In the wake of the Optus data leak, legislation before Parliament will lift the maximum fine for serious or repeated breaches of the Privacy Act from $2.2m to up to $50m. But there are no guarantees that even the strongest safety measures will prevent an attack. So, what does that mean for business and their customers?

In a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank announced a Melbourne Cup rate hike of 0.25%, the seventh hike in a row, bringing the overnight cash rate to 2.85%, the highest level since April 2013.

There is nothing in this Budget that would create a UK style crisis. The stage 3 tax cuts legislated to commence on 1 July 2024 are not mentioned, and most funding initiatives appear to be a reallocation of previous Government initiatives.

After four straight 50 basis point hikes, the Reserve Bank gave borrowers a breather by slowing their sixth hike to 25 basis points to the surprise of economists and bringing the overnight cash rate to 2.60% in line with their September meeting minutes.

Inside this month, the new .au direct domain name and the risk to your business, and the detail of the 120% deduction for skills training and technology costs.

The Reserve Bank has raised its overnight cash rate target by another 50 basis points to 2.35% at the board’s September meeting this afternoon as predicted by most economists in a Bloomberg survey, marking the fourth straight 50 basis point move by RBA.