Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas
Funding

Breakthrough Victoria pivots with $7.5 million startup fellowship program to create 50 startups

- December 2, 2024 2 MIN READ

The Victorian government will invest $150,000 each to create 50 new startups and pay their salary for the year as part of an entrepreneurship program run by Breakthrough Victoria. Treasurer and economic growth minister Tim Pallas announced a $7.5 million million investment in the Breakthrough Victoria University Innovation Platform Fellowship Program, which will establish up… Read more »

Politics

Australia’s social media ban for under 16s might be law now, but how it’s supposed to work remains a mystery

- December 1, 2024 4 MIN READ

The federal parliament has passed legislation to ban people under 16 from having an account with some social media platforms. In doing so, it has ignored advice from a chorus of experts – and from the Australian Human Rights Commission, which said the government rushed the legislation through parliament “without taking the time to get… Read more »

artificial intelligence, robot
AI/Machine Learning

Australian politicians want OpenAI and other artificial intelligence platforms like Meta’s Llama regulated as ‘high-risk’

- November 30, 2024 3 MIN READ

A parliamentary inquiry into generative artificial intelligence has suggested products of tech giants such as OpenAI, Amazon, Meta, and Google should treated as “high-risk” under dedicated AI laws. On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence tabled a report on the “opportunities and impacts” coming from Australia’s uptake of AI. The 222-page report raised 13… Read more »

Politics

The government’s teenage social media ban has $50m fines but still lacks key details

- November 21, 2024 4 MIN READ

The federal government has introduced into parliament legislation for its social media ban for people under 16 years. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said: This is about protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them, and letting parents know we’re in their corner when it comes to supporting their children’s health and wellbeing. Up until now… Read more »

Sydney light rail tram
Data

A French startup is using your phone’s Wi-Fi connection to figure out how many people are using Sydney’s light rail

- November 20, 2024 3 MIN READ

Transport for New South Wales has defended the use of technology to track commuters’ devices, often without their knowledge, after privacy concerns were raised by local media. The system, which uses Wi-Fi signals to collect data from devices such as mobile phones, is being trialled on a small number of Sydney light rail services for… Read more »

Michael Biercuk
Funding

Q-CRTL scores $2.3 million in $60m federal government plan to back quantum in defence

- November 20, 2024 2 MIN READ

Sydney quantum computing software startup Q-CTRL has been awarded $2.75 million contract by the federal government as part of a plan to deliver the defence sector additional capabilities in quantum and counter disinformation technologies. The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s (ASCA) Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT) program has signed 21 contracts as part of an investment… Read more »

Climate Tech

The National Reconstruction Fund’s 1st investment is $40 million for a stake in a 40-year-old mining industry manufacturer

- November 19, 2024 3 MIN READ

Last week the industry and science minister Ed Husic stood in front of Australia’s tech titans at the National Tech Summit, telling them the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund was about to announce its first investments. Today Husic delivered on the promise, announcing $40 million for a manufacturer in Queensland. The funds went to Toowoomba-based… Read more »

Politics

Australia will force tech platforms to have a ‘digital duty of care’ to reduce online harms

- November 14, 2024 4 MIN READ

In an escalation of its battle with big tech, the federal government has announced it plans to impose a “digital duty of care” on tech companies to reduce online harms. The announcement follows the government’s controversial plans to legislate a social media ban for young people under 16 and impose tighter rules on digital platforms… Read more »

Ed Husic
Politics

Industry and science minister Ed Husic wants you to know something is going to happen, soon

- November 13, 2024 3 MIN READ

The Albanese government’s industry and science minister Ed Husic swung by the Tech Council of Australia’s summit in Melbourne today to let them know things are going to happen. Traditionally, politicians rock up to events with big, bold announcements. Husic announced that he’s going to be making announcements. It’s nearly a year since the minister… Read more »

Mark Zuckerberg
AI/Machine Learning

Meta ignores its own policy to let the military use its AI platform, Llama

- November 12, 2024 4 MIN READ

Meta will make its generative artificial intelligence (AI) models available to the United States’ government, the tech giant has announced, in a controversial move that raises a moral dilemma for everyone who uses the software. Meta last week revealed it would make the models, known as Llama, available to government agencies, “including those that are… Read more »

Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Business

The ATO said it has ‘issues with the tech sector’ as report reveals Apple’s taxable income is just 4% of local revenue

- November 8, 2024 3 MIN READ

Australian and international technology companies are among more than 1,200 organisations which did not pay tax in the 2022-23 financial year, according to an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report. The ATO’s tenth corporate tax transparency report, released last Friday, showed around 30% of the 3,985 entities that lodged tax returns for 2022–23 did not pay any… Read more »

Global tech

Australia’s plan to ban under 16s from social media is yet another messy global fight over science

- November 8, 2024 4 MIN READ

As governments worldwide move to restrict teenagers’ access to smartphones and social media, a fierce scientific debate has erupted over whether these digital technologies actually harm young people’s mental health. The controversy, sparked by an influential recent book blaming phones for rising youth anxiety, has exposed deep uncertainties in the research evidence – even as… Read more »

Politics

An under 16s ban on social media is coming to Australia

- November 7, 2024 5 MIN READ

The federal government is looking to take on big tech companies like Meta, owners of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, TikTok and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), and possibly YouTube, with a social media ban for children under 16. Prime minister Anthony Albanese and communications minister Michelle Rowland today revealed plans for legislation to be introduced… Read more »

Satellite Orbiting Earth
Politics

The Australian government has killed off a $7 billion military satellite project, increasing the risk of cyber attacks

- November 6, 2024 3 MIN READ

In a significant blow to Australia’s defence capabilities, the federal government is cancelling what would have been the nation’s largest-ever space project: a $7 billion military satellite communications system. The decision was confirmed in a press statement on Monday. It comes just 18 months after the Albanese government gave the green light to the ambitious… Read more »