Australia to develop national blockchain strategy
The federal government will develop a national blockchain roadmap in a bid to position Australia as a global leader in distributed ledger technology. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews announced the strategy and $100,000 in accompanying funding on Monday to nurture a “burgeoning” industry. It comes just weeks after advice from the Digital […]
Labor to boost ASIC’s fintech capability in Perth
Labor will provide fintechs based in Perth with more regulatory support, pledging an increase in funding for the corporate regulator so it can extend its “innovation hub” to the city and help start-ups connect with the Asian region. Shadow minister for the digital economy Ed Husic and Clare O’Neil, shadow minister for financial services, will […]
Fintechs are ready and waiting for Australia’s open banking framework
The Consumer Data Right bill has been introduced to parliament. The national association for Australia’s fintech startup community FinTech Australia, as well as its members, have welcomed the progress of Australia’s Consumer Data Right bill. The bill was introduced to parliament by Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and gives Australians control over the use of their […]
Open banking quietly delayed
The much-anticipated launch of open banking in Australia has been quietly delayed by the federal government by eight months. On the last Friday before Christmas, a day typically used to “take out the trash” and make some unfavorable or unpopular announcements, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg put out a statement late in the afternoon revealing that the […]
SA govt launches blockchain challenge to spur industry
Offers $100,000 prize pool to entrepreneurs. The South Australian government is hoping to forge its position as Australia’s “blockchain capital” through a new $100,000 challenge for entrepreneurs. On Wednesday it launched the blockchain innovation challenge, inviting South Australian residents (or those willing to relocate) to pitch ideas that solve problems using blockchain. The government hopes to […]
New era for equity crowdfunding
The Australian Government’s long-awaited equity crowdfunding reforms have finally been passed, almost a year after they were introduced to federal parliament. The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced funding for Proprietary Companies) Bill 2017 is the government’s third attempt at legislating equity crowdfunding. Its first bill was left stranded by the July 2016 election, and its second bill […]
Morrison government fund offers $2b boost for SME loans
The Morrison government will inject $2 billion into the small business loan market in an unprecedented effort to boost lending to cash-starved firms which have complained of a worsening credit squeeze.The creation of a taxpayer-backed securitisation fund to invest in small and medium enterprise (SME) credit will also potentially expand an asset class for institutional […]
Service NSW introduces PayPal option
PayPal is now accepted as a payment option by Service NSW and will progressively roll out across all NSW Government agencies that use this website and app. The initial rollout will commence with Roads and Maritime Services. This partnership is the first wide-scale offering of PayPal for government payments in Australia and responds to the […]
