News

The Australian government has announced an $800 million Digital Business Package to update Australia’s digital infrastructure. The bulk of the funding will be put towards an updated digital ID system and business register modernisation. Ahead of next week’s delayed federal budget, Morrison said businesses had undergone “a decade of change in months”, and will continue […]

Applications for the Tech23 Deeptech Festival are now open for young, high-growth tech companies. Since 2009, the Tech23 has aimed to unlock new ways of working by joining the dots between enterprise and clever tech. Tech23 seeks to encourage the deeptech ecosystem to collaborate; learn and respond – leveraging a wealth of talents, contacts and […]

The City of Sydney has launched the third round of the Retail Innovation Program as part of a $72.5 million package to support local businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivered over 12 weeks and at no cost to participants, the program empowers small business owners to adapt and innovate in the face of unprecedented change. […]

The number one concern for female entrepreneurs prior to COVID-19 was funding, but now it’s simply business survival, reports a new international study, Future Females 2020: Changing Landscape of Entrepreneurship Survey. Within the first month of the pandemic, 59 per cent of the Future Females community had experienced a negative financial impact on their business, and […]

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have outlined key dates employers must be aware of to stay eligible for JobKeeper, as the extension period for the wage subsidy comes into place this week. “There are some key dates to keep in mind, and simple steps employers can take now, so they are ready for the changes, […]

The Federal Government has announced changes to responsible lending laws in the hopes of boosting Australia’s flow of credit. Under the changes, consumers will be able to access credit more easily and quickly. Whilst responsible lending provisions do not apply to small business lending, these reforms have a large impact upon household credit. “As Australia […]

Aussie Broadband, Australia’s fifth largest provider of NBN services, is set to list on the ASX this October. The ISP will list with a $180.5m to $190.5m market capitalisation. The announcement comes at a time where activity in the IPO market has been hugely destabilised by the pandemic. “The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the appetite […]

Westpac has settled a case with financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC regarding more than 23 million alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws by paying a record $1.3 billion penalty. The fine is the largest penalty in Australia’s corporate history. Last year Australia’s financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC said the bank had failed to properly report 19.5 million […]

The Federal Government has released a $4.5 bn network investment package, involving a $3.5 bn upgrade of the National Broadband Network (NBN). By 2023, more than 700,000 businesses and 6 million homes will have the option to pay extra for faster broadband. $3.5 bn will be allocated to network investments for homes and small businesses, […]

The Federal Government has announced new insolvency rules that will allow small businesses to stay afloat whilst restructuring debts. This new insolvency regime is proposed to start from 1 January 2021, following the lifting of temporary insolvency measures introduced in March 2020. Related: Government extends temporary insolvency and bankruptcy protections Incorporated businesses with liabilities less […]

With brick-and-mortar sales decreasing and e-commerce sales increasing, retailers should be looking to implement new methods and technologies to keep their physical stores relevant and productive.  Baldeep Gill is the newly appointed CEO of Aisleplus, a service ecosystem dedicated to helping physical retail stores connect with the digital world.  While Mr Gill believes that the […]

At Tesla’s “Battery Day” event on Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk announced the production of a US$25,000 electric vehicle (EV) “about three years from now”. Importantly these EVs will be powered by “tabless” batteries that Musk promises will be cheaper and more powerful. The new “tabless” batteries, called 4860 cells, will provide five times more energy, […]

NSW businesses can continue to trade and receive deliveries for 24 hours a day. Until 25 March 2021, businesses can adjust their hours of operation to continue providing food, medical supplies and household goods to the community. In March 2020, the NSW government amended the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the State Environmental […]

The NSW Government has revealed it has allocated $400m of its $3 billion Jobs and Infrastructure Acceleration Fund to regional projects. Last week, the government announced $2.4 billion in funding, which included $1.4 billion in accelerated funding for regional projects. This brings the total spend so far to almost $1.8 billion for regional projects. Premier […]

Drone autonomy company, Emesent, has announced a new investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT), the investment arm of the US intelligence agency the CIA. The strategic investment will help power Emesent’s expansion into new industries including defence, security, and emergency response. “This investment from In-Q-Tel and the strategic support it offers is a boon for our continued growth and the […]

Working from home has increased the use of residential energy across Australia, leading experts to call for households to switch to renewable sources.  Through April, residential energy in New South Wales increased by 10 per cent, and in Victoria by 12 per cent. Ross Sharman, the founder of EnergyIQ and an integral member of the […]

There are 12 days to go until the Australian Treasury closes public consultation of the Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia’s National Security) Regulations 2020 (Exposure Draft Regulations) and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Regulations 2020 (Exposure Draft Fees Regulations). The draft reforms under consultation have been made to give further effect to the major reforms of the Foreign […]

Fewer women are running the country’s top 200 ASX-listed companies in 2020 compared to the last four years, according to the Chief Executive Women (CEW) ASX200 census report released last week.  The report found that the amount of female CEOs of the ASX200 companies has declined from 14 to 10 since 2018. It also found […]

If trade bought prosperity to all corners of the world, then COVID-19 is showing the dark side of an interdependent world. Media interest in COVID-19 is increasingly shifting from the public health aspects of the crisis to the economic consequences of the biggest global pandemic in over a century.  Often the issues involved in fighting the […]

Official ABS figures released today show that the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.8 per cent in August, down from 7.5 per cent in July. This drop contrasts widespread predictions of rising unemployment. Despite stage 4 lockdowns in Melbourne and stage 3 lockdowns across regional Victoria, national employment increased by 111,000 people between July and […]