The Queensland government has become the first state or territory to include interstate landholdings in the calculation of land tax. The change means that land tax in Queensland will be calculated on the total landholdings in Australia. The new land tax calculations will apply from 30 June 2023.

Currently, each state and territory governs land tax independently from each other. Generally, if a taxpayer's landholdings in a certain jurisdiction is above the tax-free threshold, land tax will be applied at various rates.

Therefore, an individual may be able to take advantage of this by purchasing taxable land in multiple jurisdictions and essentially claiming multiple tax-free thresholds.

Additionally, Queensland levies land tax on a marginal tax rate, where taxpayers with higher landholdings pay a higher rate of tax per dollar of rateable land.

After Queensland Revenue Office calculates the gross land tax on your Australian landholdings, that amount is reduced so that your land tax liability relates only to your Queensland landholdings.

Example

Jordi owns multiple properties across Australia, with the following land tax statuses and values:

• main residence in Queensland - exempt
• 2 investment properties in Queensland valued at $700,000
• 2 investment properties in Tasmania valued at $500,000.

Under the current rules, Jordi is liable in Queensland for the 2 investment properties as it is above the $600,000 tax-free threshold:

($700,000 - $600,000) × 1.0% + $500 = $1,500

However, under the new land tax rules, Jordi's total Australian landholdings are taken into account, which pushes him into the new tax threshold:

($1,200,000 - $1,000,000) × 1.65% + $4,500 = $7,800

The gross land tax on the entire Australian landholdings is pro-rated for Jordi's taxable properties in Queensland:

Queensland land tax = Gross land tax × Queensland landholdings ÷ Australian landholdings

$7,800 × $700,000 ÷ $1,200,000 = $4,550

What if I only have land in Queensland?

If you only have land in Queensland, there is no change at all.

If you would like a complete a draft calculation so that you are aware of the new liability, please contact Signum Business Advisers.

The family of a five-year-old boy, Grayson, who died of a rare genetic disease is grateful that a team of Westmead scientists has discovered the faulty gene that caused his rapid deterioration, a discovery that has already helped his baby brother and will significantly impact future generations.

Grayson had a genetic disorder known as Dyskeratosis Congenita. This is a disorder of telomere biology, which often has severe consequences. DNA in human cells is bundled into 46 chromosomes, and the two ends of every chromosome are protected by structures called telomeres. In telomere biology disorders, telomeres fail to provide proper protection for the DNA at the ends of chromosomes which can lead to a spectrum of health problems including bone marrow failure leading to the inability to make new blood cells.

Despite multiple bone marrow transplants during his short life, Grayson died in May.

His parents Rachel and Leighton Little have been outstanding advocates for medical research and took part in a study conducted by a team of researchers at Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in Sydney and Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne, which has been published in the scientific journal Blood Advances.

“Research helped us to get a diagnosis and understand a condition that no one seemed to, and it allowed us to plan to extend our family, as well as to educate the rest of our family about the risks to them,’’ Rachel said. “It is important to us that we also help others. I don’t want anyone else to feel alone like we did.’’

In the study, the team led by Professor Tracy Bryan, a leading international expert on telomeres and Head of CMRI’s Cell Biology Unit, discovered what caused Grayson’s very rare condition.

“Each of us has two copies of the gene, and Grayson’s parents happen to carry a different mutation in one copy of the gene,’’ Professor Bryan said, “so they each have one normal copy and one copy with a mutation. Both of the copies inherited by Grayson had a mutation, which led to bone marrow failure, digestive tract problems, liver problems and developmental delay while his parents who each had only one faulty copy of the gene were unaffected.’’

Telomere biology is complex, and what no one could tell Rachel and Leighton was why the combined effect of their genetic mutations had caused such a severe disease. The gene responsible encodes a component of an enzyme called telomerase, which is critically important for maintaining the protective role of telomeres.

