Our latest insights

New COVID-19 variants remain a risk for all world economies and this uncertainty has the potential to impact business confidence and investment decision-making. This will be weighing on the Australian Government as it fine-tunes the 2022-23 Federal Budget.

After two years of upheaval, consumers are finally looking beyond the pandemic. With lockdowns now in the rear-view mirror, retailers have enjoyed relatively normal trading over the past several months and sales remain well above pre-pandemic levels. But how long will this continue? And what trends should we expect to see impacting retail in 2022?

M&A activity has had a significant uptick during the pandemic, with cashed-up buyers capitalising on opportunities for strategic investments. With any investment, it is important to properly assess the level of tax risk that a target investment entity presents.

In this podcast, Tax Partners Michael Catterall and Lorena Sosa discuss aspects Australian businesses should consider when exploring new international markets, including operations and logistics, strategy planning, customs and duties, and tax complexities.

The 2022 floods across the east coast have had a catastrophic impact on businesses, many of which are still suffering the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2018, the NSW Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW Act) was passed – just ahead of the national approach to modern slavery. The Commonwealth’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (the Commonwealth Act) was introduced to the Commonwealth Parliament a few weeks after New South Wales.

Aged care providers are tasked with delivering services to care recipients that exhibit quality and safety attributes. This means that services must have a degree of excellence attached to them and be physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically safe. In order to achieve this level of quality and safety, the human interactions between carers and care recipients must be kind and attentive, and carers must enjoy the same sense of being safe in all of these dimensions.

Well over half of all Australian family businesses do not have processes in place to deal with conflict, to clearly express the aim and goal of the business and to allow for transition and succession. Consulting a third party facilitator can assist with the formation of a governance structure. A facilitator provides a layer of independence as they are not emotionally involved, and serve in holding the family accountable, aiding in dealing with more sensitive matters.

Despite facing industry wide challenges, private developers and not-for-profits are attempting to combat the housing affordability crisis. What could the Government do in the Budget to create more affordable housing?

There have been some recent developments from the ATO which are set to impact those using a discretionary trust as part of their financial family arrangements.

In the immediate aftermath of a disaster such as the floods, the focus is on stabilising your business to ensure it can continue to operate or return to operations as soon as possible.

Across all industries and at all levels of employment – from CEOs to backpackers – businesses are looking to this year’s Federal Budget for incentives to make working in Australia more attractive.