Business Advice

Australia's migration system is in need of major reform and must expand permanent pathways for workers, an significant new review says, underlining the concerns of business groups who say application processes are too complex and that long-term staff shortages can't be filled by domestic workers alone.

The latest sector to get a digital seal of authenticity from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is honey exporters and the Australian apiculture industry.

Cannabis would be available to be bought and smoked at Amsterdam-style cafés or grown at home under a legalisation bill written by the Greens.

The federal government is considering a major crackdown on unfair trading practices, once again raising the prospect of blanket legislation to replace a patchwork of industry-specific codes of conduct.

Small Business Minister Julie Collins has swung against Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's claim the government treats small business owners with "suspicion", drawing links between the Liberal Party's recent by-election defeat and its recent record on small business issues.

Former accountant and shadow small business minister Stephen Kamper has been tasked with leading New South Wales' small business policies, as part of newly elected Premier Chris Minns' first cabinet.

Federal and state jurisdictions now preparing for an official ban on Chinese social media and video sharing app TikTok on government mobiles will have to contend with literally hundreds of thousands of private ‘BYOD’ devices enabled with ostensibly secure access to government systems.

Out of government for the first time in a decade, and with its electoral grip still loosening, the Coalition has a new message for small business voters: despite the odds, the Opposition is working on its own policy playbook.

Australia has reached a landmark moment in the battle to close the gender pay gap by passing the  Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill in Senate.

Incoming NSW Premier Chris Minns speaks to the media during a press conference following last nights election win, Kogarah, Sydney, Sunday, March 26, 2023. NSW Labor is preparing to form government for the first time in more than a decade after a definitive victory which shattered coalition hopes of a historic fourth term. Source: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

An independent assessment of NSW Labor’s election promise to raise public sector wages and pay for it with “productivity gains” has found the plan would cost $2.6 billion over three years.

There is a "pressing" need to educate Australian businesses about the potential benefits of artificial intelligence systems, Minister for Science and Industry Ed Husic says, with the federal government considering ways to bridge the gap between curious enterprises and technology providers.