Casual employees and dismissal

  All AFA Members who employ staff on a casual basis should know that their entitlements including their dismissal rights, change over time. Casual employment is becoming increasingly popular in Australian business with a whopping one in five employees classified...

Free ‘Tax for Small Business Workshop’ for WA Members

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Xenophon on VET Reform and Jobs

  Senator Nick Xenophon will open the 2016 Furnishing Futures Conference where the hot topic will be the impact of VET Reform to Industry. The annual event features a number of high profile industry experts, both local and international, who will present across a...

Urgent Injunctions

  Commercial operators recognise that legal advisors are one of the tools in the box that assist in problem prevention or problem solving. When an operator is backed into a corner, either by the intentional or unintentional acts of an employee, competitor,...

Penalty rates talk out of this world for Labor

  Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has suggested that the Fair Work Commission is unlikely to recommend a reduction in weekend penalty rates. The FWC were tipped to make a decision last Sunday on penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors soon after the...

Senate Threat to Company Tax Cuts

  The Australian Financial Review – Page 1/4 : 2 June 2016 Original article by Phillip Coorey Roy Morgan Summary The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that the Federal Government’s proposal to progressively reduce the company tax rate to 25 per...

Australian Economy Growth

  National accounts data show that the Australian economy expanded by 1.1 per cent in the March 2016 quarter, and by 3.1 per cent year-on-year. However, wages grew by just 0.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively, while there was a 2.6 per cent decline in...

End of Financial Year is coming

  The end of the financial year is an important and busy time for AFA Members especially those who are small business owners. Completing bookkeeping, tax returns and begining planning for the new financial year. Putting the hard work in each financial year can...

Look after your outdoor furniture in winter

  This image is possibly a bit extreme for most of Australia, however it is winter and we found some handy tips on how to look after your outdoor furniture: Aluminium: Aluminium outdoor furniture can be left out year round. However, make sure all the water is...

Entries close for 2016 AFIA &;amp; ACE Awards

  The2016 AFIA ( Australian Furniture Industry Awards) and ACE ( Australian Contemporary Emerging Designer) Awardsnominations have closed. The increase in nominations will make it very difficult for our Judges to shortlist from a wonderful selection of entrants....

Co-Working Spaces for Business

  Ever wanted to take your business to a new and exciting facility? If you’re ready to up the ante on your business’s innovation, AFA Members might like to consider accessing a co-working space, or innovation centre. Co-working spaces are specialised hubs or...

Is E-commerce the way of the Future?

    According to latest reports from America E-commerce is throttling American bricks and mortar department stores and it may be just a matter of time before traditional Australian retailers are crushed too. You only need to look at your local shopping strip...

What is Manufacturing?

  This is an interesting video on Australians understanding of what manufacturing is, you may receive a bit of a shock! The Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council partnered with the Australian Industry Group to produce an eye opening video, which aims to...

Workspace Commercial Furniture Celebrates its 105th Birthday

  The AFA would like to wish Member Workspace Commercial Furniture a very happy 105th birthday this week! Workspace remains a founding institution in the Australian design industry, trading through two World Wars, The Great Depression and 26 Australian Prime...

Standards Australia Issue Proceedings Against SAI Global

  ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS REGARDING PLA – BACKGROUND For more than 12 months, Standards Australia has been requesting SAI Global to provide information regarding the use of Standards Australia content in accordance with the contract (known as the PLA)...

2016 AFIA &;amp; ACE Shortlists Announced

  The shortlists for the Australian Furnishing Industry Awards (AFIA) and the Australian Contemporary Emerging (ACE) Design Awards have been announced with this years awards set to be bigger and better than EVER! With more entries than ever before and some...