News

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 […]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will conduct an inquiry into the effect digital platforms such as Facebook and Google are having on competition in media and advertising services markets. ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said the commission will examine whether digital search engines, social media platforms and other digital content aggregation platforms are exercising […]

The Small Business Ombudsman has launched an inquiry into access to justice for small businesses, explaining the current legal system puts them in “no man’s land”. According to Kate Carnell, small business operators are at “the wrong end of a power imbalance” in dealings with big business and governments. “Consumer protections don’t always apply to […]

Although it’s becoming easier for startups to raise capital in Australia, high-growth companies are hamstrung by a shallow pool of global talent, warned Alex McCauley, CEO of StartupAUS and lead author of the 2017 Crossroads Report. The report, a comprehensive review of the nation’s startup ecosystem, features a state-by-state brief on the progress of local startup […]

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has today released a study into factors impacting small to medium enterprise investment. According to Ombudsman Kate Carnell, SME investment is being impeded by limited access to capital as well as red tape and energy prices and that removing these barriers would “give them confidence to grow […]

With Amazon having its soft launch in Australia, today, Dynamic Business spoke with Dominique Lamb, the CEO of the National Retail Association (NRA) who admitted the ecommerce giant was a ‘worthy opponent’ for local retailers but one that can’t satisfy demand for ‘retail as entertainment’. [Related: Let’s Talk… Ecommerce and If you can’t beat them, join […]

The Federal Government will begin paying small business suppliers ten calendar days sooner to improve their cashflow, it has been announced. Under the Government’s revised ‘pay on time’ policy, Small Business Minister Michael McCormack said federal agencies and entities will be required to pay invoices for contracts worth up to $1 million within 20 calendar […]

High-profile entrepreneur Mark Bouris will head up a taskforce established by the Federal Government to encourage small businesses to adopt digital technologies that will streamline their operations. Bouris will be joined on the Small Business Digital Taskforce by Spiro Pappas (Executive General Manager of Global Institutional Banking at NAB), Pip Marlow (former MD, Microsoft Australia), […]

Although women continue to earn less than men in full-time employment and they remain underrepresented on company boards, more employers are taking action on gender equality, according to data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The agency’s fourth annual gender equality scorecard, which covers over four million employees and 11,000 employers, shows that in […]

Ten Australian companies have been named amongst the top 100 fintechs globally, with three – Prospa, zipMoney and AfterPay Touch – landing a place inside the top 50. The Fintech100 report, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between KPMG and fintech investment firm H2 Ventures that recognises innovative fintechs. It consists of two […]

Cloud accounting provider Reckon is selling a 120-person division to rival MYOB for $180 million as it looks to – in the words of Group CEO Clive Rabie – “narrow [its] focus on the small business accounting software market”. Subject to regulatory approval by the ACCC and the NZCC, MYOB will acquire the assets of […]