Freshly elected US president Donald Trump has exercised his usual degree of modesty and named his newly launched cryptocurrency or memecoin, $Trump. And like the man himself, the coin’s price is extraordinarily volatile. The price ran up to US$75, fell below $60, went back to $75, fell below $40, then rose back to $60 and… Read more »
Canberra has a new think tank for tech policy founded by three women to offer advice on the way forward in a digital world. The Tech Policy Design Institute (TPDi) bills itself as Australia’s first non-partisan, independent think tank focused on best practice technology policy. Its cofounders, Johanna Weaver, Zoe Jay Hawkins and Sunita Kumar, said… Read more »
Social media giant TikTok is preparing to shut down its app in the United States this Sunday – the day that legislation signed by President Joe Biden last year banning the app takes effect. There is a slim chance this dramatic development might not happen if the US Supreme Court accepts a last minute legal… Read more »
The federal government will make another $3 billion equity investment into the National Broadband Network (NBN) to national fibre-to-the node (FTTN) network as Labor and the Coalition begin campaigning ahead of an election due by May. NBN Co will contribute more than $800 million to the plan to upgrade around 622,000 homes and businesses nationally… Read more »
FinTech Australia has released its formal position on the RBA’s review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging, advocating for an approach which keeps competition high but does not place an outright ban on surcharging. The view was formed after months of consulting with the peak body’s member base of over 400 companies and commissioning… Read more »
As an active contributor to Australia’s innovation ecosystem for the last 15 years, and a native Sydney-sider, I’m stunned by last week’s news that the Sydney Startup Hub will be kicked out of its wonderful Wynyard location in October 2025. The reason? It’s younger sibling – Tech Central – is struggling and needs propping up. … Read more »
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has struck a $50 million deal with the Australian Information Commissioner to settle a Federal Court case over privacy breach involving the Cambridge Analytica political scandal. While it’s the second largest settlement struck by Meta over the matter, its a fraction of the US$725 million (A$1.14bn) the tech giant paid to… Read more »
The federal government will develop an artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities plan for Australia to figure out what support is needed and how it can be used to bolster the economy. Industry and science minister Ed Husic announced on Monday that his department will consult with industry to develop a National AI Capability Plan. The final… Read more »
The Sydney Startup Hub above Wynyard Station in the heart of the CBD will be relocated to an undetermined site somewhere across the six square kilometres around Central Station known as Tech Central by the NSW government in October next year. In a rare announcement involving tech and startups from NSW innovation, science and technology… Read more »
Big tech companies would have to either do deals with news organisations to help fund journalism or pay a charge to the Australian government, under a new plan announced by the Albanese government on Thursday. The new plan follows the Morrison government-era system introduced in 2021 known as the news media bargaining code, which saw… Read more »
In late November, Australia’s federal parliament passed landmark legislation banning under-16s from accessing social media. Details remain vague: we don’t have a complete list of which platforms will fall under the legislation, or how the ban will look in practice. However, the government has signalled that trials of age assurance technologies will be central to… Read more »
A report into the state of play for Western Australia’s startup sector has warned the state risks slipping behind its East Cost rivals unless there’s a great focus on reforms and funding for the sector. The report, ‘Dare to Venture: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Western Australia’, by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre argues… Read more »
The federal government has deprioritised 218 occupations while escalating some 456 others – including a range of cyber security and ICT roles – as it works to boost flagging national productivity by focusing its evolving skilled visa program on the areas of highest need. Designed “to replace complex, out of date and inflexible occupation lists… Read more »
Financial institutions, fintechs, and regulators have welcomed new buy now, pay later (BNPL) rules that will finally treat the sector like other credit providers, with new legislation passed hours before shoppers tapped BNPL to propel Black Friday sales to record-breaking heights. The new regulations will apply corporate regulator ASIC’s National Credit Code (NCC) to a BNPL sector that has… Read more »
The federal government has launched a review into Australia’s research and development performance but may not live to see the result. The year-long review strategic review will be led by Robyn Denholm, chair of Telsa and the Tech Council of Australia, founder of Wollemi Capital, and operating partner at VC fund Blackbird. The review was announced… Read more »
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