THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will hear from a number of Indigenous businesses today in Canberra as part of its Inquiry into Pathways and Participation Opportunities for Indigenous Australians in Employment and Business.

Committee chair Julian Leeser MP said the views and experiences of successful Indigenous-owned enterprises will be hugely important for the inquiry.

"The Indigenous Business Trade Fair in Parliament House tomorrow will provide an opportune time to hold discussions with some of the participants," Mr Leeser said.

"Who better than existing Indigenous companies to advise us on what government might do to foster more business start-ups and greater economic independence among our First Nations communities.

"This is our first public hearing and we hope to speak to many more of these businesses in the coming months in a variety of sectors."

The public hearing will be from 12.30-1.30pm and the full program will be available at the inquiry website.

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WITH EMPLOYEE underpayment scandals occurring with increasing regularity, new research has revealed that 48 percent of organisations want better information on penalty rates and other shift work entitlements, to enable their payroll departments to do their jobs better.

The research comes from a survey of more than 630 payroll managers by the Australian Payroll Association, one of Australia’s leading networks in payroll training, consulting and advisory for employers.

The results indicated that the building and construction industry most struggled with understanding shift work entitlements: 74 percent of payroll managers admitting they required more knowledge of this entitlement for better job performance. This compared with half the amount (37 percent) of payroll managers from the professional, scientific and technical services industries that felt they required more knowledge regarding shift work entitlements, including penalty rates.

The data also revealed which other entitlements payroll managers require more knowledge of: Forty-five (45) percent need more information about general tax requirements across multiple employee payment categories, 40 percent need more knowledge of long service leave payment rules, and 43 percent need more information on redundancy pay entitlements.

Payroll managers in smaller companies of under 50 people were much more concerned about redundancy pay, with 59 percent declaring it was an entitlement they required more information about to perform their job to a higher standard. This compared with only 31 percent of payroll managers at large companies with more than 5,000 employers who felt they needed more information on this entitlement.

Tracy Angwin, a leading Australian expert on payroll and the CEO and founder of the Australian Payroll Association, said, “With more and more companies facing Fair Work action as a result of employee underpayments, organisations must minimise the incidence of payroll errors. Payroll managers require proper training and qualification to maximise job performance and accuracy.

"The Australian Payroll Association offers online and in-person training sessions, as well as formal payroll qualifications for payroll personnel, to help them keep up-to-date with the technical aspects of payroll. We can also help them to find out how they can automate or simplify their payroll processes, as well as optimise their payroll functions.”

About Australian Payroll Association

Australian Payroll Association is one of Australia’s leading networks in payroll training, consulting and advisory for employers. It offers end-to-end payroll process reviews, compliance auditing, specialist recruitment services, payroll qualifications and training courses, and a membership program. Established in 2010, Australian Payroll Association offers the only nationally accredited payroll qualifications at Certificate IV and Diploma level through its registered training organisation, Australian Payroll Institute. It also holds annual events including its national conference and end of year seminars, in addition to releasing an annual Payroll Benchmarking Report. It also has a regular digital podcast series called ‘Talking Payroll’. 

austpayroll.com.au.

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THE House of Representatives Committee on Tax and Revenue has commenced an inquiry into the development of the Australian retail corporate bond market.

Jason Falinski, chair of the committee, said, "A number of reviews have observed that the Australian retail corporate bond market is small compared to those of similar countries.  The committee is interested in why Australian businesses make greater use of offshore bond markets rather than issuing bonds."

The committee will consider the tax treatment of corporate bonds as well as the Corporations Act 2001 to determine whether there are any impediments to the development of the retail corporate bond market.

Submissions from interested individuals and organisations are invited by Thursday, March 16, 2020. The preferred method of receiving submissions is by electronic format lodged online using a My Parliament account.

Further information about the inquiry including the terms of reference is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Public hearings for the inquiry will be held in due course and notified through the Committee’s website.

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RURAL YOUTH ambassador alumni and representatives of the Country Education Partnership will appear before the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training on Wednesday, February12,  2020 at a public hearing for the committee’s inquiry into the education of students in remote and complex environments.

Chair, Andrew Laming MP, said, "The Committee is concerned that students in regional, rural and remote areas risk falling behind their peers in metropolitan areas due to inequitable access to education and other opportunities.

"Raising awareness of options for further education and training, and career opportunities can help build student aspiration. The committee looks forward to hearing from the Country Education Partnership and Rural Youth Ambassador Alumni about a range of initiatives that foster youth aspiration," Mr Laming said.

"The committee is particularly interested in hearing how education meets the learning needs of students and how barriers in education can be overcome."

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Time: 11.30am to 12.45pm
Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

The closing date for submissions has been extended to Friday, 28 February 2020. Submissions can be made online or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..