“Our colleagues at Peter Mac alerted us to the presence of the two mutations in Grayson’s DNA, but because these mutations had never been seen in patients before no-one knew what effects they were having,” Professor Bryan said. “Using the technology, we have developed for studying telomerase, built up over the last two decades, we demonstrated that each of these mutations affects a different property of telomerase, and when the two mutations are combined, there is an unexpected interaction between them, resulting in a defect more severe than simply the additive effect of the two mutations. The most striking outcome of the analyses was the interaction between the two variants.’’

“Our findings have already had an impact on the family, allowing them to have a healthy baby brother to Grayson, and the results emphasise to researchers and clinicians in this field of medicine the importance of analysing combined mutations to reveal their full effect. Also, if other patients around the world are found to have the same mutations, they won’t have to wait for a molecular diagnosis; this publication will alert their clinical team that the mutations cause telomere shortening.’’

“Of course, while this work has given the family an understanding of what caused Grayson’s illness, we are devastated that there was nothing more that could be done to save him. Our work is not over – the next step for us is to use current gene technology to develop much better treatments for patients with this disease”, Professor Bryan said.

When Grayson was diagnosed his parents were told there was no cure. He received two bone marrow transplants before Rachel and Leighton got the news 15 months ago that there was nothing else that medical science could offer. Rachel said research gave them more time with Grayson, but she hopes things will improve for future generations.

“We had to learn a lot and so did our doctors because it is so rare,’’ Rachel said. “I’m now advocating for others which is so important.’’

The study was a collaboration between Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in Sydney, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Melbourne), Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (Brisbane), and RMIT University in Melbourne. Work was also performed by Aram Niaz and Dr Lisa Riley from the Rare Disease Functional Genomics laboratory supported by Luminesce Alliance, a joint venture between CMRI, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, the Children’s Cancer Institute, the University of Sydney, and the University of New South Wales.

Support Children's Medical Research Institute's work here.

Parramatta’s new $88.6 million state-of the-art aquatic and leisure centre is fast approaching the finish line as construction races past the halfway mark.

Named Parramatta Aquatic Centre at Monday night’s Council meeting, the centre is rapidly taking shape, with indoor and outdoor pool sites excavated and over 9000 cubic metres of concrete poured.

“The countdown is on until we open the doors of our fantastic new centre to the community,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Donna Davis said.

“We know the people of Parramatta are eagerly-awaiting the opening, so we have around a hundred workers on site daily, working hard to deliver our new aquatic centre.

“This multifunctional centre will be a place where our community can exercise, learn to swim or simply have fun with family and friends all year around. I look forward to seeing it be enjoyed by our community for many years to come.”

Once complete, the centre will include a 10-lane, 50m outdoor pool; 25m indoor pool; indoor learn-to-swim pool; indoor water playground; spa, steam and sauna facilities; café; fitness centre; multipurpose community rooms; and parking spaces. Together the three pools will hold more than 2.5 million litres of water.

Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said: “We’ve worked hard with Parramatta Council to help deliver what is a great win for the community, they deserve a world class pool in this world class park.”

Member for Parramatta, Dr Geoff Lee said: “I’m excited that we are past the halfway mark in delivering a first-class facility, as we know the community can’t wait to get back into the water.”

“This aquatic centre will be the envy of communities all over the State. It will be a complex with versatility designed to meet the needs of Parramatta now and in the future for decades to come,” Dr Lee said.

Designed by Grimshaw Architects, Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall, and built by construction company Lipman, the new aquatic centre will sit seamlessly in Parramatta Park’s lush surrounds. The centre’s roof will feature solar panels, generating around 273 Megawatts per hour in energy savings annually.

In a Council Meeting on Monday night, the facility’s name, Parramatta Aquatic Centre, was endorsed by Councillors. The Council also endorsed naming the 50m outdoor pool as the Memorial Pool in recognition of the former Parramatta War Memorial Swimming Centre.

The community is now invited to vote for the names of the centre’s program rooms and outdoor areas. The suggested names feature Dharug language with many inspired by nature, such as Barra Ngurang (Eel Room). The next round of consultation runs from 13-27 July.

