One in eight car buyers plan to go electric

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

Why BNPL will soon be regulated like loan products

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

Small business sector given $1.5bn in tax breaks

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

Property investors enjoying rising rents and yields

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

Govt housing incentive reaches milestone

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

Office tenants pushing for more EV infrastructure

Australia needs to increase its electric vehicle (EV) charging stock to prepare for an expected influx of EVs in coming years, according to new research from property group CBRE. To gauge infrastructure readiness, CBRE conducted a stocktake of EV charging stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth by analysing: 80 major premium office buildings with … Read more

Social media platforms slammed for anti-competitive behaviour

Small businesses are suffering harm from Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media platforms, according to a new report from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). The report, which examined how consumers and businesses interact with social media services, found evidence of: Excessive data collection practices. Widespread scam activity. Lack of effective dispute resolution options. … Read more