AUSTRALIA'S LEADING industry groups are calling for Federal Parliament to vote on the IR Omnibus Bill this week and for all Senators to support it.

The industry groups are saying there "is no valid reason why the Bill should be delayed".

"The certainty that these reforms will deliver is needed urgently to boost confidence, investment and job creation to complete the recovery and help put the economy on track to generate higher incomes and sustained growth in the future," the joint statement read.

"A failure to vote on the Bill will increase uncertainty and stifle business confidence at the worst possible time – just before the JobKeeper scheme ends and as businesses are making critically important decisions on whether to retain staff.

"Australia is only part way through an uncertain recovery from the most severe peace-time shock since the Great Depression. With JobKeeper coming to an end, the jobs market remains very tough"

The industry groups said 182,000 more Australians were unemployed in January 2021 than in February 2020.

"The impacts on young Australians are particularly severe. There were 85,000 fewer people aged 15-24 in employment in January 2021 than in February 2020 and 61,000 fewer people aged 25-34 in employment over this period, These age groups account for 47 percent of the additional unemployed over this period.

"GDP at the end of the December quarter was still 1.1 percent below the level reached at the end of 2019 and Gross Value Added in the market sector of the economy 2.3 per cent below its level in December 2019," the joint statement read.

"Australia has a very open economy and we are not immune from the severe economic effects that the pandemic is still having on the global economy.

"The Bill contains a series of modest, practical and fair amendments to the Fair Work Act that will boost jobs, investment and confidence.

"The legislation is the outcome of an extensive Government consultation process over the past nine months involving working parties of industry and union representatives. Employers have not got all they would want. There are components of the Bill addressing issues raised by Unions that we would under normal circumstances strongly oppose. This is not an Employers' Bill but a sensible compromise that employers and their workforces can work with. 

"The legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives and has been scrutinised by a Senate Committee which has recommended that the Bill be passed.

"Australia’s leading industry groups call on all Senators to put the national interest first and support the Bill."

Singatories to the statment are:

Jenny Lambert, acting CEO, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)

Innes Willox, chief executive, Australian Industry Group (Ai Group)

Jennifer Westacott AO, chief executive, Business Council of Australia (BCA)

Steve Knott AM, chief executive, Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA)

Denita Wawn, chief executive, Master Builders Australia (MBA)

Jon Davies, chief executive officer, Australian Constructors Association (ACA)

Paul Zahra, chief executive officer, Australian Retailers Association (ARA)

Wes Lambert, chief executive officer, Restaurant & Catering Industry Association (RCIA)

Dominique Lamb, chief executive officer, National Retail Association (NRA)

Tony Maher, chief executive, National Farmers Federation (NFF)

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THE Tax Practitioners Board (TPB’s) decision to terminate the registration of Ashley Cross of West Perth, WA on the grounds of misconduct and impose a two-year non-application period has been affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The registration of Mr Cross’s partnership, trading as M. Adamson and A. Cross (Adamson and Cross) was also terminated.

Following a referral from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) about self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) Auditor Number misuse, the TPB concluded that Mr Cross and his partnership had failed to act honestly and with integrity and additionally failed to provide competent tax agent services.

Over a period of nine years, Adamson and Cross lodged 125 SMSF annual returns falsely declaring that the SMSFs had been audited when in fact they had not been.

Mr Cross argued in the AAT proceedings that the degree of dishonesty involved was lessened by the fact that ultimately, when audited, the SMSFs were all found to be compliant and that he did not derive any financial benefit. The Tribunal did not accept these contentions.

The Tribunal found that regardless of his motivation, "Mr Cross had repeatedly and deliberately chosen to put what he perceived to be the interests of his clients, above his fundamental professional duty to act honestly. He repeatedly, deliberately chose to mislead the ATO."

Chair of the TPB, Ian Klug AM, reminded tax practitioners that there were serious consequences for failing to act honestly and with integrity and that such behaviour invariably calls into question whether a practitioner meets the fit and proper person requirement.

