News
Small businesses are falling short of meeting the needs and wants of digital-savvy customers due to a reliance on gut feelings and traditional ways of operating, according to Telstra Executive Director, Small Business, Brendan Donohoe. Commenting on the 2018 Telstra Small Business Intelligence Report, Donohoe said there was a gap between what customers want and […]
ANZ will refund $10.2 million to more than 52,000 business-held credit card accounts due to a failure to properly disclose fees and interest charges, according to financial services regulator ASIC. The bank reported to ASIC that it had failed to disclose – or had incorrectly disclosed – the following information to some of its ‘Business […]
The benefits small businesses derive from a competitive financial system are being reduced by the regulators in their “quest for stability”, the Productivity Commission (PC) has found. The finding, contained in a draft PC report titled Competition in the Australian Financial System, is supported by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate […]
Twelve Australian businesses have been selected by the Federal Government to receive a combined $5.4 million worth of grants to help them commercialise their innovations. The Accelerating Commercialisation Grants, which provided under the Federal Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme, are available to businesses that have novel intellectual property with high growth potential. The aim to is to […]
By the age of retirement, the average working woman will have lost $160,000 in superannuation due to career breaks, according to REST Industry Super. To determine the financial impacts of career breaks on working Australians, the superannuation fund commissioned research, including a survey of 1030 men and women who had taken a career break of […]
The Federal Government is now seeking applications for grants of up to $7000 to help Australian researchers and SMEs work with overseas experts to develop and commercialise their projects. According to Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash, the Global Connections Fund (GCF) Priming Grants empower organisations to collaborate in the global arena, link with […]
Finding that seven in 10 Australians are now active social media users, Hootsuite has called on the nation’s small businesses to capitalise on an opportunity to ‘unlock critical revenue streams’. The social media management platform has released Digital in 2018, a report of social media and digital trends globally. Representing 239 countries and territories, the […]
The NSW Government is investing $2 million in a university-led cyber security network, with the aim being to protect the public sector and industry against cyberattacks. Announced by Minister for Finance, Victor Dominello, the NSW Cyber Security Council will bring together leading scientists and engineers from seven of the state’s universities to: harness the expertise […]
The Federal Government will “carefully consider” a strategy, prepared by Innovation and Science Australia (ISA), to transform Australia into a “top tier innovation nation” by 2030, Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash has announced. Released this week, ISA’s Australia 2030: Prosperity Through Innovation report contains 30 recommendations for creating a high performing innovation system, […]
The peak body for Australia’s fintech industry has urged Federal Parliament to prioritise a ‘vital new source of funds’ for SMEs by expediting the approval and implementation of private company equity crowdfunding legislation introduced in September 2017. According to FinTech Australia chair Stuart Stoyan, the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding for Proprietary Companies) Bill 2017 has […]
Leading companies across a range of sectors – including finance, utilities, government, education, automotive and telecommunications – need to lift their game when it comes to customer experience (CX), a new study reveals. CX consulting firm, Customer Service Benchmarking Australia (CSBA), studied 3000 customer interactions with 136 companies in Australia, assigning each a score out of 100 […]
With just over three weeks until mandatory data breach reporting laws come into effect, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate Carnell, has urged small businesses to ensure they are prepared as a matter of urgency. From 22 February, organisations with personal information security obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 will be […]
Employers who deny their employees their superannuation entitlements face up to a year in jail under legislation drafted by the Federal Government. According to Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, the purpose of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Taxation and Superannuation Guarantee Integrity Measures) Bill 2018 is protect workers’ superannuation entitlements and “modernise” the […]
Specialist advisers can now apply for grants from the Federal Government to help small business employers in metropolitan and regional areas take advantage of digital opportunities. As part of its Australian Small Business Advisory Services (ASBAS) program, the Federal Government will invest up to $18.02million over three years on the provision of low cost, high […]
Australia’s 620,000 migrant-owned businesses are, through their hard work and ambition, making a significant contribution to the national economy, according to CGU Insurance. More than 900 business owners were surveyed as part of the insurer’s Migrant Small Business Report, which it developed to shine a light on the role migrants play in Australia’s small business […]
Around three in five managers expect employee productivity to rise during the summer months, according to research commissioned by specialist recruiter Robert Half. The survey of 460 hiring managers from small, medium and large companies across Australia found that a majority expect their staff to be “somewhat more productive” or “much more productive” (58%) throughout […]
Small businesses contacted the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) nearly 5000 times in the second half of 2017, up from 3700 in the preceding six months, according to a new report. The ACCC’s latest Small business in focus report, covering July to December 2017, shows small businesses made 2365 enquiries to the Commission along […]
To coincide with the forthcoming local launch of Amazon’s cloud-based, AI-powered voice assistant Alexa, online employment market SEEK has announced a compatible voice-activated job search. According to Amazon, three Alexa-enabled, voice-controlled speakers – the Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot – will ship from the company’s local website “beginning early February”, with the devices also […]
Labor force figures released by the ABS this week show more than 403,000 jobs were created in Australia in 2017, with Minister for Jobs and Innovation Michaelia Cash proclaiming it the “best year for jobs growth ever”. The ABS figures also show that the number of jobs increased for the 15th straight month in December, […]
Tertiary educators are struggling to keep up with demand from Australian CIOs for qualified IT professionals, according to research commissioned by specialist recruiter Robert Half. The survey of 160 CIOs and CTOs from companies across Australia found the education system is only able to satisfy 3% of technology leaders when it comes to their demands of the […]
