.

About half the issues related to goods being delivered late or damaged, or not arriving at all. Other common problems included faulty products; items being different to those advertised; and unexpected charges. Those who purchased from overseas also reported a lack of clarity about currency; high shipping costs; communication issues; and fraudulent use of their credit card.

Australians spend more than $11 billion every year shopping online so it’s really important to remember you have the same rights buying online from an Australian supplier as you do when you walk into a shop.

The survey revealed that online shoppers want to see more transparency about who they are buying from, and prefer to deal with online traders that had an ABN, registered business name and a physical address, as well as a published complaints procedure.

There are many ways to ensure you’re getting a fair go, like checking the supplier’s refund and dispute resolution policies, before buying online.