From the desk of Alliott Group APAC Chair, Vanessa Williams

At the time of writing the last APAC update, our team was back in the office and things were finally getting back to normal.

Retail in NZ had a mini boom, people were spending again, restaurants were full and then just like that on 12th August Auckland went to COVID-19 Alert Level 3. Once more we were working remotely.  Now we are back in the office (hopefully for the long term) and it’s just months away from Christmas. What a year it’s been!

Budget winners and losers revealed

The Australian Government is set to deliver one of the most important budgets since World War II on Tuesday night.

It’s expected to include a staggering amount of spending and the biggest deficit in Australia’s history as the government tries to kickstart the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But even with such a large amount of spending, not everyone will be a winner, here’s what we know about the Budget so far.

Small businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy, but there’s no denying it’s sometimes tough going to stay afloat – especially with disruptions outside of your control.

To help your business stay competitive and keep your cash flow steady, here are 22 ways to reduce costs, courtesy of Business Australia:

https://alliottnz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Business-Australia_cost-reduction_checklist-1.pdf

Source: Retrieved from https://alliottnz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Business-Australia_cost-reduction_checklist-1.pdf (2020)

Auckland extension of Alert Level 3 lockdown announced

On Monday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the extension of Alert Level 3 in Auckland to 11.59pm on Sunday 30^th August 2020.  

What to consider as you bring employees back to the workplace

As lockdown eases, more people are returning to work. For many, this is a significant and potentially anxiety-inducing step. As a business leader, it’s important that everyone on your team feels comfortable about the return to work.

JobKeeper eligibility changes announced

On Tuesday 21 July 2020 the Australian Government announced a proposed extension of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme from 28 September 2020 until 28 March 2021.

ALERT Level 3 – The Waiting Room

The key points for businesses are: 

In July, the Australian Government announced it is extending the JobKeeper Payment until 28 March 2021

Support is designed to target those businesses and not-for-profits which continue to be significantly impacted by the Coronavirus.

From 28 September 2020, eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment will be based on actual turnover in the relevant periods, the payment will be stepped down and paid at two rates.

National Australia Bank’s Small and Medium Enterprise business survey saw a large deterioration in Q2

Small and medium business (SMB) confidence and conditions declined sharply, while capacity utilisation also declined to its lowest level in the history of the survey. The deterioration was evident across all size tiers and across each of the trading, profitability and employment sub-components. In addition, forward-looking indicators for both conditions, employment and capex all deteriorated sharply in addition to a weak outcome for forward orders.

Free social distancing signage from Business Australia

If you’re an Australian business, you can fit out your workplace for COVID-19 by ensuring you have the relevant signage to keep your staff and customers safe.