News

NBN write-down a band-aid solution

Calls for the value of the National Broadband Network (NBN) to be written down won’t resolve the systemic problems with the telecommunications market, providing nothing more than a band-aid...

Senate: R&D tax changes on hold

The government’s plan to give the research and development tax incentive a $2.4 billion haircut has hit a roadblock, with its own senate committee calling on the legislation to...

NSW and Microsoft: Why?

The NSW Government talks a big game about a commitment to “radical transparency” in relation to technology procurement, but its actions tell a different story. The state may be...

AA laws are killing us overseas

The industry campaign to force urgent amendments to controversial encryption legislation has moved up a notch, with the nation’s largest tech sector advocacy group saying the laws render Australian...

ACCC blames FTTN for NBN woes

Fibre-to-the-node connections are to blame for most of the slow NBN speeds but “further work” could help them reach “similar speed” to the other technologies, according to an ACCC...

Robo-debt goes to federal court

The legality of the Australian Government’s highly controversial robo-debt system is set to be tested in federal court in a landmark case in Victoria. Victoria Legal Aid has filed...

AA bill notices ‘already issued’

Despite the serious concerns of industry associations, civil society groups and academic experts, Australian intelligence and law enforcement agencies have already issued notices under the controversial new encryption legislation....

Outsourcing the R&D crackdown

The federal government is looking to outsource some of its controversial crackdown on research and development tax incentive claims, with a tender issued for “program integrity support”. The Department...

FinTechs respond to banking RC

The final report from the Royal Commission into Australia’s banking sector presents “many opportunities” for the local fintech sector, but has put companies “on notice” to not repeat the...

Delay in AA bill amendments

The federal government is walking away from its own commitment to an early consideration of amendments to its controversial encryption legislation, according to Communications Alliance chief executive officer John...

Electric car policy ‘weak and shallow’

Senate committee’s recommendations for increasing the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia were “shallow and weak”, according to one of the independent senators involved in writing its report. The...

Treasury mulls new ICO regulations

The government is mulling whether a new regulatory framework is needed to crack down on initial coin offerings in Australia. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a “wild west” form...

Big banks warn on open banking

Data security risks surrounding Australia’s open banking regime are “significantly higher” than the federal government believes, according to the big four banks. In a new submission to the government’s...

End R&D tax ‘tinkering’: Cochlear

The CFO of billion-dollar Australian firm Cochlear has urged the federal government to stop “tinkering” with the research and development tax incentive. A public hearing for the senate inquiry...