SmartCompany (Australia)

An Australian property startup is challenging the way real estate agents market properties, while uncovering listings that have yet to appear on major property websites. Quiet Listings aggregates properties directly from real estate agency websites, while tracking historical price changes, number of days on the market, and the price search ranges associated with properties advertised as “Contact Agent”, “Auction” or “Expressions of Interest”.

Critics of the Australian Taxation Office’s credit card ban have welcomed government intervention, but say it should only be the starting point for further negotiations with the cash-flow-strapped small business sector. Following the October 1 card surcharge ban, the ATO said it would stop accepting credit cards past November 30, fearing its card acceptance costs would hit $200 million a year.

Australian businesses increasingly using AI agents to negotiate deals, process orders and communicate with customers, could be left footing the bill for commitments they never authorised. AI experts have identified this as a key emerging commercial risk, warning that businesses may be legally responsible for their agents’ mistakes, even when they act outside their instructions.

The federal government will provide the Australian Taxation Office with extra funding to help it accept credit card payments until July 2027, after a firestorm of criticism from business representatives. The tax office had planned to cease accepting credit card payments after November 30, saying the new card surcharge ban would otherwise force it to absorb $200 million in card acceptance fees each year, with little choice but to indirectly pass those costs onto the Australian community.

Surging oil prices are being felt in the Australian startup sector, with the founder of climate tech startup Kapture spending $28,000 to import a single component worth a third of that amount. Intensifying conflict between Yemeni forces and Houthi rebels has exacerbated an oil supply shortage kick-started by the US and Israeli war on Iran, with Brent crude oil prices now currently above $US100 a barrel.

Cricket Victoria is offering workers $16 tickets to watch Sheffield Shield matches while working remotely, but employer groups aren’t impressed. The “work-from-the-Shield” ticket gives workers access to a function room, Wi-Fi and a free tea or coffee during Victorian matches at Junction Oval in St Kilda. Related Article Block Placeholder Article ID: 345631 But the initiative has drawn criticism from Victorian employer groups.

ASX hopeful Firmus is likely to cut its initial public offer from $11 to $9 per share, reducing the amount raised from the float by around $1.3 billion, due to weaker-than-expected international investor demand. Aborting the mega-float is also on the table, with key investor Nvidia now central to its success. Both the Australian Financial Review and The Australian reported news of the potential trim overnight, citing market sources close to the deal.

Bank branches could return to forgotten corners of regional and rural Australia under an industry plan to save face-to-face services. The industry’s peak body wants the competition watchdog’s blessing to trial banking hubs, basically multi-bank branches, in country Australia. Related Article Block Placeholder Article ID: 311794 The plan includes a funding model to share costs of supporting bricks-and-mortar outlets and other infrastructure across participating banks.

Minister for Small Business Anne Aly has given little indication the federal government will reverse the Australian Taxation Office’s plan to stop accepting credit cards past November 30, despite acknowledging why some small businesses want to retain that option. As of October 1, merchants and government agencies that accept card payments can no longer pass those costs onto cardholders in the form of a surcharge.

A thief walked into Natellie Maloney’s small Melbourne crystal shop and stole $250 worth of stock in less than a minute. For the owner of Crystals & Flames in Chelsea, Melbourne, it was not an isolated problem. Maloney says her store has repeatedly been targeted by thieves, including one planned theft in which two crystals worth more than $1,000 were stolen. “I work seven days a week,” Maloney told SmartCompany.