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Telehealth has become an established route to specialist healthcare for residents of remote Northern Territory communities, with local clinics and doctors using video or phone consultations to connect patients with NT Health specialists and services. Providers including Abby Health have partnered with Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services to extend long-term GP and nurse practitioner care into the Territory.
Wellington's Sustainability Trust runs the Te Aro Zero Waste Repair Café, where skilled volunteers fix electrical, electronic, jewellery, and welding items for free, alongside its RepairED repair programme. Sustainability Trust reported New Zealand generates 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of electrical waste annually, with only 2% currently recycled, making it the country's fastest-growing waste category.
A new farmers market opened at St Heliers waterfront on 22 February 2026, running the last Sunday of every month, joining Auckland's established network of local produce markets including Clevedon Village (founded 2005, 60+ stalls), Parnell, and Grey Lynn Farmers Market. The Urban List Auckland reported the CBD's Britomart Saturday Market has also expanded under new ownership.
The Northern Territory Government's Aboriginal Business Development Program (ABDP) grants up to $30,000 (excluding GST) to Aboriginal-owned businesses in the Territory, including in Alice Springs, to purchase assets, undertake training, or access professional advice. Indigenous Business Australia separately offers up to 30% of a new business loan as a grant toward business assets.
New Zealand has adopted a tuberculosis elimination strategy based on the World Health Organization's eight-point action framework for low-incidence countries, positioning the country as a potential first-in-the-world eliminator of TB. Health New Zealand updated national TB control guidelines on 17 March 2026, and tuberculosis treatment remains free for anyone diagnosed in New Zealand.
Hobart's first toy library opened on 27 February 2026 at South Hobart Community Centre, offering more than 400 toys valued at over $20,000 for local families to borrow. Pulse Tasmania reported free tickets to the library's Saturday open day sold out within 48 hours, with support from the City of Hobart, GHD, and Derwent Valley Medical Centre.
Samoa officially launched a US$4.8 million One Health Pandemic Preparedness and Response project in Apia on 18 February 2026, uniting its health, agriculture, and environment ministries with the World Bank, FAO, and WHO. The Pandemic Fund grant leverages more than US$5 million in additional co-financing and builds on training that has already qualified 15 Animal Production and Health Division staff as para-veterinarians.
Hobart's Dirty Hands Composting Cooperative has collected food scraps from local cafes and restaurants and turned them into compost for community gardens since its first collection in November 2016. The cooperative operates alongside the City of Hobart's FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) bin rollout and its target of zero waste to landfill by 2030.
The Northern Territory Government's Teach Local scholarship offers $5,000 a year to 15 Territorians studying teaching over a four-year programme, while Teach up North offers a $5,000 one-off incentive for interstate pre-service teachers completing their final placement in the NT. The NT Government reported 71% of Territory schools are in remote or very remote areas, serving 44% of the student population.
Wesley Community Action, a Wellington-based organisation, launched Te Waka Kotahi: Intensive Caregivers Support in September 2024 with funding from Oranga Tamariki. A recent evaluation found caregivers reported improvements to their wellbeing and their ability to provide stable care, at a time when Oranga Tamariki supports around 1,580 whānau caregivers and 925 non-whānau caregivers nationally.
Tasmanians whose independence at home is at risk due to a health condition can access occupational therapist-assessed home modifications, including ramps and other accessibility changes, through the Tasmanian Home and Community Care (HACC) program and the national Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme. Every modification requires an occupational therapist's assessment before work begins.
The Northern Territory Government's Territory Equipment Program (TEP) helps residents who need prescribed mobility aids and disability equipment to continue participating in daily life, with approved health professionals able to apply on a client's behalf. In Alice Springs, the NT-based company Keep Moving has supplied, serviced, and hired mobility and disability equipment for more than a decade.
The Wairarapa region, neighbouring the Wellington region, has been certified by DarkSky International as New Zealand's second International Dark Sky Reserve, requiring local councils to limit light pollution across a large protected area. The certification joins Kaikōura's Dark Sky Sanctuary status, where street lighting was modified to protect the Hutton's shearwater seabird.