For a while now, employers have been trying to manage the health and safety risks associated with the spread of COVID-19. Now that a vaccine is available, employers (particularly those in high-risk industries) have started to consider whether they can require their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. CURRENT GUIDANCE The Fair Work Ombudsman’s current…
The Queensland Government has announced a range of initiatives to support businesses affected by COVID-19. The initiatives are designed to help businesses of all sizes withstand the economic impacts of the pandemic and support jobs. $950 million payroll tax relief Immediate payroll tax refunds will be provided for COVID-19 affected businesses. Eligible businesses can also…
Power bill relief: As part of the Household Utility Assistance Package and power bill relief for small business, your business may be eligible for a $500 rebate off energy bills if you consume less than 100,000kWh. This will be automatically applied on your business electricity bills. For more information, head to: https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/122099/electricity-relief-qanda.pdf
COVID-19: INFORMATION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES This year has been difficult for many small businesses, with a number of recent events leading to economic and personal challenges. To help your business withstand and recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), new measures and other assistance options are now in place to support you. The…
If you haven’t heard already, myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) is replacing AUSkey and Manage ABN Connections. If you haven’t made the move, the time is now. AUSkey will not be extended, so don’t wait. The AUSkey will no longer be available from 11.59pm AEDT Friday, 27th March, 2020. If you wait until after…
When Ella Mienert saw first-hand the effect that volunteers had on sick children in hospital, she knew she had to support them. It was at the Queensland Children’s Hospital where Ella, a Griffith University Nursing student, first observed the Radio Lollipop volunteers. After eight months of volunteer work for Radio Lollipop, Ella is now increasing…
Clients are reminded that legislation has been passed to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) to all employers from 1 July 2019. For clients not already reporting under the new STP regime, a general summary of the new requirements are summarised below. MICRO EMPLOYERS (Employers with 1 — 4 employees)This applies to micro employers that currently do not use payroll…
The ATO has recently reminded employers that ‘cash in hand’ payments made to workers from 1 July 2019 will not be tax deductible. ‘Cash in hand’ refers to cash payment to employees that do not comply with PAYG withholding requirements. Further, payments made to contractors where the contractor does not provide an ABN and the business does…
The Australian’s investigative journalist Hedley Thomas and composer/producer Slade Gibson were announced as the winners of Australian journalism’s highest honour in Brisbane tonight. The Teacher’s Pet explored the 1982 disappearance of Sydney mother Lyn Dawson, bringing investigative reporting to 27 million listeners around the world. Thomas wrote and recorded an average of more than 15,000…
Running a small business is hard work and payment delays make it even harder. Payment times in Australia are among the worst in the world, with invoices paid on average 26.4 days late. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has announced an urgent review of payment times, to measure how late or extended…
The $20,000 threshold has been recently extended to 30 June 2019. If you buy an asset and it costs less than $20,000, you can write off the business portion in your tax return for the relevant income year. You are eligible to use simplified depreciation rules and claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of…
Hedley Thomas has been awarded the Outstanding Achievement In Journalism at the 2018 GQ Men of the Year Awards. “I’d always held this long… sense of injustice about the case,” says Hedley Thomas, the investigative reporter behind The Australian’s astronomically successful Teacher’s Pet podcast. “It’s always grated on me that it wasn’t dealt with properly in…
