News

#CensusFail a shocking balls-up

The fallout from the census debacle would be amusing to watch if it was not so serious. We have politicians making fools of themselves, bureaucrats with substantial amounts of...

DTO eyes biometric identity system

When the Digital Transformation Office takes the wraps off its identity framework at the end of the month it will feature a previously unannounced biometric component. At an Identity...

Under the pump: Innovation policy

Having thrown his entire ‘innovation ministry’ out with former Assistant Innovation Minister Wyatt Roy, there’s certainly a sense that the Prime Minister is recasting his National Innovation and Science...

The ACCC, Comms and Innovation

In announcing that the ACCC’s next market study will focus on the Australian communications sector, the Chair, Rod Sims, invoked “innovation.” He noted, “The study will examine the changing...

Aus-Israel chamber gets a new CEO

The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in NSW will have a new CEO from next month. Michelle Blum, currently General Manager for National Operations at the Australian Institute of...

Rocky ride at the top for CSIRO

It is telling that the freshly-minted Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Greg Hunt this week publicly offered his “full support” to CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall. These words...

Veriluma heads for an ASX listing

While the ASX has tightened the rules for back door listings, tech companies are still wriggling through, because access to other sources of capital remain scarce. Decision support software...

Startup dream: Berlin mon amour

There were more than a few people who questioned the government decision to make Berlin – or indeed anywhere in Europe – one of the five ‘landing pads’ for...

Do free apps boost productivity?

Google Australia has released a report quantifying the benefits to the economy of its many free apps. It reckons that “by connecting consumers and businesses and providing productivity tools,...

Innovation think tank closes doors

After almost six years of operation, the Australian Institute for Innovation (a2i) has closed its doors, having reached the end of its operational funding. The think tank formed in...

Fishburners’ new Shanghai digs

Sydney-based startup community work space Fishburners has built a credible pathway for local innovators to establish a beachhead in China, establishing its first international co-working space in Shanghai. Fishburners...

Tyro’s Stollmann on sandbox rules

It’s not every day that a startup leader in the finance industry argues for a better-resourced regulator to play a bigger role in the sector. On at least two...

Do startups really create jobs?

Last week InnovationAus.com wrote about a new report from StartupAUS, called ‘Economy in Transition – Startups, innovation and a workforce for the future’. It looked at the way changes...

GovHack raises the bar for data

With each passing year, GovHack has shown Australia and the world that the civic hacker community is strong, rapidly growing and able to tackle tricky data problems in clever...