News
As consumers demand more sustainable and ethical business operations, companies can now join forces and fight climate change collaboratively through Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition. The Priceless Planet Coalition (PPC) unites merchants, banks, cities and consumers to plant 100 million trees by 2025. It is a platform where businesses can crystallise their sustainability goals and help […]
Australian fintech Verteva today announced it has rebranded to Nano and written its very first home loan via mobile, as it prepares to disrupt the mortgage industry. The company, run by two former Westpac execs, has also begun official beta testing and welcomed family and friends to experience its home loan product and platform ahead […]
Australia’s peak small business group has said the Government’s JobMaker hiring scheme is “lacking in detail” and prone to fraudulence. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg unveiled the JobMaker hiring credit in last month’s budget to incentivise businesses to hire young job seekers over the next 12 months. It is expected to create around 450,000 positions for young Australians […]
The CSIRO has released a new report The Value of Science and Technology that lists the five main barriers to innovation in Australia and the respective solutions that businesses can adopt to overcome these challenges. The main barriers identified by the report are: Declining innovation investment: investment into R&D innovation has been declining and is […]
The role of corporates and financial institutions will be instrumental in planning for and supporting economies and communities as Australia transitions from coal-fired electricity to a low carbon world, according to a new report. The report, Just Transition: Implications for the Corporate Sector and Financial Institutions in Australia, prepared by the Institute for Sustainable Futures […]
Parental Leave policy is something all businesses need to consider. While there are legal requirements for organisations to adhere to, there are extra steps that can be taken to separate one business from another and assist those taking care of children. However, these steps may come at a cost to the business. In today’s Let’s […]
Australian fintech Beforepay has today announced the successful completion of its AU$4 million Series A capital raise. The round, which closed in nine days and was oversubscribed, brings the total amount raised this year to over AU$6 million. The AU$4m Series A round was led by venture capital investor, Airtasker Chairman and Vocus Communications founder […]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today revealed a new wave of measures put in place to help stimulate the country’s economic recovery through increased borrowing. Those measures include lowering the benchmark interest rates from 0.25 per cent to 0.10 per cent, a reduction in the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances to zero and the […]
New research has shown the coronavirus lockdown has reignited Australia’s love for shopping locally, with 91 per cent claiming they are now spending up to $200 per week on their local high street. Takeaway shops, cafes, restaurants and bakeries are among those who have had the biggest bounce since lockdown, according to research commissioned by […]
In a digital address to the McKell Institute today, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work Clare O’Neil warned of the “tsunami coming for workers in predominantly male industries.” In June, Ms O’Neil outlined how COVID-19 disproportionately affected women because of the havoc it wreaked on female-dominated industries such as hospitality and […]
A 1.75 per cent increase to minimum wages has come into place, as part of the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review announced in June. Usually, minimum wage increases take effect from the beginning of the financial year. However the wage increases for a number of industries have been delayed due to the effects of […]
Tax policy under a Biden presidency may facilitate more US investment into Australia than a Trump presidency, according to the United States Studies Centre. Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21 per cent to 28 per cent, raising personal income tax for the top individual earners from 37 per cent to 39.6 […]
The Australian economy will lose more than $3 trillion over the next 50 years if climate change is not addressed, according to a new report from Deloitte Access Economics. The report titled A new choice: Australia’s climate for growth said if net-zero emissions policies are adopted by 2050 it could create 250,000 jobs and add […]
The Kwinana Refinery in Western Australia will be permanently closed and converted to an import terminal, as dwindling demand puts pressure on the fuel industry’s margins. “Regional oversupply and sustained low refining margins mean the Kwinana Refinery is no longer economically viable,” said bp Australia in a media statement on Friday. This closure follows the Federal […]
Research shows that products that use the Australian Made logo have an advantage in the international market, with 97 per cent of overseas consumers adopting a positive first impression of the logo. Ben Lazzaro, CEO of Australian Made, said that the iconic green and gold kangaroo has provided an effective way for shoppers around the […]
Australia is technically out of a recession however this does not mean Australia’s recovery will be smooth-sailing. At a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, RBA deputy governor Guy Debelle revealed that Australia’s economy grew in the September quarter. When asked about Victoria’s economy by Senator Bridget McKenzie, Dr Debelle surmised that Victoria’s economy appeared to […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen remote working transition from being a personal preference to a matter of safety. The challenge for small businesses is not only implementing technology that supports working from home (WFH) but in finding solutions that replicate office culture virtually and deliver a better user or customer experience. According to the ABS, […]
The world’s second and third largest economies, China and Japan, have both pledged to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions, heralding an economic era characterised by sustainability and renewable energy. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 in his first policy address to parliament earlier this week. “We will fundamentally shift our long-standing […]
With under a week until the 2020 US Presidential elections on Tuesday, 3 November, economists and investors are looking to predict the way various outcomes could affect Australian businesses. The US economy is the world’s largest economy, and Australia has a very close economic relationship with the USA. In 2016 alone, exports to Australia generated 264,000 […]
It’s a challenge that’s been discussed in boardrooms for years: how to harness evolving technologies to transform and improve the way a business functions. Yet despite its well-documented benefits, digital transformation is still not being achieved by a significant number of organisations. According to a Forrester Report, The Sorry State of Digital Transformation in 2018, […]
