News and Updates

Politics counts… unfortunately

Another state election has passed and the Canberra mothership braces itself for the Federal version in May. I hate talking politics, I really do, but in the world of grants and incentives this counts. Why? Elections can change governments to a different flavour. Even if they remain, portfolios can change, Ministers reshuffled and policies inevitably change. That’s the part that affects things on the ground. Grants, funding, services, and infrastructure are all tools of policy delivery. Throw in an election promise or a budget (even a mini) and then you have the virtual bookends.

What's the truth behind grants? Why are they there? Can I really get one? These are the questions we hear all the time from small business owners when they start investigating grants. So let's debunk some common myths and get to the bottom of things.

There’s a new wave called the “gig economy,” and it’s been on an exponential rise in the past decade. This trend is categorised by the large build-up of contractual workers in many companies, mostly those being in the tech industry. Getting contractors to perform work for companies has proven to be a great win-win scenario for job-seekers and job-providers alike.

In today’s modern work culture, working from home is becoming more and more common. The advent of technology has allowed for practically anyone to take their work tasks and perform them from the comfort of their own living rooms. But like any emerging trend, there are gray areas that need to be clarified to avoid trouble.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” But the truth is that taxes are not as imminent as one may think. Government laws do provide exemptions and breaks for cases where it may be needed. One such area that these exemptions may apply is the Capital Gains Tax.

The Hunter Business Awards was once but an ambition for us as an organisation. This year, it became a reality. Looking back to the Business gala awards night still excites me and it probably will for the few months (or even years!) to come.

We may be a little biased, but we think IGNITE Alliance is home to some truly extraordinary people and we love seeing them do great stuff in the community. The latest of these achievements comes from our Martech Manager, Jamie Sy, who has just been accepted on the University of Newcastle's (UoN) External Advisory Group (EAG) of the Discipline of Computing and Information Technology (try saying that 5 times fast).

Myths are everywhere. They’re in culture, folklore, homes, offices, and even in our taxes. The Australian tax system is constantly evolving with amendments and updates. And while many changes are for the good, it can get confusing at times causing myths and wrong notions to come about.

There is a long line up of changes awaiting Australian businesses and taxpayers in this season at the Australian Tax Office has announced some major changes to tax laws and policies. Some of these include tax cuts, an announcement of assistance from the government and changes to rules on sharing economy practices.

Research and development has an image problem. For a lot of people, when a conversation turns to R&D, we tend to think of people in lab coats and safety glasses, pouring blue liquid in beakers into test tubes full of bubbling pink stuff. But when you think of R&D, you should be thinking about money. Here's why.