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1h agoGovernment releases draft law on 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts
2h agoKPMG sued by sacked chief operating officer
3h agoSeal and dolphin positive for H5 bird flu in South Australia
4h agoVanuatu climate minister says Australia ‘not doing enough’
5h agoMajor Sydney arts precinct set to get new ferry stop
6h agoMarkets price in 80% chance of RBA hike this month
6h agoMarles says US-Australia alliance as relevant as ever
7h agoMarles meets US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington
7h agoTeen charged after ‘near-complete amputation’ of boy’s hand
8h agoAustralia pledges $3m additional aid
8h ago$2m for Indigenous racism register
8h agoChalmers weighs in on One Nation WA byelection win
8h agoChalmers defends house prices forecast
Treasury has designed a workaround that would mean small businesses can avoid the costly exercise of becoming a company to avoid the planned 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.
Discretionary trusts are a popular structure for small businesses, with more than 200,000 using this structure.
The changes announced in the May budget were aimed at closing what Labor – and many experts – considered a loophole to minimise tax.
The changes are not due to come into effect until mid-2028, but they created an outcry among the small business community, who faced paying tens of thousands of dollars in state stamp duties and administrative costs to restructure as a company to access the 25% tax rate for small firms.
The workaround revealed in draft legislation today will allow the companies to convert to a fixed rather than a discretionary trust.
Jim Chalmers, in a statement, said “the draft legislation builds on the consultation paper released in July and includes expanded options to limit or eliminate restructuring costs for small businesses and others using discretionary trusts”.
This includes a new option for discretionary trusts to be exempt from the minimum tax if they elect to make fixed distributions to pre-nominated beneficiaries, as an alternative to rollover relief. The election would not require a restructure and is not expected to result in state and territory stamp duties.
This includes a new option for discretionary trusts to be exempt from the minimum tax if they elect to make fixed distributions to pre-nominated beneficiaries, as an alternative to rollover relief.
The election would not require a restructure and is not expected to result in state and territory stamp duties.
The consultation period is open until 18 September.
CommBank officials say home loan applications have dropped by 15%
Officials from the Commonwealth Bank say home loan applications have dropped by around 15% since the May federal budget when the Albanese government announced a winding back of generous tax breaks for property investors.
Banking managers and economists from the top four banks are appearing at a Senate inquiry into generational housing inequality today.
Robert Parker, CBA’s executive general manager for retail, said there had been a “softening” of lending applications in recent months, with investor loans down about 28% since May, but didn’t have the figure for owner-occupier loans.
Westpac’s head economist, Dr Luci Ellis, said the bank – like other major banks – did not publicly report how much of its $6.9bn profit for 2024-25 was generated from interest on home loans. Ellis said the bank’s consumer division, which includes home mortgages, made $2.3bn in the year, or a third of the overall profit.
Earlier this morning, the Australian Council of Trade Unions assistant secretary, Joseph Mitchell, took aim at the big four banks, describing them as a big factor in housing affordability and ownership in Australia.
There’s not enough competition in the big four banks. Their profitability rates are absolutely enormous. They’re able to charge basically whatever they want for a mortgage because they, [at] the end of the day, are some of the big arbiters about whether or not you get to own a home.
Victoria premier commits almost $450m to road projects if re-elected
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, held his fourth consecutive press conference regarding the state’s roads this week, announcing $448m to upgrade roads in the western suburbs if re-elected in November.
Carroll announced $195m would go to widening Point Cook Road between Central Avenue and Dunnings Road in Seabrook, $170m to widening Taylors Road in Delahey and Kings Park and $83m to double the capacity at the Ballan Road and Bolton Road intersection in Wyndham Vale.
Roads, roads and roads are such an important component of what I will do as premier. You don’t need to be a Rhodes scholar to know we need to invest in more roads, fixing potholes, smoother ways home, and getting people home quicker and faster to be with their families.
It’s worth noting each project is in Labor-held electorates that pundits say the party has taken for granted: Kororit, Sydenham, Point Cook and Werribee.
Guardian Essential report: does One Nation have a fix for social isolation? – Australian Politics podcast
One Nation has had another electoral win, having flipped the Labor seat of Secret Harbour in a Western Australian byelection on Saturday. So what does this signal for the upcoming contest at the Victorian state election?
Guardian Australia political reporter and live blogger Krishani Dhanji speaks with Essential Media chair Peter Lewis about how Pauline Hanson’s party is tapping into low social engagement, and how Labor can better respond during this time of technological and global uncertainty.
KPMG’s former chief operating officer is suing the company after a parliamentary inquiry heard it sacked her and accused her of repeatedly lying about sharing confidential client documents, part of the firm’s audit leaks scandal.
Eileen Hoggett filed a legal action against her former employer in the supreme court of New South Wales on Wednesday. The first directions hearing is scheduled for 23 September. Her statement of claim has not been made public.
Hoggett last month told a parliamentary inquiry that confidential Lendlease documents “were printed” and kept in her locker but she did not recall printing or sharing them herself, or using them to win other contracts. She had previously denied printing or circulating the documents when asked by KPMG, and said she had believed she was answering honestly.
The inquiry heard Hoggett had sent a 2023 email where she had suggested showing a colleague “the printed version in my locker … without letting too many people know [smiley emoji]”. KPMG expelled Hoggett after the email was uncovered in July.
