News
Unsurprisingly, the top four challenges and top three opportunities facing SMEs in the coming year are a result of COVID-19 related financial pressures, according to the latest ScotPac SME Growth Index research. When asked what they are most positive about for 2021, the most common response was getting “back in the black” (24%), and the […]
Despite lockdown measures in the Northern Beaches and restrictions across Greater Sydney, Sydney residents must all adopt greater precautionary measures or risk a Christmas lockdown, says emergency response expert Dr Ian Norton. As of 11am Monday 21 December, there are now 83 cases linked to the Northern Beaches cluster. Residents in the Northern Beaches are […]
Companies who want to expand their footprint in NSW can now access the $250 million Jobs Plus Program. The Program is designed to reduce the cost of establishment and financial risk and increase speed to market. It will create or support up to 25,000 jobs up until 30 June 2022. What is involved The Program […]
Last week, as part of the Australian Government’s ongoing response to the pandemic-induced economic crisis, the Senate passed reforms to insolvency arrangements for small businesses with liabilities less than $1 million. From 1 January 2021, these businesses will be able to avail themselves of: A new debtor-in-possession, debt-restructuring process to improve the prospects of business […]
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has invested $78.8 million into Sydney-based start up Brighte, helping fund the development of its new green energy retail arm. “The additional capital will be deployed in three key areas: the acquisition of more solar households, growing Brighte into a household brand and building out our customer lifetime value proposition which […]
Morse Micro, an Australian start up revolutionising Wi-Fi for the Internet of Things (IoT) has been named a CES® 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree for its Wi-Fi HaLow technology. “The ultra-long range and massive capacity of our Wi-Fi HaLow technology along with its ultra-low-power is a game changer for the IoT,” said Michael De Nil, co-founder […]
Data released today from Xero and AlphaBeta (part of Accenture) show that the continued recovery of small businesses has lifted jobs to pre-pandemic levels and reveal year-on-year revenue growth for 6 consecutive months. “Our Xero Small Business Insights analysis for November paints a pleasing picture of the sector’s continued recovery,” said Trent Innes, Managing Director […]
Sailing the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an experience of a lifetime; one that teaches you plenty about yourself and sailing. Ocean racing has also provided me with great insights about building and leading high-performance teams in a business context. In 2015, one-third of the fleet did not finish the race. Our boat was […]
Despite hard hits to Australia’s wine, beef and barley industries, soaring iron ore spot prices have “more than made … up” the losses in lobsters and wine, says Deloitte. “To be clear, we’ve lost money on everything from lobsters to wine. But we’ve more than made that up in overall terms thanks to iron ore […]
As a small business owner, it can be tempting to focus all your time and attention on the business, but the most important resource that your business has is actually you. The healthier and more resilient you are, the healthier your business has the chance to be. What is mental health? Mental health, or being […]
More than one in five (22 per cent) of Australians businesses would use their credit card if they needed additional finance. A further 31 per cent would dip into their savings, while 21 per cent would look at a bank loan and 14 per cent access an overdraft. This snapshot into borrowing habits has been […]
It’s always challenging for new employees to hit the ground running, and even harder if they work from home. An office environment subtly reveals much about how a company operates, so managers need to provide additional support to recruits who are working remotely. When staff members retreated to their home office back in March 2020, […]
When COVID-19 hit Australia, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation (DAAFF) team knew they had a vital role to play in not just supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, but also helping to protect these vulnerable groups from the potentially devastating impacts of the virus. Owned by a membership of Indigenous Art Centres and […]
Australian exporters who adapted to the challenges of 2020 by embracing technology, developing new products and breaking into different markets have been recognised for their achievements in the Remarkable Australian Exporter showcase. The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham, has congratulated Aussie exporters who overcame extraordinary challenges this past year. Tim Beresford, acting […]
Dr Anastasia Volkova is the CEO and Co-founder of FluroSat, an agtech business that uses drone and satellite data to inform agronomists around the world on how to maximise their crops. She has been recognised as one of the BBC’s Top 100 women globally, is on the MIT 35 under 35 list and has worked […]
A new CSIRO report GenCost 2020-21 has found that solar and wind are the cheapest source of energy in Australia based on integration costs of renewables in electricity generation. “Previous GenCost reports added arbitrary amounts of storage costs, but this year we used a model of the electricity system that optimises the amount of storage […]
It’s been a tough year, and for some, Christmas is the shining light at the end of the 2020 tunnel with family celebrations, social connection and time off work. For others, the holiday period may be a time of stress or isolation, with many unable to travel to be with family or friends this year. […]
The final version of Australia’s “world first” news media bargaining code, which requires Google and Facebook to pay for news content, was introduced into Parliament on Wednesday. “This is a huge reform. This is a world first, and the world is watching what happens here in Australia. But our legislation will help ensure that the […]
Research from national workplace mental health organisation, SuperFriend, reveals a mental health crisis is unfolding amongst retail workers in Australia. The study, Spotlight on the Retail Industry 2020, found that 66.4 per cent of retail workers have experienced a mental health condition since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was even higher among casual […]
Westpac merchant facilities have directly processed a record 68 million transactions through the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales (25-30 November), the highest number ever recorded, up 5.7 per cent from the same period last year. Analysis of merchant trade data shows more people did their shopping on Black Friday this year (13 million transactions), […]
