The Australia government will offer 6,800 extra permanent migration places for tech sector workers as part of a major boost to migration this financial year. Immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs minister Andrew Giles announced the increase during the Jobs and Skills Summit last Friday. An extra 35,000 people will be accepted in 2022-23 taking the… Read more »
Industry lobby group the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has stuck a deal with peak union group the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to work together on ramping up local tech jobs and improve digital skills. The agreement between the ACTU and Tech Council came out of Wednesday’s Digital and Tech roundtable organised by… Read more »
The architect of the Senate report into regulating Australia’s cryptocurrency sector, released nearly a year ago, says the new Labor government needs to get on with introducing legislation rather than once again reviewing existing reviews into the issue. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg coauthored a landmark Senate Select Committee report into digital asset regulation last year,… Read more »
The Albanese government is looking to map out Australia’s cryptocurrency landscape, taking a slower approach to digital asset regulation and reform than the former Morrison government. In a joint announcement on Monday by federal treasurer Jim Chalmers, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and competition, charities and treasury assistant minister Dr Andrew Leigh, they said “the first step… Read more »
The ACCC’s Digital Platforms Services Inquiry will dive into competition for social media services in Australia as part of the sixth interim report of the regulator’s five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry. The competition watchdog will also look at consumer issues, such as the way that businesses use social media advertising services, including paid influencers. An… Read more »
On August 9, 2022, Australia’s COVIDSafe app was officially decommissioned, and all its features removed. People were encouraged to uninstall the app. Reports of its closure have made international news. On ceasing COVIDSafe, health minister Mark Butler said the “Albanese government acted to delete the wasteful and ineffective COVIDSafe app” and accused the former government… Read more »
Federal Industry and Science minister Ed Husic is hosting a series of roundtables this week with tech sector leaders to discuss their economic and employment challenges ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit in September. The five roundtables this Wednesday to Friday cover the following themes: science and commercialisation (August 17) digital and tech skills… Read more »
Australia’s Central Bank pumped the brakes on inflation for the fourth time in a row, increasing the the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 1.85% at the August RBA board meeting. The increase was widely expected by markets and analysts. From record low of 0.1% set in 2020 in response to the Covid… Read more »
Australians lack awareness about what tech jobs exist, or how to get into them, and the training pathways to those jobs are not always fit for purpose, according to a new roadmap to solving the sector’s hungry for more workers. The report prepared by the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) and Accenture, and titled Delivering… Read more »
The Albanese government has introduced tax cuts to electric vehicles in its first sitting week, claiming the proposed changes would be “good for motorists, good for climate action and good for fleet purchases”. They won’t, however, help most Australians afford one. Labor plans to stop the “fringe benefits tax” applying to electric vehicles. This tax… Read more »
The Queensland Government has earmarked $142 million for a new tech roadmap designed to drive innovation in the decade leading up to the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the new Advance Queensland – Innovation for a Future Economy 2022-2032 roadmap builds on the success of our existing Advance Queensland innovation… Read more »
The tech sector should be presenting a united front to highlight the importance of digital technologies to society and the economy, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Ed Husic, said in Canberra this week. Speaking at the national launch of the 2022 ACS’ Digital Pulse report at the National Press Club, Minister Husic called on technology sector… Read more »
The government mishandled $163 million worth of contracts for the Entrepreneurs’ Programme by favouring incumbents, not measuring tender applicants against the stated criteria, and failing to mitigate against conflicts of interest, a report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has found. In 2019, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources (DISER) put service provision… Read more »
If you spend any time among the cryptocurrency community you’ll come across the mantra “HODL”. Originally a typo for “hold” on a Bitcoin forum, it has become all-purpose advice to anyone looking at the day’s price fluctuations and thinking of selling their assets. To HODL is to trust the process and keep your eyes on… Read more »
The new federal financial services minister Stephen Jones says the Labor government will regulate cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as applying credit laws to the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector. Speaking to the Guardian Australia, Jones vowed to continue the roadmap drawn up by the previous government and former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, consulting with the… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