Hoggett told the inquiry the new chief executive, John Sams, rang her while she was out walking one morning, giving her “no opportunity to be heard or to have any discussion”. She said she had lost her entitlements, including accrued annual leave, retirement contributions and her last month of pay. At the time, she said she did not understand why the firm had taken that action and was “looking at all of my possibilities”.
Hoggett has been the only person sacked over the scandal. Other KPMG partners have lost their bonus or resigned. KPMG declined to comment on the legal action.
Drone footage shows damage after fire rips through Tasmanian power station
Australian shares lift but downside risks remain
Australia’s share market is creeping higher, stabilising from a sharp sell-off in the previous session as banks and miners counterbalanced weakness elsewhere, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 22.6 points by midday on Friday, gaining 0.25% as the broader All Ordinaries lifted 24.2 points, or 0.26%.
The move followed a positive lead from Wall Street, after US indices recovered as recent worries around inflation and surging bond market yields eased.
Trading appeared more settled after days of selling as investors braced for higher inflation and higher interest rates ahead.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.66 US cents, up from 71.39 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
Most of NSW’s recent organised crimes ‘orchestrated from overseas’, police commissioner says
The NSW police commissioner says most of the state’s recent organised crime is believed to be orchestrated by overseas actors.
It comes after two fatal shootings in as many days in Sydney’s west, which are being investigated as possible cases of mistaken identity.
Speaking to reporters, the commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said:
We believe the large majority of these organised crime offences are being orchestrated from overseas, but we know that there are people onshore who are facilitating and putting together the groups that are doing it.
Lanyon said young people are increasingly being recruited to carry out deadly offences domestically, describing the trend as causing him “great concern”.
What we’ve seen over the last few days are people who have very little experience, people who have taken a job for very little money, and people who are going to face very lengthy consequences in jail when we arrest them. We know that those organising it are recruiting young, inexperienced people and using encrypted communications. So, as an organisation, we are focusing on technology and making sure that we have every capability we need to target these people.
What we’ve seen over the last few days are people who have very little experience, people who have taken a job for very little money, and people who are going to face very lengthy consequences in jail when we arrest them.
We know that those organising it are recruiting young, inexperienced people and using encrypted communications. So, as an organisation, we are focusing on technology and making sure that we have every capability we need to target these people.
A long-nosed fur seal, a common dolphin and a black kite have tested positive for H5 bird flu in South Australia.
The long-nosed fur seal was found unwell at Beachport on the Limestone coast and was euthanised. It is the third confirmed case in a long-nosed fur seal.
The common dolphin was found recently deceased at Arno Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. It is the second confirmed case in the species after a common dolphin found on the Fleurieu Peninsula tested positive for the virus last week.
The black kite, a bird of prey, was found on a private property on the Yorke Peninsula.
The South Australian government said it had also confirmed new cases in metropolitan areas, including a peregrine falcon found at Novar Gardens in Adelaide and a silver gull at Leawood Gardens in the Adelaide hills.
Australia to deploy ‘disaster victim identification specialists’ to Nepal-Tibet border
Continuing on Wong’s press conference, the foreign affairs minister acknowledged that many Australians with loved ones missing after the disaster are anxiously waiting for more information.
I know how difficult this is, and I accept that families want more information than can be provided. What I will say is that we have done our best to engage as closely as possible with the Nepali authorities. We have engaged from a very early stage.
Wong added that “disaster victim identification specialists” are ready to be deployed to assist local authorities.
I can indicate to you that we have dedicated case officers assigned to next of kin, and we are also working closely with the Australian federal police to provide support to next of kin. This includes supporting families to understand formal identification processes should they become necessary.
Greenwich applauds local and arts efforts for ferry stop
Independent MP Alex Greenwich has commended advocacy efforts after the Minns government confirmed a new ferry stop in Sydney harbour.
The state government confirmed it will spend $5m to upgrade a pontoon to a ferry wharf over the next six months, to be running in time for summer.
It followed strong advocacy and petitioning efforts in parliament from locals and members of the arts community, Greenwich said.
The Walsh Bay ferry stop will be the third ‘ghost’ ferry stop reactivated by the NSW Labor government, following the successful reopening of stops in Balmain and Pyrmont last year. This stop will allow residents, workers, tourists and performers to travel to and from Walsh Bay via our beautiful harbour, providing a much-needed public transport connection to this important arts and cultural precinct.
The Walsh Bay ferry stop will be the third ‘ghost’ ferry stop reactivated by the NSW Labor government, following the successful reopening of stops in Balmain and Pyrmont last year.
This stop will allow residents, workers, tourists and performers to travel to and from Walsh Bay via our beautiful harbour, providing a much-needed public transport connection to this important arts and cultural precinct.
Australians donate $4m for Nepal-Tibet floods
Australians have donated $4m to flood relief efforts in Nepal-Tibet, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong says, describing the show of generosity as “extraordinary”.
The donations have been received through the Emergency Action Alliance (EAA), a group of 15 leading humanitarian aid organisations in Australia who collaborate to centralise an appeal. Participating charities include Children Australia, Plan International Australia, Oxfam Australia among others.
Speaking in Adelaide, Wong said:
Australians have been extraordinary. You have donated $4m to the Emergency Action Alliance appeal and we thank you for it. The alliance is providing critical support for recovery efforts, and the contributions being made by Australians personally and by the government are enabling the delivery of vital shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare.
Australians have been extraordinary. You have donated $4m to the Emergency Action Alliance appeal and we thank you for it.
The alliance is providing critical support for recovery efforts, and the contributions being made by Australians personally and by the government are enabling the delivery of vital shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare.
