China
Food-safety oversight is to cover production, storage, transport, sales and emerging business models
An official Xinhua report published by the Chinese Government on 23 September said Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing had called for deeper, end-to-end food-safety oversight at the main event of the 2026 national food-safety publicity week a day earlier. He said the quality and effectiveness of supervision should be improved through strict management and governance.
The stated requirements cover production, storage, transport and sales. Zhang called on platform companies, testing bodies and certification institutions to meet their responsibilities, and sought stronger source-risk controls, tighter regulation of food additives, and more targeted inspection and sampling in priority areas and identified weak points.
The scope expressly includes emerging business models such as online food ordering, livestream sales and community group buying. The published information records central-government directions on regulatory responsibility, inspection priorities and the coverage of new business models; it does not constitute a newly enacted law or a separately announced administrative penalty.
Australia
Victoria’s royal commission into major construction projects holds its first public hearing
On 23 September, the Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria held its first public hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. The commission was formally established by the Governor of Victoria on 20 August, with former South Australian chief justice Christopher Kourakis appointed as commissioner.
Its terms of reference include determining whether corruption, criminal conduct or serious misconduct occurred in relation to major state construction projects and examining the conduct of government, delivery authorities, contractors, subcontractors, labour-hire companies and suppliers. The inquiry also covers procurement, contract management, regulatory and licensing systems, workplace culture, supply chains, law-enforcement responses and possible recovery of misappropriated public funds.
Three documents from 2023 were tendered at the opening hearing: two ministerial briefings about site-based issues on major transport infrastructure projects and a letter from then deputy premier Jacinta Allan to Victoria’s police commissioner. The documents contain allegations concerning possible criminal figures on worksites, pressure on contractors, and risks to project costs and schedules. They are evidence being examined by the commission, not final findings, and the commission said affected people would have an opportunity to respond.
The commission had already conducted several closed hearings to receive sensitive information that could have compromised its investigations if disclosed prematurely. It says later proceedings will be public wherever possible. Its final report is due by 20 August 2027 unless a later date is agreed between the commission and the Premier.
United States
Federal health-insurance marketplace cancels unauthorised enrolments and tightens broker access
On 22 September, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the Federal Marketplace was cancelling about 315,000 unauthorised enrolments covering more than 760,000 people. The agency said ending those enrolments was expected to stop or recover about US$2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded premium-tax-credit subsidies.
The figures and the characterisation of the cases as unauthorised or fraudulent are determinations made by the federal administration. CMS said it would continue working with insurers to investigate potentially unauthorised enrolments, cancel only confirmed cases and recover the associated subsidies. Reuters reported that some cases involved citizenship or immigration documents that could not be verified and allegations that brokers enrolled people or changed their plans without their knowledge.
CMS also imposed a temporary moratorium on new broker registration for the 2027 plan year for people without an active Exchange agreement for 2026. The restriction runs until 1 February 2027. Existing brokers must complete identity proofing again; broker-assisted applications must include verifiable Social Security or immigration-document numbers for non-newborn applicants and must have electronic consumer authorisation.
The agency also said it had issued termination notices to more than 200 non-compliant agents and brokers since the beginning of 2026. During the northern summer it issued 569 notices of intent to terminate after applicants were submitted at what CMS described as statistically implausible rates without key identifying information. An industry organisation representing insurance agents and brokers objected to the industry-wide moratorium and called for enforcement targeted at specific offenders.
Editorial framework: This briefing uses Sustenesis as an editorial framework for selecting facts, organising relationships and structuring information, with attention to differences and constraints in rules, responsibilities, resources, risks and social relations. Sustenesis functions here as a method of organisation rather than a position or commentary; the body remains limited to verifiable facts.
Sources
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China / Xinhua — Chinese vice premier urges deepening full-chain supervision of food safety
https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202609/23/content_WS6ab319f5c6d00ca5f9a0d606.html
Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria — Hearings
https://www.rcimcp.vic.gov.au/hearings
Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria — About us
https://www.rcimcp.vic.gov.au/about-us
The Guardian — Bikies, ‘moral compass malfunctions’ and corruption cost: Victoria’s Big Build royal commission holds first public hearing
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/23/victoria-big-build-royal-commission-construction-inquiry-corruption-first-hearing-ntwnfb
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — CMS Cracks Down on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace®
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-cracks-down-fraud-waste-abuse-federal-health-insurance-marketplacer
Reuters — US halts Obamacare enrollment for over 760,000 enrollees, claiming fraud
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-says-it-canceled-315000-obamacare-policies-last-month-2026-09-22/
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