News
In closing its latest funding round, Canva has seen its valuation surpass US$1 billion mark, making it the second Australian startup after Atlassian to obtain Unicorn status. [See also: Let’s Talk… Growth (Is there anything wrong with aspiring to be a unicorn?), “We’ve only achieved 1% of what we know is possible,” says CEO of […]
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has released a cybersecurity guide to educate business operators about the risks and help them prevent cyberattacks. Noting that 60% of small firms that experienced a cyber breach went out of business within the following six months, Ombudsman Kate Carnell said operators couldn’t afford to be complacent […]
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has warned banks not to pass moral judgment on appropriately registered and regulated adults-only businesses. Kate Carnell said she had written to the Australian Bankers Association to express her concern that banks are discriminating against the legitimate adult industry by withdrawing or failing to provide financial services. […]
Michaelia Cash’s appointment as Minister for Jobs and Innovation is welcome recognition that the two aspects are “closely linked’, according to StartupAUS CEO Alex McCauley. Noting there have been four Innovation Minister in less than two years, he said it was time for Australia to “get back on the front foot with innovation policy”. [See […]
Despite containing some positive initiatives for small business, the revised Banking Code of Practice hasn’t resolved issues with power imbalance and dispute resolution, according to Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell. The Ombudsman was consulted on a draft version of the code, provided to ASIC this week for approval; however, she said she […]
A cabinet reshuffle has been announced by Prime Minister, with Michaelia Cash named Minister for Jobs and Innovation, and Craig Laundy promoted to Minister for Small and Family Business, Workplaces and Deregulation. Cash, formerly the Minister for Employment and Women, assumes responsibility for a new portfolio focused on jobs creation as part of her reassignment. […]
The Australian Government’s proposal to make it easier for digital-first challenger banks to compete against industry incumbents is could be improved, according to the peak body for fintech startups. FinTech Australia has lodged a submission with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in response to its discussion paper, entitled “A phased approach to authorising new entrants to […]
SME operators not only predict a lack of sales over the Christmas retail period, they also expect to be short on spare time, according to MYOB. The cloud accounting provider’s latest SME snapshot reveals that business confidence is down due to the threat of bigger and online retailers entering the market from overseas. The majority […]
Businesses are being encouraged to promote their commitment to good payment time practices by signing up to the National Payment Transparency Register, established this week by the Australia Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO). The Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, first called for a national register in her report into payment times and practices, published in […]
Innovations implemented by Australian businesses over the past year have contributed $110 billion to the economy, according to research undertaken by the Commonwealth Bank The second annual CommBank Business Insights Report, which looks at innovation practices and performance of companies with two or more employees and an annual turnover greater than $500,000, indicates that businesses […]
The decision by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to use distributed ledger technology for its settlement and clearing system for equities transactions has been welcomed by industry association FinTech Australia. Distributed ledger technology developed by Digital Asset will replace CHESS (Clearing House Electronic Subregister System), which ASX currently uses to record shareholdings and manage the […]
A parliamentary committee recommendation for banks to reduce ‘tap and go’ transaction fees has attracted support from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics recommended that banks let merchants send tap-and-go payments from debit cards through eftpos instead of credit, and that regulatory action be taken […]
Investors who back startups in the BlueChilli portfolio will now enjoy an immediate tax deduction plus capital gains tax exemptions. This follows a private ruling by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) approving BlueChilli as the nation’s first accelerator program with Early Stage Investment Company (ESIC) accreditation. Under ATO rules, investors who have met the agency’s sophisticated […]
The passage of anti-money laundering legislation through Parliament on Thursday will facilitate further growth in Australia’s local blockchain and digital currency industry, according to local fintech leaders. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017 will extend anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulation to digital currency exchanges. The legislation requires these exchanges to monitor […]
The “deliberate”, “repeated” and “systemic” exploitation of three overseas workers has resulted in a West Australian cleaning company, including its husband and wife operators, being hit with nearly $511,000 in penalties for Fair Work breaches. Catherine Paino-Povey, Mark Povey and their company– Commercial and Residential Cleaning Group Pty Ltd – were fined $77,400, $72,240 […]
A lack of training and career development is fuelling employee dissatisfaction amongst Australia’s IT workers, with 49% actively looking for new work and a further 40% open to jumping ship for the right offer. These findings are from a survey of nearly 2000 tech workers undertaken by IT workforce solutions specialists Greythorn, which gathered data […]
Federal Government agencies are paying 96% of their small business contractors within thirty days of receiving an invoice, according to a new report. Minister for Small Business, Michael McCormack said the latest Pay On-Time report also found agencies were paying 60% of invoices up to $1 million within 20 days, and that the overall results […]
To help small businesses get online and reach new markets through digital platforms, the Federal Government has overhauled its Australian Small Business Advisory Services (ASBAS) program, Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack has announced. McCormack said the redesigned program will allocate $18 million in grants over three years to specialist advisers who will engage with […]
With organisation preoccupied with the security challenge posed by malware, cybercriminals are switching impersonation attacks to bypass email security systems, according to research undertaken by Mimecast. The global email and data security company has released its latest Email Security Risk Assessment (ESRA), which revealed that while most organisations are treating malicious attachments and spam as […]
Global retail giant Amazon has today officially entered Australia’s $300 billion retail market, with ‘millions’ of products across 23 categories – from books and music through to consumer electronics and clothing – now available for purchase through its local website. Here’s Amazon Australia at a glance… Orders fulfilled by Amazon Australia are being shipped from […]
