Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Why Aussies are ditching cash New data by Reserve Bank of Australia has revealed that the number of Australians paying by cash has more than halved since 2019. Of the people who held cash in their wallet in 2022, the most important reason for doing so was for emergency…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Tradies say raising pension age “unfair” after a life of hard work takes its toll Hardworking Aussies fear a decision to lift the pension age to 67 means they will be forced to work even longer in labouring jobs. Consumer watchdog says Australians paying too much for electricity As…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. One of biggest defence deals in Australia’s history inked in Berlin Australia will export more than 100 Brisbane-made Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles to Germany starting in 2025 under a $1 billion deal. The military vehicles will be produced in Redbank and will secure around 1,000 jobs. Gas ‘plays a…  Read more

Court penalises AMP $24 million for charging deceased customers The Federal Court has found that four companies that are or were part of the AMP Group breached the law when charging life insurance premiums and advice fees from the superannuation accounts of more than 2,000 deceased customers. The Federal Court ordered two of these AMP companies to pay a combined penalty of $24 million for the breaches. Both AMP Life…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Small business skills and training boost? Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will be allowed an additional 20% tax deduction for external training courses delivered to employees by registered training providers.  The boost applies to eligible expenditure incurred from 29 March 2022 until…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Almost 950,000 Aussies working two jobs to combat cost of living crisis According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, almost 950,000 Australians are working multiple jobs.  Australians are jumping onto that side hussle to help combat the rising cost of living. Taxpayer dollars fuel $1.4 billion in annual revenue…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Suncorp forced to pay back $32 million to underpaid employees Suncorp’s insurance arm paid $32m to over 15,800 underpaid staff for not paying them the minimum wage. Read More Australian inflation is stubbornly high. Some countries don’t have that problem There is no one underlying cause of inflation across…  Read more

For small business owners and payroll managers, staying up-to-date on the latest superannuation changes is essential. And, with the Australian Superannuation Guarantee (SG) set to increase from 10.5% to 11% from 1st July 2023, it’s important to understand what this means and how it could affect your business. As an employer, this increase, and subsequent increases, will have an impact on your payroll management and accounting systems. Here’s what you…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. Be ready – recession or not Businesses should be prepared for a recession, even if one is not imminent. Planning ahead and having a strategy in place can help businesses survive and even thrive during a recession. This includes having a cash reserve, reducing costs, and diversifying income streams.…  Read more

2023/24 Budget Update On 9 May 2023, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2023/24 Federal Budget. Some of the measures announced by the Government (including some which were actually announced prior to the Budget), include:       from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees’ superannuation at the same time as their salary and wages;       providing businesses with annual turnover of less…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. ‘Most significant’ scam targeting Aussies Scammers have taken advantage of the secondhand sale market by using a PayID scam to steal over $260,000. The scam involves the scammers creating fake PayID accounts and using them to receive payments from unsuspecting buyers. This has caused a hit to the secondhand sale…  Read more

The Australian Government unveiled its annual budget this week, which aims to stimulate economic growth, address long-term challenges, and improve social services. The budget is focused on helping with the cost of living, with tax cuts for middle and low-income earners, while also allocating funding to health, education, and small businesses. If you have any questions about how this budget affects you, please get in touch. Tax Cuts One of…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. First Aussie social media platform for business owners launched A new social media platform, called ‘Business Connect’, has been launched in Australia. It is designed specifically for business owners, allowing them to connect with other business owners, share ideas, and access resources. It also provides a platform for businesses…  Read more

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy. The good, bad and indifferent of the Federal Budget: a small-business owner’s view The Federal Budget has both positives and negatives for small business owners, such as tax cuts and increased access to capital, but also increased compliance costs and a lack of support for the retail sector. Read…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Australia to deliver first budget surplus in 15 years Australia is set to deliver its first budget surplus in 15 years, with a small surplus of around A$4 billion for the fiscal year ending June and deficit estimates for subsequent years also decreased. Australia to ban public vaping in…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. AFL appoints Andrew Dillon as CEO Andrew Dillon has been named CEO of the AFL, following a year-long search. Dillon started with the AFL in 2000 as an in-house lawyer and has moved on to various other legal and administrative roles. Australia set for budget rebound, signals fiscal restraint…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Why the RBA should not use interest rates to target the housing market or debt A panel reviewing the Reserve Bank of Australia RBA has recommended against using interest rates to target the housing market or address concerns about high levels of debt held by Australians. Collaboration to bring…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Reserve Bank of Australia considers a rate hike The Reserve Bank revealed that it was a “close call” not to raise interest rates at its last meeting due to concerns over inflation and the housing market, but ultimately decided to maintain the current rate of 0.25%. ATO using data-matching…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Federal Court decision shakes up public holiday rostering rules for employers A recent ruling by the Federal Court requires employers to request their employees’ availability to work on public holidays in advance instead of just rostering them to work. Employers must introduce a mechanism for making such requests before issuing any direction to work on public holidays or risk being in breach of the…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Australian house prices surge, but experts are divided over whether this is a real recovery The Australian housing market has surged in recent months, but experts are divided on whether it’s a “dead cat bounce” or the start of a real recovery. Lenders offer incentives to attract home loan…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Changes to home-based business expenses Businesses operating from home can claim business-use expenses, including occupancy expenses and running expenses. They can now use the revised fixed rate method of 67 cents per hour for the 2022-23 income year. Find out more here. Get ready for STP Phase 2 Single…  Read more