Community members can provide feedback by visiting participate.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/parramattas-aquatic-leisure-centre

The project is being co-funded by Council and the NSW Government, which is investing $38.5 million from the Restart NSW Fund. It is anticipated to open in 2023.

For more information, please visit cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/poolupdate

Looking to access the R&D tax incentive but not sure where to start?

Australia’s R&D tax incentive scheme boosts innovation, research and development, and productivity in Australia by providing tax offsets to businesses that undertake R&D in Australia.

William Buck’s experienced team of advisors can help you assess eligibility, maximise your claim and remain compliant.

Book a free assessment from one of William Buck’s R&D consultants today.

By Anton Lukito, Manager at William Buck

Inflation is the talk of the town, and its affects are becoming more apparent, impacting groceries, fuel, and interest rates, as well as the purchasing power of your customers. As a business owner, labour shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and wage hikes are likely adding to your concerns. To succeed in a rapidly changing economic environment, your business will need to be agile, and you should closely monitor three key economic indicators over the next 12 months.

Inflation

Inflation is a general increase in prices and a consequential decline in the purchasing value of money. There are several reasons why we are experiencing a rapid rise in inflation.

1. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) Quantitative Easing (QE) program: This program consisted of the RBA essentially pumping money into the economy through the purchase of government bonds. This was part of a suite of measures put in place by the RBA to provide support to the economy during its economic recovery from COVID-19. While the RBA ceased its QE program in February 2022, its impacts are still being felt.

Additionally, the RBA has slashed interest rates to record lows to create an environment that encourages individuals and businesses to take out a loan for purchasing assets (property, commodity, equipment, machinery) to stimulate the economy.

2. COVID-19 lockdowns have created massive supply chain issues with goods now more difficult to transport and production disrupted. This undersupply has led to higher prices. As an example – the recent lockdown in China lead to 260,000 20-foot cargo containers having to remain in Shanghai in April as they were unable to be exported.

3. Various COVID-19 stimulus provided by the government, including the JobKeeper scheme and HomeBuilder grants, increased liquidity in the economy, driving demand and hence inflation.

4. The Ukraine-Russia war has led to higher commodity prices because of sanctions from many countries pushing up the price of oil and gas.

Australia’s latest March 2022 quarter inflation rate jumped to a 21 year high of 5.1% more than the RBA’s target of 2-3%. It is tipped to increase even further to peak at 6-7%.

Rising interest rates

Inflation is tightly linked to interest rates. The RBA ‘cash’ rate interest rate is a monetary tool of the RBA which allows for the RBA to increase its cash rate to cool inflation when inflation runs too high. The RBA has increased the cash rate twice recently, in May 2022 and June 2022, bringing the RBA rate from a record low of 0.1% to 0.85%. The big four banks expect the RBA rate could rise above 2% by the end of year, with some banks expecting the rate to increase to 2.6% in the first half of 2023.

Record low unemployment

Australia’s latest April 2022 unemployment rate stood at a 50 year low of 3.9%. The unemployment rate is expected to decline further to 3.5% in early 2023. This is largely because of the pandemic, as border closures and uncertainty caused some of Australia’s workforce on temporary visas to leave the country, while Australia’s soaring debt level has fuelled a rapid rebound.

What does this mean for my business?

It is more important than ever for businesses to keep track of their cashflows. Inflation will increase the cost of inputs and therefore increase operating costs. Pair this with both rising interest rates pushing up the repayments on loans and widespread labour shortages, and its imperative businesses plan for success.

