The Albanese government will introduce legislation this term to enforce a minimum age for children to access social media. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make the formal announcement on Tuesday. This follows a discussion at last Friday’s national cabinet meeting, at which all states and territories, as well as the Commonwealth, committed to tackling what… Read more »
Authorities in Brazil, the country with the world’s fifth largest number of internet users, have banned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban came into effect over the weekend. It followed a long-running battle between Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who had… Read more »
NSW startups looking to break into the Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malaysian markets have the support of the state government thanks to deals that will launch coworking sites as bases in the three countries. The International Landing Pads program will give nine startups access to workspace, networks and services to scale in SouthEast Asia. In return NSW… Read more »
The Australian quantum sector will now face harsh criminal penalties if it shares information or technology, even accidentally, with individuals from overseas after quantum technology was brought under the export control scheme. The Department of Defence unveiled the first changes to the Defence and Strategic Goods List in three years, with quantum computers officially added.… Read more »
Last week, quantum computers were added to Australia’s Defence and Strategic Goods List of controlled items facing export restrictions. That’s because quantum technologies – which may soon provide huge advances in computing, communication and sensing – are rapidly growing in strategic importance. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom includes… Read more »
The selection of Abigail Bradshaw as the new head of Australia’s cyber spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), sends a strong message. It confirms the government’s increasing intelligence focus on domestic cybersecurity, both to disrupt foreign influence operations and to promote better protection of our national cyber systems. The ASD is so far succeeding… Read more »
The Australian Senate passed the new laws last week, setting in place a new climate-related financial disclosure regime that kicks off at the start of 2025 for Australia’s biggest companies, then trickling down to others in the coming years. While the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 doesn’t sound like… Read more »
Bunnings CEO Michael Schneider, former Tech Council CEO Kate Pounder and ex-NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet turned BHP advisor are among a new board members of a new political think tank led by Square Peg’s Paul Bassat. Amplify is a non-partisan organisation, independent of political parties, and says it’s seeking to find the “uncommon ground” on… Read more »
Despite being drafted and tabled in the Australian Senate in 2022, the Action Initiation Bill was only passed last week. Action initiation would transform the Consumer Data Right (CDR) from merely a data-sharing framework into a dynamic system that empowers consumers to take action based on the insights they gain. The CDR was created to… Read more »
The wildly ambitious SunCable renewable energy project, which plans to build Australia biggest solar farm in the Northern Territory, has been approved by the federal government. Officially known as the SunCable Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), the 12,000 hectare solar farm – that’s 3000x the MCG precinct – will be built on a pastoral station between Elliot… Read more »
Google has claimed it does not dominate search engine services in Australia after a judge earlier this month found the tech giant operated an illegal search monopoly in the United States. Representatives from Google responded to questions from Australian senators during a meeting of the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence on Friday, which also… Read more »
This week’s passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2022 by the Australian Parliament has reignited discussions about its potential to drive positive change. While concerns about complexity, data quality, low consumer uptake, and high implementation costs persist, the government’s commitment to extending and simplifying the CDR by focusing on high-value use… Read more »
The Victorian capital’s 30-month trial of renting e-scooters on the city streets will end after the council killed off their use in a majority vote. City of Melbourne councillors voted 6-4 to end the contracts with Lime and Neuron, having trialed their use since February 2022. Lord mayor Nicholas Reece led the charge against them,… Read more »
On Tuesday, Australia’s minister for government services, Bill Shorten, announced the federal government is developing a new digital identity and credential system. Known as the Trust Exchange (TEx), Shorten said the new system will be “world leading” and represents an “exciting step forward for Australia’s digital infrastructure”. But details about the system are scarce. Shorten… Read more »
The federal government has unveiled a new science statement and accompanying priorities that include a focus on harnessing artificial intelligence for good and preparing for its impact. Minister for Industry Ed Husic released new versions of Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities, which will guide the nation’s public and private research focus and investment over… Read more »
Nearly 9000 taxi drivers just scored $152 million from Uber as compensation for its illegal launch in Australia 
SISTER ACT: Nicola Forrest drops $100 million into an investment fund to back women 
3 ways Spotify’s annual Wrapped of songs you listen to helps define who you are 
Western Australia launches $150 million startup investment program, backing 7 VCs with $45m 
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
