Locked
Industrial relations changes have been critical in helping small business employers keep their doors open and staff on their payroll throughout the pandemic. The flexibilities that apply to employers on the JobKeeper wage subsidy, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises, give them the ability to change their duties, their total number of ordinary hours, days and […]
Business Australia reported that 6 out of 10 Australian SMEs reported sales losses up to 75 per cent this year. Only 18 per cent reported consistent revenue and a mere 9 per cent experienced a growth in sales during the pandemic. Richard Spencer, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Business Australia, offers a list of suggestions […]
Figuring out where to best invest your time and money is a difficult task. As businesses scale, leaders’ daily tasks become more and more unpredictable. When time becomes money, it is imperative that businesses effectively allocate their resources. We explore how business leaders have invested their time and money to generate successful outcomes. Mike Featherstone, […]
Employers breathe a sigh of relief as the Fair Work Commission releases draft flexibility clauses that help employers and employees discuss flexible working arrangements during and beyond COVID-19. On Monday, Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross published a “draft award flexibility schedule” outlining the ideas that modern awards could adopt to help SMEs achieve flexible […]
Facebook is threatening to ban news from being shared on its platforms in Australia, due to a new regulatory code that would force themselves and Google to pay news publishers for content. The mandatory news code being introduced has been supported by major media companies including Nine Entertainment, News Corp Australia and Guardian Australia, looking […]
Key changes will be made to ease restrictions on the NSW Victorian border to help residents and local businesses operate as Victoria continues to battle COVID-19. A single border region will be reinstated that extends to around 50 kilometres on either side of the border. The new border region and ‘border region resident’ permit will […]
People who live in New South Wales and South Australia but work in Victoria are now eligible for a $1,500 Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment if they need to self-isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19. The Australian Government announced on 28 August the extension of the payment Victorian’s are currently receiving, to people who do not […]
Premier Daniel Andrews will release his reopening roadmap for Victoria this Sunday, September 6th. In a statement released today, the Victorian Government has said they will release their plan to reopen the state from Stage 4 lockdown, aiming to provide certainty and clarity for the people and businesses within the state. This announcement comes as […]
47 per cent of small to medium enterprises expect salary increases to be frozen for at least 12 months, according to a new study from ACA research. It is positive to see that the proportion of SMEs reporting a decline in revenue has decreased from 78 per cent to 67 per cent last month. Consequently, […]
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has lashed out at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews over the premier’s handling of COVID-19 during a heated interview with ABC News Breakfast. The Morrison Government is demanding that the premier state what the appropriate level of new cases in Victoria would be for him to open up Stage 4 restrictions. They are […]
Jackie Vullinghs is a Principal at Airtree Ventures who invests in areas such as health, fintech, cybersecurity and AI. She studied history at Cambridge University and then had a diverse and fascinating career in investment banking and start-ups. She moved to Australia in 2017, bringing a wealth of knowledge in fintech, leadership and personal publishing. […]
The increasing preference for contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic might be here to stay. What payment trends are emerging? Mark Hodgson, Head of Product and Services at Samsung Electronics Australia, noted that there has been growing demand for cashless payment options. “Demand for digital wallet solutions and contactless payments have grown strongly this year […]
The NSW government announced today that regional, small and medium-sized businesses will be prioritised for all direct procurements up to $250,000. Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro explained that the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and Regional Procurement Policy provides a much needed boost for businesses impacted by droughts, bushfires and COVID-19. […]
Despite the global economic slow-down, the shift to online spending and move from traditional forms of credit have boosted Afterpay’s position domestically and internationally. Afterpay announced today that it had doubled its revenue to $519.2 million. This is a 97 per cent increase from the 2019 financial year. Net losses are also down to $22.9 […]
NSW small businesses have less than a week left to apply for the Small Business Recovery Grant. The Grant was opened up to small businesses who employ less than 20 full-time staff to help meet the costs of safely reopening or up-scaling operations. Small businesses which meet the eligibility criteria may claim between $500 and $3000 to help create COVID-19 […]
ANZ today launched a new digital lending platform to provide a conditional $200,000 to small businesses in unsecured lending in as little as 20 minutes if they share their Accounting Software Platform. Developed in partnership with DemystData – an external data marketplace – ANZ Online Business Lending syncs with Accounting Software Platforms (ASPs) Xero, QuickBooks […]
The Victorian Essential Services Commission announced this week that it will introduce new mandatory requirements for energy retailers to provide “reasonable” assistance to small businesses in “financial distress” and support for residential customers. On 24 August, the commission released temporary coronavirus pandemic requirements to assist small businesses and residential customers in Victoria on top of […]
2020 has been a year where the discussion of workplace flexibility has been at the forefront of every company in Australia. With what has been a pretty unpredictable year, it has been difficult for business owners and leaders to create lasting company policy regarding the flexibility of their employees and their workplace culture. There’s a […]
Recent data from Telsyte has shown that nearly half (45 per cent) of Australian organisations are looking to increase cloud infrastructure spending in 2020, and 46 per cent of Australian businesses now have ‘cloud first’ policies when it comes to making new investments. Murray Dickson is the Director of Sales Enterprise (South Pacific) at CommScope, […]
Businesses have been plunged into further uncertainty as the Senate inquiry into R&D tax incentive (‘RDTI’) reforms is delayed a third time this year. What do we know so far? The Treasury Laws Amendment (Research and Development Tax Incentive) Bill 2019 (‘the Bill’) was introduced on the 5 December 2019 to reform RDTIs. Treasurer Josh […]
