The future of Australia’s job market will have to look different

This could be the most challenging job market that recruiters have ever faced, says Callam Pickering, APAC senior economist at Indeed Hiring Lab. It continues to be a very tight labour market in Australia, with job posting trends suggesting the labour market is only going to tighten further in the medium-term, he says. Job postings have stabilised in recent months with little movement up or down, according to Indeed’s research.…  Read more

OAW Weekly Business Update – 19 October 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Business Update. Rental market still under considerable stress At the beginning of 2020, a mass exodus of people from Australia as borders closed led many to believe that the pressure on our housing market would be alleviated. However, the opposite has happened, with rents still sky high across the country. Stage three tax cuts explained With the federal budget just days away and calls to…  Read more

Retailers ‘cautiously optimistic’ for Christmas shopping despite cost of living pressures

Rising inflation and cost of living pressures are expected to hit hard this Christmas but retailers are still “cautiously optimistic”. Retailers are cautiously optimistic that consumers are ready to embrace holiday spending this Christmas despite rising cost of living pressures but it will be down on previous years, according to new research. The 2022 Deloitte Retailers’ Holiday Survey assesses sentiment for the approaching Christmas period and identifies expectations for the…  Read more

Stage three tax cuts explained ahead of the federal budget

The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure to scrap the stage three tax cuts with the federal budget just days away. As Labor prepares to hand down its federal budget amid recessions in other countries, many people are focused on potential changes to the stage three tax cuts. That is despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeatedly saying he has no plans to dump the former government’s scheme. Treasurer Jim Chalmers…  Read more

Your Weekly Business Update – 12 October 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Business Update. Read on for the latest updates from the past and upcoming week. Albanese not backing down on tax cuts On Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed that he would not be changing his mind and would go ahead with the contentious Stage 3 tax cuts by the May 2023 budget. The tax cuts are largely beneficial for the wealthiest Australians. Banks pass along the…  Read more

Mortgages are out, small business loans are in

As home owners continue to face interest rate hikes, small business lending has powered ahead of home mortgages as the boom growth area for banks. For the major lenders, the increase in loans up to $30 million for small and medium-sized business is running at annual growth rates above 8%, compared to 6% for home loan growth. This is the first time small business lending has outpaced home loans as the…  Read more

5 signs you may need to start outsourcing tasks

When you start a small business, it’s usually only you behind the whole operation. You wear many hats, from CEO to clean-up crew. As you pour your heart and soul into your business and it begins to grow, the amount of work involved grows with it. Because a small business is so focused on survival, you pay a lot of attention to the bottom line. This makes a lot of…  Read more

Majority of Australians back sound economic management over keeping promised tax cuts, survey suggests

Almost half of those polled support axing stage three tax cuts while one quarter thought they should be kept. Support for the stage three tax cuts remains low with the majority of Australians backing sound economic management over sticking to election promises, a new survey suggests. The research from the Australia Institute found that high-income earners were particularly likely to support the repeal of the stage three tax cuts, despite being the…  Read more

Your Weekly Business Update – 5 October 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and news from the week. Renewed hope for small business sector New data from Xero and the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that small businesses are doing better than before, but economists warn there may be more beneath the promising numbers. We have more millionaires than ever before According to Credit Suisse’s most recent annual Global Wealth Report,…  Read more

Accounting associations urge federal government to mandate digital reporting

Two of Australia’s top accounting associations are urging the Albanese government to bring company reporting into the 21st century and mandate digital reporting as recommended by a parliamentary committee in February 2020. An interim report into the regulation of auditing in Australia conducted by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services recommended digital reporting be mandated to make it easier for analysts, creditors, academics and other stakeholders to use financial…  Read more

Business Update – 27 September 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and events from the past week. Permit and dining fees set to return to Melbourne To ease the burden of the pandemic, the city allowed alfresco dining options at restaurants without having to pay a fee. Now that business is bouncing back, Melbourne is seeking to reestablish the permits traditionally required after waiving $2.36 million worth of fees…  Read more

Unprecedented rental demand could affect interest rates

The RBA’s cash rate rises to ease inflation are being offset by one group of Aussies – which could mean higher rates for a lot longer. In the more than two-and-a-half years since the pandemic first began impacting Australia, many things have changed dramatically. Things have turned out very differently than one would have expected at first glance. At the onset of the pandemic, it was widely thought that demand for…  Read more

Business Update – 21 September 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest weekly updates! Unprecedented rental demand could affect interest rates As the RBA raises the cash rate to ease inflation, the astounding rise in rent prices will begin to factor into the inflation data – leading to higher interest rates. Air New Zealand flies nonstop from Auckland to New York for the first time It’s the first nonstop AKL-JFK flight,…  Read more

Why paying off your mortgage is better than negative gearing

That long-established desire to have a negatively geared asset to create a tax deduction to reduce taxable income is not always the best option. It assumes the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is generously doling out tax deductions willy-nilly. It isn’t. You’re only getting a deduction because you are losing money. For example, assume you have lost $100 on a negatively geared asset and thus reduce your taxable income by $100.…  Read more

Public holiday to honour Queen Elizabeth II is a mixed bag for small businesses facing penalty rates and contracts

A surprise public holiday to honour the life of Queen Elizabeth II could drive business to Australia’s service and hospitality sectors, but industry leaders fear for small businesses now unexpectedly balancing commitments to customers against the cost of penalty rate entitlements. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday declared September 22 will mark a national day of mourning to recognise the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week aged 96. Albanese says…  Read more

Business Update – 13 September 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates from the week. Public holiday may hurt small businesses, critics say The Government announced that Australia will observe a public holiday on September 22 to mourn and honour Queen Elizabeth II. However, not everyone is enthused – critics say that a forced closure will be hard on already-suffering businesses. Summit makes it clear that we need more women…  Read more

All big four banks now aligned with Reserve Bank’s rate rise

Westpac has become the last of the big four banks to increase interest rates following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision last week to raise official cash rate by 0.50 per cent to 2.35 per cent. The bank will increase its variable mortgage rates by 0.50 percentage points on September 20. It means the Westpac Life total variable rate with bonus interest will increase by 0.50 per cent to 2.35…  Read more

The differences between wages, salary, commission, and bonuses

There are a few different methods that employers use to pay their employees, and while they may have similarities, they each also have their own implications for your business and its employees. On top of that, there may be a blended model at play, in which you offer two types of compensation at once, such as a wage and bonuses. How you pay your employees will impact your finances and…  Read more

Business Update – 7 September 2022

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates from the week. Property values experience biggest drop in nearly 40 years In August, Australian property values suffered their biggest monthly drop since 1983 as the market’s downturn accelerated. Every capital city apart from Darwin is now in a housing downturn. Large percentage of ParentsNext facilitators filing false claims Job agencies running the federal government’s ParentsNext welfare scheme…  Read more

5 advantages to using electronic onboarding

The process of onboarding employees is often lengthy, but it’s important. New hires need to learn your company’s culture, policies, and procedures. You also need to get some critical information from them so that they can legally work for you. The onboarding process is typically long and a little dry. It may include training, equipment distribution, benefits orientation, and security policies, just to name a few. There are many benefits…  Read more

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