National organisations

Below are some valuable sources of information about national organisations that provide information for local communities, including specific support for families of medical staff.

The listings for each of the States and Territories are also useful reading. Resources for issues such as employment for partners, education, housing, healthcare, taxation and so on are available under Information for families.

For resources relating to professional networks for doctors, please refer to Support for doctors.

The Rural Medical Family Network
Country Women’s Association
Community Information and Services for Australians
The Backyard—regional information
Australian webcams

The Rural Medical Family Network

This volunteer organisation was formed by men and women who have a common bond of interest because of their spouses’ occupation. Each State and Territory has a branch (with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory, which combines with the New South Wales branch). They provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and solutions and can also help spouses needing to obtain a grant for further training or upskilling in their particular profession.

Victoria
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Western Australia

Country Women's Association

The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest women's organisation in Australia. Located in almost every small country town and community across Australia, it has a total membership of around 44,000 across 1855 branches.

The CWA aims to improve the conditions for country women and children, especially those living in rural and remote Australia. It is self-funded, non-party political and non-sectarian. Activities range from scholarship programs for students in a variety of fields and of all ages and backgrounds; instruction in all crafts, drmam, art , music, public speaking, cooking and floral art, use of technology (especially for older members), through to practical support on a local basis for emergency services personnel in times of crisis.

For more information, contact the relevant State or Territory branch:

New South Wales (includes the Australian Capital Territory)
Queensland
Western Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
South Australia
Northern Territory (Telephone: 08 8941 3305)

Community Information and Services for Australians

This Community Information website helps communities and community groups to find relevant and up-to-date information.

The Backyard

This Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) website allows you to type in any town in Australia (any place that has a postcode) and it will automatically take you to the ABC Radio site of that region. Alternatively, you can click on the map of Australia or browse by State/Territory and then region, and it will take you to the appropriate regional (ABC Radio) information. These pages provide information on local activities, pictures, local news, weather forecasts, various local information (including sports or even local recipes in some cases), although the local information available differs from one region to the other. There is also a story index, which includes categories of health, law, crime and justice, and so on.

Australian webcams

Each of these State or Territory sections is divided into information about regions and locations, local events, community activities, live webcams (website cameras that allow you to actually view a location as it appears right now).

Below is a list of some of the webcams (website cameras that allow you to view a location in real time) around Australia. You can also check the listings under each State and Territory.

Surf webcams
Coastal Watch