News

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...

War of words on the AI front

As if anyone needed reminding that a federal election looms, a war of words has broken out between the offices of Industry Minister Karen Andrews and shadow human services...

Demolition tactic for Apple store

Federation Square management has applied for a permit that would allow demolish a building in the public space to make way for a flagship Apple store, despite admitting this...

Keenan to quit at election

Whatever the result of May’s federal election, Australia will have a new minister guiding the government’s digital transformation efforts, after Coalition MP Michael Keenan announced he will be quitting...