Campbelltown City Council unveiled its bold vision for the City of Campbelltown in front of Sydney’s leaders in government, business, tourism, health, education and sport, at a recent event at Parliament House.

The Mayor and General Manager kicked off the event, which focused on Re-imagining Campbelltown – a future vision for the Campbelltown CBD and the creation of more activated, connected and sustainable places. Council engaged specialist consultants Deloitte Access Economists for the project, who assembled a renowned team of specialist professionals with a wide range of expertise in urban analytics, economic development, urban design, sustainability, transport and infrastructure, tourism and leisure management, strategic and structure planning.

The Health and Education Precinct strategic vision was also officially launched at the event by Minister for Education, Rob Stokes. Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian also made an appearance, and awards were presented to Jim Marsden OAM and Lisa Wilkinson AM for their efforts in promoting Campbelltown City to a broad audience.

Phase 1 of the project did not include physical works, but provided the first step towards clarifying the vision of the CBD and its future as a vibrant, dynamic, active centre for the greater Macarthur region. Throughout this process, the consultant team held meetings with an extensive range of stakeholders groups, and undertook a number of tours of the CBD and surrounds to establish context and understanding of the issues and challenges the CBD faces.

The next step of the Reimagining Campbelltown will be to develop an economic masterplan, as well as an implementation plan.

For further information on the Re-imagining Campbelltown project, please visit: 

https://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/Business/ReimaginingCampbelltown

What is Single Touch Payroll (STP)….

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a government initiative to streamline and simplify the way businesses report to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Each time an employer pays employees through a Single Touch Payroll enabled software you will be reporting the employees salaries and wages, allowances, deductions and other payments, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation information to the ATO.

Your payroll frequency (cycle) does not need to change. You can continue to pay your employees using your current pay cycles.

Employer checklist to help you get ready

Step 1. Take a headcount of the current employees you have on 1 April, 2018. If you have 20 or more employees on that date, you are considered a ‘substantial employer’ and will be required to report through STP enabled payroll software from 1 July 2018. If you have 19 or less employees, Single Touch Payroll reporting will be optional until 1 July 2019.

It should be noted that counting your employees is purely by headcount, not a count of your full time equivalent employees.

What is an employee for headcount purposes?

•  full-time employees
  
•  part-time employees
  
•  casual employees who are on your payroll on 1 April and worked any time during March
  
•  Australian resident employees based overseas
  
•  any employee absent or on leave (paid or unpaid)
  
•  seasonal employees (staff who are engaged short term to meet a regular peak workload, e.g. harvest workers).
  

Do not include:

• any employees who ceased work before 1 April
  
• casual employees who did not work in March
  
• independent contractors
  
• staff provided by a 3rd party labour hire organisation
  
• company directors
  
• Office holders, e.g. President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, etc.
  
• religious practitioners
  

If you are part of a company group, the total number of employees employed by all member companies of the wholly-owned group must be included.

Step 2. Review and possibly update your payroll solution.

A payroll solution is the accounting, business management or payroll software you use to pay your employees. If you are using a payroll software solution or service provider you will need to confirm with them that they will be STP enabled by the due date.

What if I don’t have a payroll solution?

There are a number of options available if you don’t have a payroll solution:

• You can speak to your tax agent to determine which payroll solution would best suit your business.
• You can use a registered tax agent or payroll service provider to report to the ATO on your behalf
• You can check which payroll solutions are Single Touch Payroll enabled in the product catalogue on the Australian Business Software Industry Association (ABSIA) website and choose one of them.
• The major software and payroll services providers are either ready or committed to be ready for STP to be available and it is best to check with your provider and make sure your software is updated to be able to report by the due date.

A payroll provider that we have recently used and can recommend is CloudPayroll.

CloudPayroll is an online based payroll solution who will automatically manage the STP process on clients’ behalf as part of the standard service. CloudPayroll is suitable for small to medium size businesses from 1 employee up to several hundred. Migration, implementation and training, is all taken care of by their experienced friendly payroll experts. Ongoing, unlimited support is provided by phone or email for no additional fee.

Penalties, exemptions and deferrals

When you commence reporting through Single Touch Payroll the first 12 months will be a transition period.

During the first 12 months of reporting through Single Touch Payroll you will be exempt from any administrative penalties for failing to report on time, unless the ATO have already given you written notice advising that a failure to report on time in the future may attract a penalty.

