First, it was Melbourne now Sydney with plans for an an old car park at Sydney Olympic Park to be transformed into an artificial surf beach by surf park developer Wave Park Group and Perth-based architecture practice MJA Studio. Wave Park Group has announced it...
This year’s Red Dot Awards for Product Design received more than 5,200 entries the highest number of submissions ever in the 61-year-old design competition—across 31 categories spanning lighting products to fashion accessories to finish materials. Among...
The Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Chapter has announced the shortlist for the 2016 Victorian Architecture Awards. From 198 entries, 14 juries carried out an extensive schedule of site visits and have shortlisted 70 individual projects across 15...
TV show Kochie’s Business Builders is set to produce a series of videos to help you spot and protect yourself from dodgy phoenix operators. What is a phoenix company? A phoenix company is one that closes up by going into liquidation. It then starts trading...
The project manager of Western Australia’s first eco-village, partly built with hemp, believes the finished product will add weight to the growing push for it to be widely used in the construction industry. Which could see it roll out into mainstream furniture...
With a resurgent economy and a weaker Aussie dollar, the United States is well and truly back on the radar of Australian exporters as the world’s largest economy and by far the largest consumer market. And exporters to the market received a major shot in the...
Good news for Members, Roy Morgan Research’s Business Confidence rose again in April (up 6.4% to 123.1) and has now risen 12.5 pts over the last three months since a 2016 low of 110.6 in January. The rise in Business Confidence comes after more improvement on...
Exports of wood residue could resume from southern Tasmania within months for the first time since the Triabunna woodchip mill was shut down five years ago. Forestry Minister Peter Gutwein announced the State Government is in negotiations with four parties to...
TARGET PRACTICE The 2016-17 Federal Budget is a budget of targets – broad targets to boost business and innovation and the narrow revenue targets of the wealthy and multi-nationals. It’s a big, long-term crafted budget designed to give enough pre-election glow...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
The Business Consultation website connects you with the Australian Government by bringing consultations on policy and regulation changes to one handy place. Through the Business Consultation website, you can find consultations on policies and regulations under...
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...
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...
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....