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From data centre cooling to enterprise AI, here are this week’s biggest startup raises

Australia’s 50% capital gains tax discount has been in place since 1999. Budget 2026 could replace it with an inflation indexation model. CPA Australia, Deloitte and CommBank Economics have all weighed in.

The RBA raised rates because underlying inflation was already strong before the fuel shock hit. Three experts on what SME owners need to understand right now.

More than eight in ten Australians no longer trust what they read online, and most are now doing their own research before spending. 

Insolvency specialists are warning that Payday Super won’t create new business failures, but it will bring them forward. 

From July 1, any branded SMS your business sends without a registered sender ID will be labelled “Unverified” and grouped with scam messages. 

Two Australian startups selected for PepsiCo’s global supply chain program as corporate innovation push accelerates

ABRT Chair Eddie Griffith has a message for small business owners under pressure: if someone is offering you a single product as the fix to your financial stress, that is not advice, it is a sales pitch. 

Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool a small business has. New CommBank data shows it beats social media, local markets and every other channel for discovery.

UNSW Founders has opened expressions of interest for Impact X, a free 10-week health pre-accelerator for women and founders from diverse backgrounds across NSW.

CEDA CEO Melinda Cilento says the real test of next week’s budget is whether the government can make disciplined, coherent policy choices in a volatile environment. Here is the four-point framework CEDA will use to assess it on budget night.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Reddit. PayPal’s 2026 eCommerce Index reveals which generations shop where and what SME owners need to do to keep up with shifting social commerce habits.

Australian small business sales rose 7.2% year-on-year in Q1 2026, despite back-to-back rate hikes and a fuel crisis, Xero data shows.

From fuel crisis vouchers to cyber resilience funding, COSBOA has outlined a practical set of Budget asks for Australia’s five million small business employees. 

The next wave of AI value won’t come from buying more tools. Atlassian’s 2026 State of Teams report says it will come from better coordination at the team level. 

Joel Gibson of Zyft breaks down how every essential cost is rising at once and what the March CPI data means for small businesses whose customers are running out of breathing room.

Cutting red tape, keeping the instant asset write-off, and tackling tax reform. KPMG surveys over 150 mid-market CEOs on what they need ahead of the Federal Budget.

Nearly all Australian employers now expect AI proficiency in new hires but 88% say finding that talent is a genuine challenge. 

Mental health workers’ comp claims in Australia have jumped 160% in 10 years. Here’s what rising premiums and new state reforms mean for small businesses today.

FinTech Australia has named 160 finalists across 22 categories for the 2026 Finnies Awards.