Glossary

A NSW Police unit equipped with semi-automatic rifles to respond to attacks.

A reaction whose product speeds up the reaction that makes it.

The interest rate a government pays to borrow for a set period, set by trading in its bonds. When yields rise, bond prices fall and borrowing costs across the economy follow.

The list of orders from large investors that a bank collects to set the price and size of a share offer.

The process in which a company's bankers collect bids from large investors to set the price of a share offer.

The North Sea crude oil benchmark used to price most of the world's oil.

A short-term visa that lets a person stay lawfully while another visa application or appeal is decided.

One of the strains of the Ebola virus, with no widely licensed vaccine.

The timing of money flowing in and out of a business.

The Reserve Bank's overnight target rate, which anchors variable home-loan, savings and business rates.

The property of a molecule that exists in left- and right-handed forms.

The share of homes offered at auction that sell on the day or just after.

A survey measure of how confident households feel about their finances and the economy. Below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

Finding and monitoring people who may have been exposed to an infection.

The 31st UN climate summit, in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9.

The pressure on households from rising prices for housing, food and fuel.

A mid-level state court that hears serious criminal trials.

A warming of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide. In Australia it tends to bring hotter, drier conditions.

A tool carried in an aircraft cockpit for use in emergencies.

Shares held back and locked up, so that they cannot be sold for a fixed time after a float.

A one-point kick in rugby league that sends the ball over the crossbar from open play.

The first sale of a company's shares to the public, also called an IPO.

A technical inquiry that examines systems and logs to find out exactly what happened.

Use of public money for political advantage that is not clearly illegal.

A membership granted by a club without the usual fee. Members of Parliament must declare certain gifts and benefits.

A neutrino telescope made of a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice fitted with light sensors.

An assault with an indecent element. It is an older offence name that some states have replaced.

A NSW body that decides major projects that attract many objections.

The fees that a merchant's bank pays the card holder's bank each time a card is used.

Students on visas who pay full fees. They are a major source of university revenue and of net overseas migration.

A task force of federal police, state police and ASIO that investigates terrorism-related matters in each state.

A court case in which a judge decides whether a public body's decision or action was lawful, not whether it was right.

What a business pays its bank each time a customer pays by card.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which updates the budget forecasts, usually in December.

A US stock exchange dominated by technology companies and its main index, the Nasdaq Composite.

Arrivals minus departures of people staying or leaving for 12 months or more. Governments set targets for it.

Arrivals minus departures of people who stay or leave for 12 months or more.

Tiny, almost massless particles that rarely interact with matter. Billions pass through your body each second.

The minimum time a prisoner must serve before applying for parole.

Pauline Hanson's right-wing populist party, now rising in the polls.

A technique that places light-sensitive proteins in chosen cells so their activity can be switched on or off with light.

An arrangement with the ATO to pay a tax debt over time.

A barbiturate used in lethal injections in the United States.

The federal scheme that subsidises prescription medicines. It is one of the largest items in the health budget.

Directing public money to particular electorates for political benefit.

A ministerial meeting held shortly before a UN climate conference to prepare the negotiating text.

A firm that advises investors how to vote at company meetings.

Kept apart from other people to stop a possible infection from spreading.

A public inquiry with wide powers to examine a major issue.

The index of the 200 largest companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, the main measure of the Australian sharemarket.

Emissions a project causes indirectly, such as when its coal is burned by customers.

The greenhouse gases a project causes indirectly, such as those released when its coal is burned by customers. For a coal mine they are by far the largest part.

A court order that authorises police to enter and search a place for evidence.

The federal agency that runs Medicare, Centrelink and child support payments.

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which a large share of the world's oil passes.

Superannuation funds, which pool workers' compulsory retirement savings and invest them in shares, property and bonds in Australia and overseas.

An extra fee a business adds when you pay by a particular method, such as a credit card.

The RBA rule from October 1 stopping businesses adding fees for paying by EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard.

A visa that allows a stay for a limited time, such as for work, study or a working holiday.

Moving from one visa to another while inside Australia, often to extend a stay.