News
Alfresco dining will become the norm this summer, with NSW government agencies banding together in a task force dedicated to activating the state’s outdoor hospitality spaces. This announcement comes off the back of the Victorian government’s announcement of a $290 million package for Melbourne restaurants to expand outdoors in a growing national trend to see […]
Qantas will start referring business frequent flyers to lending platform Valiant Finance. This partnership helps Qantas members access working capital, asset finance and commercial loans. It will be enabled by Qantas Business Rewards, the airline’s frequent flyer program for SMEs. Olivia Wirth, Qantas Loyalty CEO, hopes that this move will help support businesses throughout the […]
The NSW Government have committed $160 million as part of the federal JobTrainer program, to help people reskill for jobs in the health, manufacturing and construction sectors. In a statement released on Wednesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said: “COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge to our State, and Skilling for Recovery complements our current skills […]
The NSW Government have revealed plans for the $3 billion Jobs and Infrastructure Acceleration Fund to deliver more projects and create up to 20,000 more jobs. The fund, that was initially announced in May, will be put towards more than 30 new and fast-tracked health, education and transport and roads projects to be delivered across […]
Facebook’s Small Business Grants Programme is offering USD $100 million in cash grants and ad credits to small businesses. Up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries may receive a grant. Eligible businesses must: Be a for-profit company Have between 2 and 50 employees as of 1 January 2020 Have been in business […]
Video conferencing technology will continue to be used to witness legal documents such as wills, powers of attorney and statutory declarations. Witnessing via audio-visual link (AVL) can be done through technology such as Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom. The witness must watch a person signing the legal document in real time through AVL. They then […]
The Morrison government has announced they will back the construction of a gas-fired power station in plans to prevent an energy price spike for employers and households and help rebuild the Australian economy. “Gas is a critical enabler of Australia’s economy,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement ahead of Tuesday’s speech. “Our competitive […]
The Victorian government have announced a $100 million support package for sole traders to recover from COVID-19, one day after revealing plans for $3 billion in cash grants and tax relief for SMEs. The announcement that grants of up to $3,000 will be offered to 30,000 individuals comes after Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday promised […]
The Victorian Government’s plans to release a $3 billion support package to businesses has been met with apprehension from business owners. On Sunday evening, Premier Daniel Andrews’ announced that the program of support will help businesses preserve jobs and survive the current crisis. “It is an unprecedented set of challenges that business face,” Premier Andrews […]
The NSW Government has released a 24-Hour Economy Strategy to revamp Sydney’s nightlife, support local businesses and create more jobs in the wake of COVID-19. The strategy will be driven by a new Coordinator General tasked with unlocking the city’s cultural and economic potential by bringing stakeholders together from across industry and councils and looking […]
To support businesses experiencing financial distress throughout COVID-19, the Australian Government introduced measures to relax insolvency and bankruptcy rules in March. These changes were set to draw to a close by 30 September, but have now been extended until 31 December 2020. Many commentators had predicted that the changes would need to be extended, especially […]
Early this week, the Tax Institute of Australia (TIA) called for guidance material on the JobKeeper scheme in relation to the R&D Tax Concession and transfer pricing. In an open letter from TIA president Peter Godber, the TIA made a submission to the ATO encouraging a more “considered approach … in relation to guidance being […]
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns are a rising trend in investment decision-making globally. Between 2016 and 2018, the value of sustainable and responsible investment assets in Europe, the US, Japan, Canada and Australia/New Zealand rose by 34 per cent to $30.7 trillion. This trend has been accelerating the fastest in the United States. More […]
A new report from KPMG finds investment in Australia’s fintech sector has accelerated in the first half of 2020, reaching US$376.5 million. This is more than a 150% increase on the corresponding period in 2019 (US$149.05 mil). However, a fall in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE) activity caused total investment in Australian fintech to fall from […]
Applications for the Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII) grant close tomorrow, 10 September 2020 5:00 pm AEST. Under the BRII, SMEs can apply to receive up to $100,000 to conduct a feasibility study on five key challenges that the government currently faces. If successful, applicants can then receive up to $1 million to develop […]
The Victorian Government has contracted with tech giants Salesforce and IBM to digitise their contact tracing efforts after being slammed by the Federal Government. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister criticised Victoria’s roadmap out of lockdown as the “worst case scenario.” “The most important thing is ensuring that we build an integrated tracing capability right across […]
The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) has put out a statement arguing that the Victorian Government’s roadmap for reopening Metropolitan Melbourne uses excessive thresholds for easing restrictions and should be overhauled using the National roadmap as the basis. “The Victorian Government should use the national roadmap as a starting point for getting to […]
New data has revealed voluntary administrations have significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the uncertain mindset of small business owners. However, this could be prolonging an insolvency cliff. Prushka Fast Debt Recovery revealed through data sourced from court records that the number of liquidations and administrations started to drop in April this year. In […]
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called on the Victorian Government to cover the costs associated with small business closures, with tough trading restrictions to remain in place until the end of October, at the earliest. In announcing his Government’s much-anticipated steps to easing the nation’s strictest lockdown, Premier Daniel […]
The Senate Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has recommended that the Australian Government provide greater clarity around the Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) eligibility guidelines to ensure software innovation and creation is supported in Australia. On Wednesday, Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg tabled an interim report covering tax, regulation, access to capital, skills […]