The ATO may grant you an exemption from Single Touch Payroll reporting if you are located in a rural area with no reliable internet connection or you are classed as a substantial employer for a short period of the income year – for example, due to harvesting activities.

By Jim Roy, Director at Michael Page

Despite popular belief, attracting and retaining top talent doesn’t always come down to offering the highest salaries on the market. For many businesses on a tight hiring budget, securing the best professionals is all about providing employees with a balanced, positive, and flexible working environment.

Here are some of Michael Page’s proven employee retention techniques that you can utilise even if your average salary benchmark is lower than the industry standard.

Focus on creating a positive work culture

A positive working environment is vitally important today, especially for younger employees entering the workforce. In fact, 50% of millennials say that the most important factor when choosing a new employer is that the organisation has a strong culture and a good reputation.

For employers, fostering a positive environment means adopting an ‘open-door’ policy where communication and the free exchange of ideas are encouraged. Developing initiatives for recognition, team-building, and wellbeing are also crucial to creating a welcoming and cohesive team atmosphere for employees.

Offer flexible working conditions

A healthy work-life balance is important to a huge 95% of employees, according to a recent study by PwC. Similarly, workers want the ability to take advantage of new technological capabilities to work from anywhere, at any time.

As such, providing the opportunity for employees to work flexibly (by working remotely or working flexible hours, for example) serves as a major non-financial drawcard for many professionals.

Provide opportunities for progression

According to the same study by PwC, career progression is the number one consideration for younger candidates when searching for employment, coming ahead of a competitive salary in second place. Candidates are also looking for assurance that they will have the ability to build their skill set through on-the-job learning and mentoring.

With this in mind, businesses (especially those that aren’t able to offer competitive salaries) must provide a defined framework for training and upskilling of employees to not only attract new talent but also retain existing workers.

Implement a system of recognition & reward

Employees in any industry want to feel that their work is worthwhile and that their contributions to the business are being recognised. In fact, the 2017 Trends in Global Employee Engagement report found that reward and recognition initiatives provide organisations in the APAC region the greatest opportunity to engage employees – over and above financial incentives.

Businesses that aren’t able to offer recognition in the form of generous salaries should instead look to initiatives like employee awards and bonuses for quantifiable achievements (rather than blanket pay rises) to assure employees that their work is valued.

Want to find talent that’s ready to commit to your company long-term? Get in touch with our recruitment consultants.

Powering people to live their best life

Whether you sell to other businesses, or to consumers, you’re in a ‘people to people’ business.

As marketing and sales functions focus more on ‘customer experience’ and HR evolves into ‘Chief People Officer’, it’s clear our language is shifting to accommodate a view that no longer treats staff or customers as assets or resources – but people.

There’s a good reason for this. Research consistently finds that happier employees make happier customers – in the US, Gallup found engaged employees improve customer relationships, leading to a 20% increase in sales.1

“All high performance organisations are united by a common purpose, and enjoyed many benefits from their ability to think of an impact beyond their business,” explains Ros Coffey, Head of People, Culture and Client Experience with Macquarie Bank.

So what does it take for a business to become a truly people-first, purpose-led organisation?

Click here to read the full article.

Macquarie has been providing Business Banking solutions for over 30 years and provides SME clients with tools and strategies to grow and develop their business. You can get regular updates by subscribing to the monthly newsletter, Strictly Business by visiting macquarie.com.au/businessbanking. If you would like to find out more about how Macquarie can support you to take your business further, call Aisling Osborne or Melissa Chung at our Parramatta office on 0410 310 716 and be connected with one of our banking specialists.

This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 237502 (“Macquarie”) for general information purposes only. This information does not constitute advice. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. No member of Macquarie accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss arising from any use of this information.

By Adrian Oldham, Managing Director, Michael Page

Low productivity growth impacts Australia’s workforce via incomes, employment levels and standard of living, so it’s crucial to address the issue and take steps to address this economic challenge.

Lifting productivity a complex task

There is a productivity problem in this country, and though there’s been much discussion on the topic, progress to fix it is slow.

Stephen Walters GAICD is Chief Economist at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He says, “We have been lucky, and perhaps another boom will appear over the horizon.

“It would be wiser to assume, though, that we have run out of booms and need to focus instead on lifting productivity.

Walters indicates the task is difficult, but productivity and population growth are the only two long term drivers of growth.