"The terminations imposed reflect the gravity of Mr Cross’s and the partnership’s dishonest conduct in lodging SMSF annual returns with false declarations over such a prolonged period," Mr Klug said.

Ten tax practitioners have now been terminated as a result of false declarations in SMSF annual returns. The TPB has also suspended the registration of four other tax practitioners.

As a result of recent ATO referrals, more than 60 tax practitioners are now subject to TPB enquiries regarding SMSF Auditor Number misuse.

The TPB’s compliance action also links in with a broader ATO lodgement campaign targeting persistently disengaged SMSF trustees, of which more than 1,100 are estimated to be tax practitioners. The TPB and the ATO will collaborate to address the risks in respect to the tax practitioners in this group.

About the Tax Practitioners Board

The TPB regulates tax practitioners in order to protect consumers. The TPB aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct. Twitter_@TPB_gov_au, LinkedIn, Facebook. 

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THE Stevie Awards have opened entries for The 18th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organisations in more than 60 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small - may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is April 13. The final entry deadline is May 12, but late entries will be accepted through June 16  with payment of a late fee.

Juries featuring more than 150 executives around the world will determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners. Winners be announced on August 12, and celebrated at a gala banquet in Paris, France on October 23, conditions permitting.

The International Business Awards recognise achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards 
• COVID-19 Response Awards
• Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards 
• Human Resources Awards 
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards 
• New Product Awards 
• Public Relations Awards 
• Web Site, App, Event, Video and other media awards

There are many new and revised features of The International Business Awards for 2021:

• Seven new marketing campaign/program categories, four new communications/public relations categories, three new website categories, and 13 new product and service categories.
• Nominations that won Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Awards in The 2020 International Business Awards may be nominated again in the 2021 IBAs, as long as they are submitted to categories different from those in which they won in 2020.
• There are no entry fees for nominations in the Company of the Year categories and other select categories.
• The Best of the IBA awards have been revised.  Fewer Grand Stevie Award trophies will be conferred. 

Stevie Award winners in the 2020 IBAs included Deutsche Telekom Services Europe (Slovakia), Ernst & Young (USA), IBM (USA), Facebook India Online Services (India), Freelancer.com (Australia), Ooredoo Group (Qatar), REMAP (Canada), Türkiye İş Bankası (Turkey), Thai Life Insurance (Thailand), Telecommunication Services Limited (Hong Kong), LLYC (Spain), Warner Media (USA), and many more.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service, and the new Middle East Stevie Awards.

Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organisations in more than 70 nations. Honouring organisations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

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THE Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

The committee will hear from Redress Support Services and an institutional child sexual abuse survivor.

Among other things, the committee wants to better understand how Redress Support Services are engaging with the National Redress Scheme across Australia and what can be done to improve survivor engagement with the scheme.

"Redress Support Services across Australia must walk alongside survivors," committee chair Senator Dean Smith said.

"The committee wants to learn from Redress Support Services about how the scheme can better respond to survivor needs, and what steps the National Redress Scheme can take to increase participation in the Scheme."

Public hearing program

Date: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Time: 11am–2.10pm AEDT
Location: Teleconference

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live and public hearing programs will be available at the committee website prior to the hearing.

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ON THURSDAY 11 and Friday 12 March 2021, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport will hold two days of public hearings in Sydney as part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia.

The committee will hear evidence from numerous stakeholders including patient advocacy groups, clinician and research bodies, and industry. Witnesses will include rare disease advocates from Rare Voices Australia, and representatives from the Medical Technology Association of Australia. ​The program for the hearings is available on the committee’s website.

The chair of the committee, Trent Zimmerman MP, said, "The inquiry has received a lot of interest with 185 submissions to date. At the public hearing, the committee will hear from stakeholders to find out how Australia’s approval systems and funding for new medicines and novel medical technologies will provide the best possible outcomes for all Australians now and into the future.

"The hearings will give the committee a better sense of the perspectives of those who are at the new medicines and medical technology coalface, from research and development all the way through to patients receiving new drugs and medical devices," Mr Zimmerman said.

