The eligibility test for the JobKeeper wage subsidy has been changed by federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in a nod to the compulsory shutdown of thousands of Victorian businesses this week due to the state government’s stage 4 restrictions. The Treasurer has eased the criteria, which also applies nationally, so businesses now only have to show… Read more »
BigCommerce, the e-commerce platform founded in Sydney that’s gone on to become Shopify’s biggest rival, has seen its shares treble in value as US investors piled into the tech venture following its listing on the Nasdaq this week. Now headquartered in Austin, Texas the SaaS venture (Nasdaq: BIGC) raised US$216 million with IPO at $24… Read more »
Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits launched in 2019 and the Australian startup is now the most-awarded brand in its category in the world. The flavours include gin, whisky, vermouth, amaretto, absinthe and rum, and you can even make a non-alcoholic Negroni. Co-founder Carl Hartmann is a serial entrepreneur and when Amazon Launchpad arrived in Australia last year,… Read more »
Thousands of Victorian businesses shut down for six weeks from midnight tonight, with around 250,000 workers sent home. But if you’re planning to travel to work in Melbourne from Thursday, August 6, you must have a worker permit issued by your boss or cop swingeing fines under tough new stage 4 lockdown laws. The changes… Read more »
Venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures has landed support from some of the countries biggest superannuation funds as well as the Commonwealth’s Australia’s sovereign wealth fund to build a record $500 million investment fund – its fourth. The Sydney-headquartered VC last raised $261 million in 2018 and has now placed $1.3 billion in the startup sector… Read more »
More than 1 million Victorians will no longer be heading to work, with around 500,000 being stood down as retailers, factories and corporates are forced to close in a bid to reduce coronavirus infections in the state. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also announced on Monday afternoon that the number of people allowed to work in… Read more »
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced another 250,000 workers will be sent home from their workplace – to either work from home or without a job for the next six weeks – under tough new lockdowns in a bid to slow the state’s growing covid-19 numbers. “If we’re serious about driving this thing down – and… Read more »
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released its draft news media bargaining code, announced on Friday by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The draft code allows commercial news businesses to bargain – individually or collectively – with Google and Facebook, in order to be paid for news the tech giants publish on their services. According to… Read more »
US software giant Microsoft is pushing ahead with plans to buy the US arm of social media site TikTok despite threats from US President Donald Trump to ban the Chinese-owned site. If the deal proceeds, the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian operations would be included in the sale to Microsoft, the company said in a… Read more »
One million people in Australia need support from drug and alcohol use, but only 20% get it. Enter Aurelius: an app that delivers clinically validated software to provide better outcomes for people tackling addiction. Unlike other addiction care initiatives in the market, Aurelius provides support before and after rehabilitation, helping users take positive steps every… Read more »
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that metropolitan Melbourne will move to “stage 4” restrictions from 6pm Sunday, as new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise. The state recorded another 671 cases and 7 deaths on Sunday. Andrews has declared a state of disaster from 6pm on Sunday, imposing a nightly curfew on Melbourne… Read more »
Atlassian Corporation saw revenue in the June quarter jump by 29% on 12 months ago, while total revenue for FY2020 hit US$1.6 billion (A$2.2 bn), up 33% from 2019. The US-listed (Nasdaq: TEAM) Australian software giant posted total revenue was US$430.5 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 alongside an operating loss of… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is using venture capital firms Square Peg Capital and Zetta Venture Partners to invest in startups, putting US$10 million (A$14m) each into the latest funds from the two VCs. Zetta is a US-based fund investing in artificial intelligence. In an update on the bank’s innovation program this week, CBA CEO Matt… Read more »
Western Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has made two more startup investments through his private family investment fund Tattarang. Earlier this month, Forrest took an undisclosed majority stake in fintech Azupay, the first company on the New Payments Platform. Over the last fortnight Tattarang has backed GLX Digital, a WA startup that developed the… Read more »
Despite the massive disruption wrought on the economy and many businesses by the coronavirus pandemic, the second half of the 2020 financial year was a manna from heaven for many startups – yet the opposite for others. And now we have a new financial year underway, amid continued uncertainty with infection rates in NSW and… Read more »
THE LIST: What Victorian businesses must close or can stay open under new stage 4 covid-19 restrictions
If you’re travelling to work in Melbourne from August 6, you’ll need a permit or face a massive fine
Victoria declares state of disaster as Melbourne goes into stage 4 lockdown with an 8pm curfew
Victoria shuts up shop and sends 250,000 more workers home under tough new business lockdowns
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