He says, “Business, educators and government need to be working together and all pulling in the same direction, [which is] a complicated task.”

Innovation and reform drives change

The solutions to our productivity issues will be multifaceted. Addressing educational outcomes and encouraging people to gain the skills essential to future jobs is one of the keys to long term change.

Walters notes that according to a recently released report from the federal government’s Productivity Commission, broad based recommendations also include a focus on introducing measures to reduce chronic illness and increase workforce participation.

He says, “We need to be more innovative, reform our education system, collaborate more, better commercialise ideas, and improve access to capital, particularly for start-ups.”

Don’t rely on population growth or longer hours

Population growth is a major driver of potential output, our economic speed limit, but Australia’s fast-ageing population means we can’t rely on increasing numbers of workers to drive growth. Current population growth and advances in automation may not keep up with the rate of older people leaving the workforce.

Asking those who do work to work longer hours is also not sustainable. A workforce doing longer hours has the potential to contribute further to the chronic health issues and workforce participation problems which already need addressing.

The trick, says Walters, is working both smarter and harder. Seeking integrated reform which spans state and federal government as well as the private sector will create more meaningful change.

Long term reform offers long term benefits

The AICD’s latest survey results for the Director Sentiment Index showed more than a third of respondents nominated productivity growth as an economic challenge for the nation. To address this, respondents seek long term solutions: a renewed push for broad-based tax reform, more infrastructure spending, greater focus on fostering innovation and better standards of education.

Although the global economic outlook says 2018 will bring the best growth levels in eight years, Walters believes Australians need to be proactive and collectively seize their destiny to ensure economic growth in this country.

Walters says, “The payoffs from lifting productivity are very long term, so we need to move beyond a short-term focus.”

Stephen Walters was the guest speaker at a recent Michael Page breakfast briefing session, where Australia’s business leaders share their insights and experience. To take advantage of our economic experience in your own business, contact one of our expert consultants.

Is Your Workplace Culture Turning Toxic?

The culture that surrounds your team has a huge effect on its performance. Once a workplace culture has turned toxic, it becomes very difficult to recover.

So how do you know when you’re on the way to a toxic culture in the workplace? Look for these seven signs of a dysfunctional organisation.

Red Flag #1 – There’s No Communication

What do you see when you walk into the workplace? Is the team talking and laughing? Or are people working in silence, with barely a flicker of emotion on their stony faces?

If it’s the latter, then, you may have a workplace culture issue. A completely formal atmosphere indicates that people are unhappy. There’s no positive energy in your workplace, which is something that everybody can pick up on.

Don’t get me wrong, professionalism is obviously important. However, employees spend around 50% of their waking hours (Mon-Fri) in your workplace so must feel comfortable and happy too.

Red Flag #2 – A Disorganised Workplace

When people care about where they are, they want to ensure the space stays clean and tidy. It’s a strange quirk, we know, but it’s not an irrelevant one.

Think about your home. You love it, so you want to make sure it looks the part. This enhances your enjoyment of the property because you feel proud of it. It also makes you happier to spend time at home.

Now, apply that same line of thinking to your workplace. If the workplace has a feel of disorganisation about it, it means people don’t care about it.

Red Flag #3 – Bad Workplace Behaviours

Everybody has bad habits. That’s unavoidable. However, a toxic workplace culture seems to have the ability to magnify a person’s bad habits.

You’ll find that a lot of your team members procrastinate when they don’t like the workplace culture. They’ll find any excuse not to get their work done until the last minute. If left unabated, these bad workplace behaviours may extend to the point where employees turn up late or take unneeded sick days.

Red Flag #4 – A Title is More Important than the Role

Think about how people introduce themselves to you when you meet them at work. Some will talk in depth about the work that they do. Others will be more concerned with telling you their job title.

The latter situation is a warning sign. When people are more concerned about their titles than the job itself, it shows that they don’t care about their work.

Instead, power seems to be their key motivator. They may use their status to hold themselves above others, which creates an unhappy workplace.

Red Flag #5 – Competition Isn’t Friendly

Let’s assume that your organisation has a sales department. You may think that creating small competitions will help the department to achieve better results.

If your workplace has a good culture, you’ll be right. A little friendly competition doesn’t hurt anybody, plus, it can motivate employees to reach for higher standards.

