With pressure easing on hip pockets, Australians are splurging more online but some remain wary of being stung by interest rate speculation. Shoppers spent $19.2 billion online from the start of April to the end of June, up 15 per cent compared to the same period...
A rise in construction costs is likely to stoke inflation while pushing home-building targets further out of reach, fresh data analysis suggests. Construction costs rose 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, picking up slightly from a 0.4 per cent rise in the March quarter, according...
Two in three Australian businesses are not ready to implement artificial intelligence, a study has found, despite most companies being committed to spending more on the technology. The lack of clear plans or trained staff has dragged Australia down the AI readiness rankings over the past...
Regulations could soon govern the use of cash distribution services to ensure Australians still have access to physical currency. A report from the Council of Financial Regulators has called for fresh powers for the federal government to ensure cash distribution services remain in place, despite the...
Penalty rates for millions of workers will be legally protected under laws set to be introduced when federal parliament resumes. Measures enshrining penalty rates and overtime pay as workplace conditions will be among the first pieces of legislation brought into parliament as part of the Albanese...
More and more Australians are delaying retirement as the dream of home ownership becomes a nightmare at the end of their working life. The number owning their home outright has halved in the past 20 years, census data shows, while the proportion of over-65 households with...
Extending the weekend could be the recipe for improving employee health and the secret sauce to boost business productivity. A large-scale, peer-reviewed study has found a four-day working week could reduce employee burnout and improve job satisfaction. But the research released also found that working fewer hours...
Workforce participation by women must be at the forefront of the federal government’s productivity agenda, as experts call for policies that continue to improve gender equality in Australia. Gender equality advocate Helen Conway has recently been appointed president of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and says the...
Laws to cut debts for university students and graduates are expected to be waved through parliament, saving people hundreds of dollars a year in repayments. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said legislation to slash HECS debts by 20 per cent and increase income thresholds before minimum...
Australia’s banks should use artificial intelligence to enrich their customers’ lives and help address hesitation towards the technology, the corporate watchdog says. The nation should not rush into heaping more regulation on AI as guardrails are already in place and more rules could have a chilling...