The 2024-25 Federal Budget is the third for the Albanese Government and consistent with previous years, the primary themes are expected to be the cost of living and the economic shift to net zero.
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From 1 July 2023, access to the Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme will be expanded to joint applications from “friends, siblings, and other family members” and to those who have not owned a home for at least 10 years.
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Coming out of COVID, housing market demand was strong and prices boomed but at the same time, supply chains remained restricted and the problems amplified by geo-political tensions increasing input costs. Supply could not keep up with demand to support the recovery, pushing inflation higher and broader than expected for a longer period of time
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In July, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reported a new wave of ‘Tax refund SMSF scams’. The texts purported to be from the ATO stating that the individual had a tax refund and to click on the link and complete the form. This is just one of many scams trapping Aussies every day.
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In the wake of the Optus data leak, legislation before Parliament will lift the maximum fine for serious or repeated breaches of the Privacy Act from $2.2m to up to $50m. But there are no guarantees that even the strongest safety measures will prevent an attack. So, what does that mean for business and their customers?
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For business, the breach is a timely warning on the importance of understanding what data is held on your customers (and should you hold it?), how it is secured, how your systems work and the process to identify gaps and deficiencies, the appropriate actions if and when a breach occurs, and the impact on your relationship to your customer. This is not something that can be outsourced to IT but a whole of business issue.
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The Government’s Climate Change Bill passed the House of Representatives in early August and is now before the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee for review. But what impact does the legislation have on business and consumers in Australia?
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Anthony Albanese has been sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister and a Government formed. We look at what we know so far about the policies of the new Government in an environment with plenty of problems and no easy fixes.
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COVID-19 support will roll back as states and territories reach vaccination targets.
The National Plan, the road map out of COVID-19, does more than provide greater freedoms at 70% and 80% full vaccination rates, it withdraws the steady stream of Commonwealth financial support to individuals and business impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures. We look at the impact and the support that remains in place.
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Running a business can be an isolating experience. And, with COVID-19 lockdowns and disruptions to trade, the pressure can be intense.
NewAccess for Small Business Owners is a free and confidential mental health program developed by Beyond Blue to give small business owners the support they need. Whether you’re just feeling stressed, or completely overwhelmed about everyday life issues, they can help.
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