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News just out is that private-sector union membership in Australia has plunged to 9 per cent of the workforce. Unions are rapidly becoming public-sector-only, with about 37 per cent of that workforce. Perhaps this is why unions are campaigning so hard to try and force ‘wage slavery’ onto all of us. They are fighting for survival.

The ACTU’s core campaign is against ‘insecure work’. It aims to impose ‘permanent’ employment on Australians. But it’s illogical. In particular their campaign has been mugged in the blink of Covid eye reality.  More...

The Victorian Premier’s Department invited us to respond to the Victorian report on the gig economy. Silly them!

The gig economy report is a con. It’s a Trojan Horse designed to unleash the dogs of (legal) war against self-employed people in Victoria and across Australia. We expressed our massive opposition to this when the report was released in July this year and Premier Andrews stated his keen support to implement the report’s recommendations.  More...

Last week (22 July) the Morrison government announced that JobKeeper and JobSeeker are being extended past the current cut-off of at the end of September. But there are changes to eligibility and the amounts being paid.

We’ve waited a week to produce this update to check some details with the ATO. Be aware that the legislation for the extension has not passed Parliament, so our summary below is the best information available at the moment. More...

According to demographer Bernard Salt, there’s a big cultural shift in Australia towards being your own boss. And it’s a lifestyle thing. In The Australian Bernard referred to: More...

Last week, ICA’s Executive Director, Ken Phillips, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Turnbull which was published in Business Spectator. It was about the PM’s desire for an innovation society. Ken said small business innovation is in trouble because of the Tax Office and other matters. He said that there are two tasks:  More...

Important new research released in April has found that the number of independent professionals (iPros) in Europe has increased 45 per cent since 2004. Undertaken for the Professional Contractors Group in the UK, the study not only presents data on a country-by-country basis, but also includes profiling results which show that the major determinants for choosing self-employment are a sense of fulfilment and flexibility in working patterns. More...

Thank goodness Holden is finally leaving Australia. The pain is over and no longer will ordinary Australian taxpayers and small business people have to pay to keep Holden going. Full blogpost here. More...

One of the biggest challenges facing large firms these days is how to manage a ‘blended’ workforce. Few companies are able to operate with employees alone. The use of independent contractors ‘blended’ with employees is a new ‘normal’.  More...

The proportion of small business people not taking on new workers in Australia has risen during 2013 according to the latest survey by MYOB. This must be a significant explanation for the projected rise in Australian unemployment. As we’ve shown before (see figures below) more than 60 per cent of workers are in small business. If small business people are under pressure, employment really struggles!  More...

It’s amazing the stories we receive at ICA from self-employed people describing their business ‘woes’. They’re not complaining about the commercial risks of being in business, but rather aghast at the stupidity of many of the regulations and situations they are forced to work with. Below are ten such stories we have received. It’s these practical examples that bring home the truth about the complexities of being in business for yourself. More...