The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has unveiled a series of reforms to how it manages and communicates the country’s monetary policy. Following an independent review of the RBA, which was commissioned by the federal government, the RBA board has agreed to update how it conducts monetary policy (i.e. the setting of the cash rate) … Read more
New data from Roy Morgan has found 12.5% of Australians who expect to buy a new vehicle in the next four years plan to go electric. Over the past four years, the number of people who plan to buy an electric vehicle (EV) has jumped 1,236.6%, from 41,000 to 548,000 people, according to Roy Morgan. … Read more
The federal government will legislate to increase regulation for the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector after a review found it was posing a growing danger to consumers. Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said the legislation, which would be introduced to parliament later this year, would close the loophole that allows BNPL to avoid being regulated as … Read more
Employers will have to pay higher wages to workers on award wages and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), following a review by the Fair Work Commission. As of 1 July 2023, award wages will increase by 5.75%, while the NMW – which applies to employees who aren’t covered by an award or registered agreement – … Read more
The federal parliament has approved two new tax incentives for businesses to train their staff and improve their digital capacity. The Technology Investment Boost and the Skills and Training Boost are designed to make it easier for small and medium businesses to scale up and become more productive. Under these incentives, which have been backdated … Read more
Australia is currently a landlord’s market, with rental conditions favouring investors over tenants in many parts of the country. That’s explained by the very low vacancy rate (i.e. the share of vacant properties), which fell from 1.5% to 1.2% between May 2022 and May 2023, according to CoreLogic. Investors in much of Australia are enjoying … Read more
The federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has now helped 100,000 people buy or build their own home since being launched in 2020. The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which administers the HGS, said 34% of the 100,000 people who’d been supported had been regional Australians, while 20% had been key workers such as … Read more
One of the most crucial property indicators is days on market, or the average time it takes properties to sell, and the way this indicator has bounced around over the past year reflects the ups and downs of the housing market. As noted by Ray White Group Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee, days on market across … Read more
Australia needs to increase its electric vehicle (EV) charging stock to prepare for an expected influx of EVs in coming years, according to new research from property group CBRE. To gauge infrastructure readiness, CBRE conducted a stocktake of EV charging stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth by analysing: 80 major premium office buildings with … Read more
This afternoon the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) chose to move the cash rate to 4.10%. With the cash rate increasing by 4 percentage points since the start of 2022, many households have felt the pinch of rising interest rates. On top of that, many fixed-rate loans are due to expire in the second half … Read more