Further information about the committee’s inquiry including the full terms of reference are also available at the website. Seating at the public hearing will be limited due to Covid restrictions so interested parties are encouraged to listen to the audio live streaming.

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THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works will scrutinise a $24.8 million proposal from Airservices Australia to refurbish the Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport Tower at a public hearing on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

The inquiry into the Airservices Australia, Sydney Airport Tower Refurbishment Project will examine the need for the Sydney Tower to undergo a series of mechanical, structural and electrical upgrades while remining fully operational. Under the proposal, the current generation technology will be upgraded to new Integrated Tower Automation Suite (INTAS) technology.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Time: 2pm to 3pm (AEDT)
Location: via teleconference

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

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NEW FIGURES released this week by the Electric Vehicle Council show Australian electric car sales stagnant "at a time when the rest of the world is hitting the accelerator hard"..

According to Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said, in 2020, there were 6,900 electric cars sold in Australia, a 2.7 percent increase from the 6,718 sold in 2019. The 2020 figures show electric cars accounting for 0.7 percent of total Australian car sales.

By comparison, electric vehicles in the EU increased their market share from 3.8 percent in 2019 to 10.2 percent in 2020. In the the UK, it was 3.1 percent in 2019 against 10.7 percent in 2020. In California, market share went from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent. And in Norway, it rose from 56 percent in 2019 to 75 percent in 2020.

Electric Vehicle Council. Mr Jafari said the baffling Australian anomaly "needed to end".

"Australian drivers are ready to join the exciting global electric car transition, but our politicians are yanking the handbrake," Mr Jafari said.

"There's simply no sugarcoating it at this point – Australia has marked itself out as a uniquely hostile market to electric vehicles.

"We have no targets, no significant incentives, no fuel efficiency standards – and in Victoria we even have a new tax on non-emitting vehicles.

"Our governments are apparently doing everything possible to ensure Australia is stalled with its hazards on while the rest of the world zooms into the horizon.

"The good news is that given Australia's abundant natural advantages, it would only take a handful of small changes from government to get us right back on track, Mr Jafari said.

"If we follow the rest of the world and look to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles, we will be rewarded with clean city air, reduced carbon impact, enhanced fuel security, and a renewed manufacturing sector."

Mr Jafari said the Victorian Government's recent move to implement a special 'tax on not polluting' was particularly baffling.

"Victoria is now doing what no other jurisdiction on earth does by discouraging people from buying electric vehicles by slugging them with a special tax," Mr Jafari said.

"When this policy idea gets pushed by the oil lobby around the world, they typically get laughed out of the room. Tim Pallas cut them a key to his office.

"The federal government’s inaction is bad, but even they’re not destructive enough to actively discourage electric vehicle uptake with a new tax."

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ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA  has confirmed that it has entered into an enforceable undertaking (EU) with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to complete the current program of work in relation to Allianz Australia’s risk culture and governance.

This matter was considered as part of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry and was the subject of a referral by the Commissioner to APRA.

Working with APRA, Allianz Australia said it recognised the need for reform and has embarked on a significant program of work to enhance its culture, conduct and governance. This involved a significant investment in Allianz Australia’s risk management, compliance, and corporate governance and conduct functions, the company reported.

Allianz SE, Allianz Australia’s parent company, recognised that it did not meet APRA’s expectations for robust oversight by an offshore parent of an APRA-regulated Australian insurance company and has taken vigorous measures to improve governance at its subsidiary, using its role as the ultimate parent of Allianz Australia to support Allianz Australia’s efforts to ensure that the program of reform is delivered.

Allianz Australia noted that its progress in implementing this program underpinned APRA’s decision in December 2020 to reduce from $250 million to $150 million the additional capital requirement applied to Allianz Australia in response to its Risk Governance Self Assessment.

Allianz Australia acknowledged APRA’s view that the effective implementation of the remainder of the program of work would be key to the removal of the remaining $150 million of additional capital.

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