It’s when those competitions turn sour that you must start worrying. If your employees focus more on competing amongst themselves than they do on reaching the organisation’s goals, you may have to change your workplace culture.

Red Flag #6 – Managers Don’t Interact With Employees

Think about how you talk to your team members. If you find yourself barking orders before storming back to your office, you may have something to worry about.

Employees value effective communication. They want to know that they have a voice in your organisation, and you’re willing to listen to it.

Red Flag #7 – Nobody Talks About It

Acknowledging the fact that a problem exists is the first step to confronting it. You can apply this line of thinking to all areas of life, but it’s particularly important in the workplace.

Be very wary if you don’t hear about the things you need to improve. This usually suggests that people are too scared to speak out, rather than that you’ve created the perfect workplace. No news is certainly not good news!

What to Do Next…

If any of the above sounds familiar, then your workplace culture may be turning toxic. The Great Managers Academy can help you. Click here to learn more.

As well as having the world’s largest collection of Australian animals, Featherdale Wildlife Park’s Drover’s Hut Function Centre is available for your next casual meeting, activity day or lunch with a difference! With free onsite parking and a handy location just 10 minutes from the M4/M7 junction, Featherdale can host the ultimate business function for you.

Enjoy a meal with a Koala or a Billy Tea presentation with the resident Swaggy. Add extra animal encounters such as: feeding the Crocodile, walking a Dingo, cuddling up to a Joey or getting rapt in Reptiles with an encounter of the scaly variety or learn all about Featherdale’s comprehensive fauna collection with a fact-filled Education Lesson.

For more information on our tailor-made functions or to make a booking, please contact the Events team on (02) 9622 - 1644 or email events@featherdale.com.au

The proposed amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) will strengthen consumer protection in Australia, but what does it mean for businesses?

The changes contained in the proposed Treasury Laws Amendment (Australian Consumer Law Review) Bill 2018 and the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Consumer Law Review) Regulations 2018 include:

• Publicly listed companies no longer being exempt from unconscionable conduct protections alongside all classes of consumers
• A wider scope of actions which will lead to the requirement to issue a product recall, whilst increased penalties will apply with non-compliance
• Further false billing protection for unsolicited services will be implemented
• The scope of unsolicited consumer agreements will be expanded to include transactions away from business premises
• A requirement for single price goods and services to be included in the headline price
• Remedies and transport security for consumers who purchase goods online
• Extending the investigative powers of regulatory bodies (such as the ACCC and ASIC) in respect of possible unfair contractual terms
• Easing the evidentiary burden for claims under the ACL
• Providing consumer protection for financial products alongside financial services protection
• More detailed clarification regarding compulsory consumer warranties

These drafted amendments will significantly amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and the ACL contained therein; - as well as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 and the Competition and Consumer Regulations 2010.

What does this mean for Western Sydney businesses?

If, as anticipated, these amendments are incorporated into Australian law, they will create significant compliance requirements for businesses in relation to the ACL. Although the aim of these amendments is (apparently) to ensure that consumers are provided with strengthened protections in business relations, there is no doubt that businesses will need to spend significant time and money ensuring they meet these further regulatory requirements, and avoid possible investigation and / or prosecution.

In anticipation of these amendments, businesses would be well advised to become familiar with their new obligations, and be proactive in ensuring that these obligations can be complied with.

If you would like more information or advice in relation to the proposed changes to the ACL contact a Principal of Matthews Folbigg Lawyers:

Keli Law on (02) 9806 7443 or kelil@matthewsfolbigg.com.au

Simone Brew on (02) 9806 7440 or simoneb@matthewsfolbigg.com.au

Pitcher Partners are pleased to provide you with the latest edition of their national publication - Property of Pitcher Partners. This publication provides insight and commentary on the Australian property market.

In this edition they cover:

• How Australia is trending towards medium density living
• Structuring investment in Australian real property - Managed Investment Trusts
• Property developers and investors look to alternative sources of funding
• CGT main residence and withholding reforms for non-residents
• The increasing complexity of property sales in Australia - GST withholding
• Changes to the Queensland building industry regulatory environment

Click here to read Property of Pitcher Partners February 2018.

For further information, please contact your Pitcher Partners representative.

Contact

Scott McGill

Partner, Property Group

+61 2 8236 7880

scott.mcgill@pitcher.com.au

Pitcher Partners Sydney

Level 22 MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000

www.pitcher.com.au