Some strategies you might want to consider to boost or at least maintain cashflow include:

• Reviewing your prices and increase where possible/appropriate
• Increasing wages or providing extra benefits to retain staff
• Reviewing the interest rate on current bank loans and/or considering business funding options
• Securing stock amid tight supply chains
• Review operating costs and identifying any unnecessary spending

It is especially important to prepare your cashflow forecasts and budget, as these will help you to determine the impact economic factors are having on your business and will also assist you to secure funding, if required. Further, they will demonstrate which levers you can adjust over the next 12 to 24 months to better position your business. If you would like more information on positioning your business for growth through instability, please contact your local William Buck Business Advisor.

By Simone Rennocks, CEO of My Skills Australia 

I have a big vision.

I believe to find meaningful work and a strong sense of security is one of the foundations of human happiness. With change comes opportunity, that I believe anyone regardless of their age, gender, background or prior education can learn to thrive though.

We know that the new experience of work has spun traditions on their head. Hybrid working, remote teams and virtual working mean that there is no longer an average workplace environment. The skills we need for work are based on transferable skills that we can build upon and take with us across careers and industries. The way these skills are currently taught in school and in vocational education is under the spotlight.  Lockdowns, financial and health crises have only shown us how fragile our society was, or still is. Leaders of tomorrow's companies must be people-centric. Work health and safety obligations now need to include mental health and physical wellbeing, not just risk management and site safety. Corporate social responsibility must consider the needs of the employees, their families and the community as a whole. 

The notion that we are regularly discussing the term ‘disengaged’ too is disheartening. Disengaged students, disengaged workers, how did we get to this point? So many of our youth are categorised and shuffled out the door of education well before being prepared for working life. Even adults with years of experience in their chosen profession, like nursing, care sector and teaching, are leaving their jobs in droves. Neither patient, student or caregiver is feeling fulfilled. 

Disparities still exist in Australia (and the world) when it comes to equality, access to educational resources and reliable technology. Closer to home than you think. In 2022, there are still High Schools in Western Sydney, middle socio-economic areas, whose students still use textbooks and workbooks rather than the laptops and digital classrooms that are used 20 minutes away. There is a major digital skills crisis across all generations of the current workforce. This means as we currently stand, a sustainable future is still only hoped for, not guaranteed. Rapid technology changes are not inclusive or equally accessible. Yet there is hope. The pandemic has shown us that change is possible. We can change. It has also shown us how connected we all are. Reimagining skills and vocational education are a matter for all of us to collaborate on. 

Life skills (rather than calling them skills for work) should be taught from a younger age: 

• Team work
• Ethics
• Social responsibility
• Pride in a job well done
• Thinking critically
• Collaborating 
• Communicating
• Digital Literacy

Work experience programs must be expanded. Internships and extracurricular activities such as volunteering and community projects should be commonplace. 

Vocational education should be designed as scenario-based learning. Targeted skills that are delivered in ‘just the right way, just for the right duration, just using the appropriate tech’. The model for career transition pathway learning should be ever evolving. Like a spiral that can be jumped onto and jumped off again when needed. The core skills should be revisited time and time again in response to emerging technologies and societal needs. 

Education shouldn’t stop once the learning is complete. Ongoing mentoring and support should be provided. Change management and transition planning between school and work and between career gaps should be a subject taught. Change isn’t always comfortable. The support that a new hire needs in their first 30 days is vital. The mental and emotional challenges of a new role or job must be acknowledged and leaders must be trained in mentoring for change.

Communication skills should be a priority as care industries become such a vital part of our community. Having difficult conversations, managing socially diverse teams and empathy are just as important today as technical skills. 

The same level of innovation that is applied in business, must be applied to education. The new experience of work must be people-centric. A leader's role is to hold the space for people in their charge to learn, collaborate and grow. Young workers should be encouraged to mentor older workers. We need to encourage diverse thinking to get the best perspectives possible. Accounts teams need to work through roadblocks they face, not with other accounts team members, but with customer services and vice versa.  A company’s values shouldn’t be set by management. Values should be a conversation that is inclusive. Sit and determine your values together with employees. If leaders are required to consult workers on safety issues, why don’t they consult workers on values?

