The Full Federal Court recently handed down an important decision on the interpretation of s.120 of the Fair Work Act. This section enables an employer to apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order reducing the amount of…
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In one of his first post-Budget events, Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt last week gave Ai Group members an insight into QLD Labor’s first Budget since its election in February. Importantly, he provided details on the Budget’s centrepiece: the $1.6 billion…
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An Ai Group member recently expressed concern about its ability to retain its ‘preferred supplier’ status. A medium-sized manufacturer and exporter of high precision, high tolerance injection moulding dies, the member was facing strong competition from cheaper, lower quality overseas producers. In…
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Telstra has recently announced the planned retirement of its dial-up internet services, which will take effect by December 2015. This announcement should not be a surprise. The most recent ABS statistics show the number of users accessing the internet via…
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This week, Ai Group had the opportunity to express our views to a House of Representatives Committee conducting an inquiry into inhibitors to employment for small business and disincentives to working for individuals. Small businesses with 1-19 employees account for…
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On Tuesday, Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt handed down the new Government’s first Budget, for 2015-16. The Budget focused heavily on achieving surpluses and using those surpluses to pay down debt. We were happy to see that this was achieved without…
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The end of the financial year is a popular time for employers to conduct salary reviews for their employees. As such, it’s likely your HR department is in the midst of one of its busiest times of the year –…
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Business activity continues to show mixed fortunes across Australia in the second quarter of 2015. Activity across the manufacturing industry fell sharply in June, following a brief expansion in May. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian…
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Employers who provide alcohol at Christmas parties, or indeed any work-sponsored occasions, may need to think twice about what they should do when employees misbehave following a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission. It has been no secret that…
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“The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasise the similarities between you and the customer.” (Thomas J Watson Sr, founder…
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