The Albanese government’s signature business investment vehicle, the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, has its first boss, with veteran Macquarie Group executive Ivan Power named as CEO. Power has worked in global investment for more than 25 years alongside a strong track record in working with early-stage startups and social ventures.. UNSW director of entrepreneurship… Read more »
MyGov will be modernised with passwordless logins and a new Digital Inclusion Standard, the federal government has announced in responding to a scathing audit that warned current legislation “impedes service delivery” through the underfunded platform. The government’s response to the myGov user audit – an election promise that began in September 2022 as a “myGov revolution” and handed down its findings in… Read more »
The government will give Australia’s competition watchdog more power to keep the likes of Google and Meta accountable as part of the News Media Bargaining Code which redistributes wealth from big tech companies into local news outlets in an effort to address an apparent power imbalance in the media industry. On Monday, the Commonwealth said… Read more »
The government has committed to a mere 7-day processing time for applicants of its newest skilled visa category in a bid to make Australia a more attractive for IT professionals as part of a set of long-awaited changes to the migration system. Migrants coming into jobs that earn at least $135,000 a year will have… Read more »
Six months after trumpeting $19.8 million for an “Australian Centre for Quantum Growth” the Albanese government and science and innovation minister Ed Husic have slapped $18.5 million on the table hoping someone will take up the reins to make it happen. The $18.5 million in funding is to establish the Australian Centre for Quantum Growth… Read more »
The federal government’s flagship $392 million Industry Growth Program has been officially launched, with grants of up to $5 million available for startups and small businesses. The $392.4 million program was unveiled in the May budget, replacing the former Coalition government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme, which was embroiled in controversy due to bungled procurement processes. The aim of the… Read more »
A new cross-party group of politicians is getting behind the local tech sector to understand the issues it faces has launched in Canberra. The Parliamentary Friendship Group on Tech and Innovation is being co-chaired by Labor member for Bennelong Jerome Laxale, the Liberal member for Casey, Aaron Violi MP and Wentworth independent Allegra Spender, and has… Read more »
Victoria’s electric vehicle road use tax is dead, killed off by a legal challenge to the High Court of Australia. A majority 4-3 decision by the full bench of the High Court ruled the law was unconstitutional in a decision that could hit state-based consumption taxes more broadly. The High Court ruled that Victoria’s EV… Read more »
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would be given expanded regulatory powers over bring digital wallets, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) companies, and crypto assets under proposed reforms to national payments systems legislation published this week. In a statement, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the reforms “[address] the risks posed by new digital payments services, which are currently unregulated, to… Read more »
As Victorian premier Daniel Andrews heads to the exit door this afternoon after nine years, one mess his successor will need to clean up is the government’s road-user charge for electric and hybrid vehicles, which has been branded unreasonable by state’s Ombudsman Deborah Glass. The government introduced the Zero and Low Emission Vehicles (ZLEV) Act… Read more »
The founders of online design platform Canva, as well as the Tech Council of Australia and several prominent tech founders and VC investors have thrown their support behind a “Yes” vote for Indigenous recognition in the Constitution at October 14’s national referendum on the issue. Canva cofounders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams have… Read more »
In 2018-19, identity crime directly and indirectly cost Australia an estimated A$3.1 billion. To address such costs, the federal government is proposing a national digital identity scheme that will let people prove their identity without having to share documents such as their passport, drivers licence or Medicare card. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher opened consultations for the… Read more »
The Australian government will continue to authorise a one-to-many facial recognition system connected to the national ID database but is limiting its use to helping identify “shielded persons” like undercover police and protected witnesses. Once referred to as ‘the Capability’, the Department of Home Affairs built a system for the public and private sector to verify people’s… Read more »
Six months after forming government in NSW following the defeat of the Coalition after 12 years in power, Labor has been dealing with a familiar ritual when it comes to a change of ruler who looks in the money cupboard to discover it’s empty. Now, with the state budget due to be handed down by… Read more »
Australians will go to the polls on October 14 to vote in a referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. We have not voted in a federal referendum since 1999. So what do you need to know? How is a referendum run? A referendum is run by the Australian Electoral Commission in the… Read more »
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