General News

  • Phasing out cheques

    The Government has announced a transition plan to phase out the use of cheques. Under the plan, cheques will stop being issued by 30 June 2028 and stop being accepted on 30 September 2029. The use of cheques has declined dramatically over the last 10 years, declining by around 90%. In response, banks have stopped issuing chequebooks to new customers.…

    General News
  • What’s ahead in 2025?

    The last few years have been a rollercoaster ride of instability. 2025 holds hope, but not a guarantee, of greater stability and certainty. We explore some of the key changes and challenges. An election Welcome to political advertising slipping into your social media, voicemail, and television viewing – most likely with messages from the opposition asking if you are better…

    General News
  • ATO Scam Alert

    The Australian Taxation Office warn against new ATO impersonation scams currently circulating. The first of which, is an email containing a link for the recipient to reconfirm their details for their myID login. This email appears as if it has come from the ATO and is taking advantage of the recent change of ‘myGovID’ to ‘myID’ to trick the recipient…

    Taxation | General News
  • Are student loans too big?

    Australian voters tend to reject US style education favouring more egalitarian systems where income does not determine access. In the US, average student debt is USD $37,693 (public and private debt) taking an average of 20 years for individuals to repay. But, students often have a gap not fulfilled by loans. For Australian domestic students, the cost of completing a…

    General News
  • The ban on genetic test insurance discrimination

    The ability for life insurers to discriminate based on adverse predictive genetic test results will be banned under a new Government proposal. Predictive genetic tests detect gene variants associated with heritable disorders that appear after birth, often later in life, but are not clinically detectable at the time of testing. To overcome concerns about discrimination by life insurers, the Government…

    General News
  • Is the RBA to blame? The economic state of play

    The politicians have weighed in on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s economic policy and their reticence to reduce interest rates in the face of community pressure. We look at what the numbers are really showing. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has stated that global uncertainty and rate rises are “smashing the economy”. Former Treasurer Wayne Swan weighed in and told Channel 9…

    General News
  • It wasn’t me: the tax fraud scam

    You login to your myGov account to find that your activity statements for the last 12 months have been amended and GST credits of $100k issued. But it wasn’t you. And you certainly didn’t get a $100k refund in your bank account. What happens now? In what is rapidly becoming the most common tax scam, myGov accounts are being accessed…

    Taxation | General News
  • The rise in business bankruptcy

    ASIC’s annual insolvency data shows corporate business failure is up 39% compared to last financial year. The industries with the highest representation were construction, accommodation and food services at the top of the list. Restructuring appointments grew by over 200% in 2023-24. Small business restructuring allows eligible companies – those whose liabilities do not exceed $1 million plus other criteria…

    General News | Business Advisory
  • The changes to how tax practitioners work with clients

    The Government has amended the legislation guiding registered tax practitioners to include compulsory reporting of material uncorrected errors to the Tax Commissioner. The Government has legislated a series of changes to the Tax Agents Services Act 2009 that place additional requirements on registered tax practitioners and how they interact with clients. The reforms are in response to the recommendations of…

    Taxation | General News