Khader Hasan 
A new report from the Productivity Commission (PC) has solved the mystery of why Australia’s labour productivity is falling. Labour productivity fell 4.6% in the 12 months to March 2023, according to the most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The PC report said this was “most likely due to the unwinding of … Read more
Business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in almost three years, according to Roy Morgan’s latest monthly survey. The Roy Morgan Business Confidence Index slipped to 88.8 points in June, compared to 90.3 points the month before and 97.3 points the year before. That is the lowest reading since September 2020 and well below … Read more
A leading property data analyst believes that while property investors continue to hold the balance of power in the rental market, the rental crisis among tenants is now starting to ease. SQM Research Managing Director Louis Christopher said new data showed vacancy rates (which measure the share of untenanted rental properties) had increased in several … Read more
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has unveiled a series of reforms to how it manages and communicates the country’s monetary policy. Following an independent review of the RBA, which was commissioned by the federal government, the RBA board has agreed to update how it conducts monetary policy (i.e. the setting of the cash rate) … Read more
New data from Roy Morgan has found 12.5% of Australians who expect to buy a new vehicle in the next four years plan to go electric. Over the past four years, the number of people who plan to buy an electric vehicle (EV) has jumped 1,236.6%, from 41,000 to 548,000 people, according to Roy Morgan. … Read more
The federal government will legislate to increase regulation for the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector after a review found it was posing a growing danger to consumers. Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said the legislation, which would be introduced to parliament later this year, would close the loophole that allows BNPL to avoid being regulated as … Read more
Employers will have to pay higher wages to workers on award wages and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), following a review by the Fair Work Commission. As of 1 July 2023, award wages will increase by 5.75%, while the NMW – which applies to employees who aren’t covered by an award or registered agreement – … Read more
The federal parliament has approved two new tax incentives for businesses to train their staff and improve their digital capacity. The Technology Investment Boost and the Skills and Training Boost are designed to make it easier for small and medium businesses to scale up and become more productive. Under these incentives, which have been backdated … Read more
Australia is currently a landlord’s market, with rental conditions favouring investors over tenants in many parts of the country. That’s explained by the very low vacancy rate (i.e. the share of vacant properties), which fell from 1.5% to 1.2% between May 2022 and May 2023, according to CoreLogic. Investors in much of Australia are enjoying … Read more
The federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has now helped 100,000 people buy or build their own home since being launched in 2020. The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which administers the HGS, said 34% of the 100,000 people who’d been supported had been regional Australians, while 20% had been key workers such as … Read more
