News
An inter-governmental partnership to help reduce red tape for new small businesses has been announced today. The announcement follows the test launch, in April 2017, of a new business registration service to make the process simpler for small businesses, with the aim being to save new business starters $40 million each year. The Federal Government […]
Small to medium-sized businesses will have an opportunity to access crowd-sourced funding to help them begin or grow their business when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) releases its new crowd-sourced funding (CSF) regime on September 29, 2017. ASIC Commissioner John Price said: “Crowd-sourced funding provides an opportunity for small to medium-sized businesses to […]
The Australian Small Business and Family Ombudsman is urging the Government to simplify small business registration. In a submission to the Government’s consultation on Modernising Business Registers, Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called for the consolidation of registration requirements for small business. “The optimal outcome would be one form hosted by a single agency on a […]
Great sci-tech innovations are trapped in the university system because there has been a failure to properly test them with potential customers in mind, according to Steve Brodie, the new Managing Director of CSIRO’s ON Accelerator program. Established in 2015, ON assists researchers from the fields of science and technology to validate – and discover a […]
Australasia’s largest business management software provider, MYOB, supports the Government’s decision to encourage Australians to have their say on the nation’s digital future, following yesterday’s announcement of the Digital Economy Strategy. MYOB chief executive Tim Reed said the company would take this opportunity to make a submission on behalf of its 1.2 million small business […]
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer has been reminded of its obligation to comply with Australian unfair contract terms legislation ahead of its imminent arrival in Australia. Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said analysis of the Amazon Marketplace contract terms in the United States suggested they would have to be changed […]
Today marks the launch of the new $10 banknote, which like the $5 banknote features cutting edge technology to protect against counterfeiting. Governor Philip Lowe said the new $10 banknote contained the ‘same world-leading security features as the new $5 note.’ “These (features) include the top-to-bottom window that contains multiple interactive elements, a patch […]
NSW Parliament has passed legislation giving retailers based outside of Sydney CBD and Bondi the option of trading on all future Boxing Days. Introduced by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet earlier this month, in accordance with the findings of an independent review by Professor Percy Allan, the Retail Trading Amendment (Boxing Day) Bill 2017 has amended the Retail Trading […]
Small businesses are going offline amid fears of hacking with the number of businesses hosting their own website down from 61 per cent to 52 per cent, according to the 2017 Sensis eBusiness Report. The survey of more than 1000 small and medium businesses found that 81 per cent of business owners were worried about […]
Wage suppression strategies and the termination of enterprise agreements could cost Australian’s $100 billion in lost retirement savings, according to a report from the Centre for Future Work. The report estimates that superannuation balances could be cut by $30,000 to $270,000 for a 40-year-old worker subjected to one of the eight wage suppression strategies, such […]
Ten startups and scaleups have been selected to participate in Lion’s 12-week food and beverage industry accelerator program. Run by corporate accelerator Slingshot, Lion ‘Unleashed’ will pair this cohort with Lion’s brands. The following startups and scaleups were drawn from amongst 300 applicants worldwide: BoozeBud – an alcohol discovery and delivery platform Earlypay Exchange – […]
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has pushed through reforms to overhaul the governance of Australia’s $2.3 trillion superannuation system, sparking anger from Industry Super Australia. The new legislation was introduced on Thursday in a bid to “deliver a strong and modern superannuation system that is solely focused on delivering outcomes for all Australians who rely […]
The Coalition government has introduced legislation to remove double taxation of digital currencies, ensuring Australians will no longer be charged GST on purchases of virtual money, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Bill will ensure that digital currency is treated the same way as physical money for GST purposes. Treasurer Scott Morrison said in a […]
Friday, 15 September 2017 Source: Employsure The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 means there are harsher penalties for serious breaches of employment entitlements and record keeping failures, starting last Friday (15 September). If an employer fails to keep records and an employee claims they have been underpaid, the employer must also prove they did in […]
Plummeting sales and writedowns on fashion brands have forced retail giant Myer to close more stores and introduce lean marketing initiatives in a bid to remain competitive, following the announcement on Thursday that the company’s net profit was down 80 per cent. Myer Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Richard Umbers said on Thursday that […]
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 […]
