News

Changes made to the draft crowdfunding legislation, which will allow private companies to crowdfund equity, will protect investors while reducing costs and red tape for companies, according to advocacy group FinTech Australia The draft crowdfunding legislation was introduced into the Australian Parliament by Treasurer Scott Morrison, yesterday. FinTech Australia expects the legislation to provide a new fund-raising […]

Company directors will be issued with unique identification numbers as part of Federal Government reforms designed deter and penalise directors who engage in illegal phoenixing activity. The reforms were announced this week by Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, who said illegal phoenixing – the stripping and transfer of assets from one company […]

Monday, 11th October 2017 Source: MYOB MYOB has called for Australian SMEs to consider the impact that a cybersecurity attack could have on their business and consider implementing stronger measures to ensure that an online security breach won’t mean having to close shop. The call to action comes following findings from MYOB’s SME Snapshot that […]

Wednesday, 6 September 2017 Source: ATO Following a five-year rollout, superannuation members are now receiving an estimated $2.4 billion per year in savings thanks to SuperStream. SuperStream is one of the largest ever changes to Australia’s financial system, with an estimated investment across the industry of $1.5 billion. More than one million businesses have been involved […]

Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has thrown his support behind Brighte, leading the home energy fintech’s $4 million Series A round through his venture capital business Grok Ventures. Based in Sydney, Brighte is a digital credit platform that provides on-the-spot finance for home energy improvements, allowing homeowners to access solar panels, insulation and batteries […]

Australian ATM provider Stargroup has entered into a joint venture with blockchain technology company DigitalX to roll-out ‘two-way’ Bitcoin ATMs across its global network, commencing with Australia. At present, there are only 16 ATMs in Australia that can facilitate a Bitcoin transaction. A vast majority are one-way ATMS, meaning users can only acquire Bitcoin to […]

Government moves to reduce regulatory barriers to challenger banks entering the market should improve access to finance for small business, according to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO).  The Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, welcomed news that the Treasury is consulting on proposed changes to the Banking Act, which would remove restrictions on the use […]

The federal government has offered 11 businesses a share of $6.6 million in funding to help launch innovative products, processes and services locally and abroad. The commercialisation grants are available to successful recipients through the Accelerating Commercialisation element of the Entrepreneurs’ programme, which is delivered by the AusIndustry division of the Department of Industry, Innovation […]

All businesses across Australia are now banned from hitting customers with excessive surcharges for using certain types of EFTPOS, Mastercard, Visa and American Express cards to make payments. The excessive surcharging ban has applied to large businesses since September last year and now extends to all businesses that are either based in Australia or use […]

The growth of SMEs is being significantly restricted by their inability to access credit readily, according to the results of a survey commissioned by fintech lender GetCapital. The Businessloans.com.au Small Business Credit survey was completed by 611 SMEs, defined as businesses with between 5 and 250 FTE and an average minimum revenue between $50,001 and […]

LaunchVic, the Victorian Government’s startup investment agency, has made available a new round of funding to attract world-class accelerator programs to Melbourne. LaunchVic is seeking to invest up to $3 million per application in the very best Australian or international accelerators and teams with proven track records for running accelerators. LaunchVic CEO, Dr Kate Cornick […]

US television broadcaster CBS has entered a deal to acquire Network Ten, three months after the local network was placed into voluntary administration. In addition to channel TEN, CBS will assume control of digital television channels Eleven and One as well as digital platform TENPLAY. Leveraging Network Ten’s assets, CBS will also launch its digital subscription video […]

Concerns around governance, culture and accountability within the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have prompted the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to announce an independent inquiry into the lender. According to APRA Chairman Wayne Byres, the panel would consider the lender’s frameworks and practices in relation to the governance, culture and accountability to determine whether they conflict […]

Networking with influential door-openers, eager to help female-led startups, helped the brains behind UrbanYou – an on-demand platform for household services – fast-track business growth, with their most recent feat being a $1m capital raise within the space of two weeks. To date, UrbanYou has facilitated over 20,000 services, totaling $3 million, for its 5000 […]

Global startup accelerator, Startupbootcamp has partnered with EnergyAustralia for a Melbourne-based accelerator program aimed at scaling smart energy ventures.   The Startupbootcamp EnergyAustralia accelerator is backed by Spotless Group, Amazon Web Services, DiUS, KHQ Lawyers, Cisco and LaunchVic, and will run for three months from January 2018, with places available for ten startups. Applications are […]

Over the last 18 months, the currency market has been weakened by a series of international political shocks – from Brexit and Trump, to Theresa May’s poor performance at the UK general election. However, there can be an upside to political uncertainty. For example, the weak pound is making British exports more competitively-priced overseas. For […]

Online small business loan provider Prospa has become the first fintech company to win Telstra’s NSW Medium Business Award, with co-CEO Beau Bertoli stating that the accolade shows fintech is “no longer just some startup idea”. Bertoli, who founded Prospa with Greg Moshal in 2011, spoke to Dynamic Business about the five-year-old company’s victory at […]

Many international travellers were recently shocked to hear that several airlines had put in place a laptop ban that was enforced by the US and UK governments on certain international flight routes. Some officials announced that any electronic devices larger than a mobile phone would be prohibited on board a flight and would only be […]

The only standard that matters any more for leaders is world-class. Only world-class leaders can make their companies world-class and companies without this leadership excellence will inevitably fall short of being world-class themselves. So, how do you become a world-class leader? My company has spent the past two years researching the capabilities, routines and mental […]

Despite operating in an era where data-driven strategies are the norm, the founders of rapid growth start-up Pet Circle have come to realise that trusting one’s instincts can often lead to better results.   Launched in 2011 under the name ‘Paws for Life’, Pet Circle (as it is known today) is the brainchild of Michael […]