News
A former rider for Deliveroo has taken the food-delivery service to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in an unfair dismissal case. Diego Franco’s contract was terminated in April after working for Deliveroo for three years. Mr Franco claims that he was an employee and was sacked without warning at the height of the pandemic. The […]
As trade tensions with China increase, Australian industries as diverse as cotton, barley, coal and meat are being forced to reassess their export strategies. Now a new report highlights how the dairy industry plans to become less reliant on the Chinese market by focusing on ASEAN-6 countries. After prioritizing the Chinese market for the past […]
Zip has announced its partnership with Visa, Apple and Google to allow many more small businesses to accept buy now, pay later (BNPL) in store. The company’s new ‘Tap & Zip’ product feature enables Zip Pay users to shop anywhere that accepts Visa1, ApplePay or Google Pay. Unlike its major competitor Afterpay, which can only […]
The Law Council of Australia is encouraging the Government’s move away from the one-size-fits-all approach when dealing with small businesses facing insolvency to be fast-tracked. The reforms to the Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Bill 2020 aim to establish a new formal debt restructuring process for eligible small businesses, to enable financially distressed but viable firms […]
Australian plant-based meat startup, v2food, has today announced the closing of $77 million in Series B funding, including investment from Singaporean state-owned investor Temasek. Joining the round of new and existing investors includes ABC World Asia, Altitude Partners, China Renaissance, Esenagro, Horizons Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Marinya Capital, Novel Investments and Sequoia Capital China. “This […]
With the news of the 2020 Federal Budget bringing forward the Coalition’s three-stage tax cut package, Payroll SaaS platforms are working to implement the new tax tables into their services for their small business customers. The Australian Taxation Office has announced that as the changes have been made part way through the income year, employers […]
Guest Authored by Mark Jones, Associate Managing Director in Kroll’s Cyber Risk practice, and Cem Ozturk, Managing Director in Kroll’s Business Intelligence and Investigations practice While there’s no shortage of commentary around cyberattacks perpetrated by external actors, insider threats—that is, those committed by people within the business such as current or former employees—don’t make the […]
Melbourne business owners are displeased with Premier Daniel Andrews’ plans to keep customer-facing businesses closed under his government’s latest COVID-19 response plan. In a press conference on Sunday, the Premier announced Melbourne’s newest roadmap out of the pandemic, along with which came news that customer-facing businesses may not open until November 2. There will be […]
Australia’s unemployment rate increased to 6.9 per cent in September, however Australians should be focusing on another more troubling labour statistic. The latest ABS data showed that the underemployment rate also increased to 11.4 per cent in September (3 pts higher than a year ago). “Even before the pandemic, underemployment in Australia was persistently high,” said Matt […]
The Australian Business Growth Fund (BGF) has been formally established, providing eligible Australian SMEs between $5 mn to $15 mn in long-term equity capital investments. Eligible SMEs include Australian businesses that “have generated annual revenue between $2 million and $100 million and can demonstrate three years of revenue growth and profitability, allowing for the impact of COVID-19 […]
Applications for Australia’s first Angel Investors and Entrepreneur Masterclass pilot program are now open. The WA Government, Generation One and Perth Angels have teamed up to fund a new pilot program to boost investment into Indigenous entrepreneurs and start-ups. Applications for the pilot program opened on the 15 October and close on the 29 October […]
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Dr Philip Lowe, made a speech this morning encouraging Australians to spend more money to assist the stimulation of the economy. The speech addressing the annual Citi Australian and New Zealand investment conference also outlined the RBA’s plans to raise the cash rate, saying it will not […]
The pandemic has prompted an explosion of digital and global business services. Airwallex, an online business account for SMEs, has seen this surge in digital business first-hand. “A major shift in the way businesses operate from offline to online is something Airwallex predicted from our inception,” said Jack Zhang, CEO and Co-founder of Airwallex. […]
IKEA Australia yesterday announced the launch of Australia-first clean energy storage initiative to power its Adelaide store, and provide a surplus of green energy to the South Australian power grid. The multinational furniture chain has partnered with Queensland’s Planet Ark Power to help meet their ambitious zero net emissions target by 2030. The project will also be run […]
Despite the majority of pandemic-induced job losses occurring in female-dominated industries, the Government has not delivered policies that support women and men equally throughout Australia’s economic recovery. The 2020-21 Budget announced a $240 million Women’s Economic Security Statement, however missed an opportunity to boost workforce participation and long-term productivity through childcare investment. A focus on […]
Following the first round of JobKeeper cuts, and the presentation of the most significant Federal Budget since World War II, businesses are starting to face the reality of insolvencies and liquidations. New data from digital credit reporting bureau CreditorWatch the number of businesses entering into administration rose by 11 per cent in September to 436. […]
Dr Farzaneh Ahmadi is the CEO and Founder of Laronix, an Australian stratup creating Bionic Voice: the world’s first smart, wearable (non-invasive), artificial voice box that gives people who have lost their larynx, their voice back. So far, Dr Ahmadi has raised over $1 million for Bionic Voice, and has guided the technology from inception […]
With the Australian Government putting pressure on small businesses to digitise amidst the COVID-19 recession, more SMBs are looking for support to build an online presence. AppsVillage (ASX: APV) creates mobile apps from SMB Facebook and Instagram pages. The apps created using the tool aim to assist businesses to interact with their customers, and create […]
The results of an Atlassian study examining how working remotely has impacted knowledge workers during the COVID-19 pandemic provides valuable insights into how to lead a fragmented workforce. The three-monthly long global study, which surveyed over 5,000 employees, found an employee’s readiness for remote work was based on three key factors: Household Complexity – the […]
As we continue to navigate the impacts of the global pandemic, Export Finance Australia is supporting Australian businesses with access to finance. Without a doubt, new challenges have emerged – from difficulty in fulfilling international orders to the loss of a steady customer base. As a result, many exporting or supply chain businesses need additional capital to help them stay on top of […]
