Melissa Coade

The federal government is establishing a loan facility to help Australia’s critical minerals sector tap into what Scott Morrison says is one of the world’s largest recoverable reserves of the minerals used in advanced technologies. 

The payment platform has been named as the first accredited private identity exchange under the federal TDIF.

Agriculture minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the new streamlined planning process would help support farmers to house their vital seasonal workers.

According to the government’s ‘roadmap to freedom’, five clients will be permitted to visit businesses in NSW offering cosmetic, hairdressing and beauty services once 70% of the state has been fully vaccinated.

Six local small businesses have been named as recipients of the Defence Global Competitiveness grants program, sharing in more than $1.2 million worth of funding.

The New South Wales government has launched a centralised hub to support more than 20,000 SMEs with a platform to submit and review the status of electronic invoices.

Entrepreneurs are helping to raise funds for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to support Afghan refugees.

According to the NSW energy minister Matt Kean, the best way to make green hydrogen commercially viable in Australia and NSW is to get to scale as quickly as possible.

OCR Labs has been named as one of Australia’s first ‘entirely private’ accredited digital identity service providers.

Service NSW has announced cards will be available for customers visiting essential retail shops, and a suite of other ‘improvements’ to its COVID-19 check-in app.

The Palaszczuk government’s decision to make permanent the role of Queensland Small Business Commissioner recognises the ongoing hardship SMEs have endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Each year Australia wastes an average of 7.3 million tonnes of food, and now experts are calling for the urgent introduction of national sustainable consumption goals to help halve that figure within the next decade.