We must foster innovation from within our organisations. Intrapreneurship is one step towards entrepreneurship. Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, proactive and action-oriented people who take initiative to pursue an innovative product or service. Intraprenuership is a system that allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur within a company or organization. Intraprenuerships foster autonomy and independence, while attempting to find the best resolution. It gives employees the freedom to experiment, as well as the potential for growth of both organization and the employee. They are often able to solve problems on their own, and come up with their ideas that lead to process improvements, using their creativity to enhance existing goods and services within the context of the business. To which an intrapreneur is comfortable being uncomfortable while testing ideas until achieving the desired results. 

Intrapreneurs are often considered inventors. While inventors come up with new products, intrapreneurs come up with new processes that get that product to market. Another reason for why they are considered similar to inventors is that they are creative and are risk-takers in the sense that they are stepping out of their traditional role within the business. Intrapreneurship helps employees with good ideas to better channel the resources of a corporation to develop more successful products.

No organisation or employee can afford to stand still. The new experience of work requires us to understand change, plan for it, accept it and communicate it well. A strong economy and future careers must be anti-fragile. 

We must thrive on change. 

How can we create a system of vocational education to support the new experience of work? What does an Anti-fragile education look like?

To be truly ready for today’s job market our model of education must be inventive and robust. Just as it is a leader’s role to hold the space for teams to collaborate, grow, fail and succeed, it is the role of Vocational Education to create a similar space. Our role in the ‘chain of responsibility’ is foundational step for all humanity.

My Skills’ students are voting with their feet. Our learning experience design LXD has made us a leader in vocational education. Our student satisfaction and skill preparedness out shine our competitors. Our results speak for themselves: P&J Wade Pty Ltd trading as My Skills Australia

In order to blaze a new path in vocational education, educators must address, more than ever before, the ‘whole’ process as a dynamic living ecosystem. Anti-fragile education starts with inclusion. The learns voice must be present from the learning pathway, skills assessment, right throughout the design of the content. Learning experience design LXD must be flexible, people-centric and customised.

My Skills Australia is a custodian of the new workplace experience.

The Welcome Here Project supports businesses and services throughout Australia to create and promote environments that are visibly welcoming and inclusive of LGBTIQ+ communities.

City of Parramatta has partnered with Woolworths Group to increase the number of Welcome Here sites within the community.

Register your business to join the Welcome Here Project.

Expressions of interest close 8 August.

Find out more: https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/welcome-here

My Skills Australia has a mission to promote learners who can learn, find productive work; make wise decisions; and actively engage in their communities.

Their RTO has two fantastic business short courses that are available fully funded under Smart and Skilled for existing workers and staff:

SG00009015 Statement of Attainment in Business (Digital Solutions, Develop Web Presence and Review/Maintain Organisations Digital Presence)

• BSBTEC403 - Apply digital solutions to work processes
• BSBTEC405 - Review and maintain organisation's digital presence
• ICTWEB306 - Develop web presence using social media

SG00009421 Statement of Attainment in Business Administration (Business Software Applications, Design/Produce Business Documents and WHS)

• BSBTEC201 - Use business software applications
• BSBTEC301 - Design and produce business documents
• BSBWHS211 - Contribute to the health and safety of self and others

These are both delivered online as self-paced.

If you feel your staff may benefit from this training, please contact My Skills Australia:

P: 02 8814 8640

E: hello@myskillsaustralia.edu.au

W: myskillsaustralia.edu.au

The Connection chats with Energy Action’s CEO Bruce Macfarlane about the current Australian energy market. During this video, Bruce shares his insight on why energy prices are so high, the impact it could have on businesses and what they can do about it.

With some of the world’s best graduate outcomes and support tailored to your needs, the University of Wollongong (UOW) can help you turn the page to your next chapter in 2022.

Apply for UOW’s South Western Sydney campus in Liverpool and start classes as soon as 25 July.

Midyear intakes in:

• Business
• Computer Science
• International Studies
• Information Technology

Click here for further information or to apply.