Kotaku alleges abuse, gross staff neglect at retailer EB Games
In which Kotaku alleges an odious culture of gross staff neglect and out and out abuse at national retailer EB Games.
WA taxi reforms to ‘level playing field’ with firms like Uber
The Western Australian Government has announced plans to transform the state's highly regulated taxi industry to increase flexibility, safety and affordability in the face of disruptive competition such as Uber.
Taxi 2.0 service Uber hits Sydney
US-based personal transport startup Uber has started testing its service in Sydney, encouraging Sydneysiders to download its mobile application and start requesting rides instead of using existing taxi services.
StartupAUS report: Australian big business must collaborate with startup community
StartupAUS, a group that advocates for Australia's startups, has published a report highlighting the importance of the relationship between big business and startups in cultivating a "vibrant and energetic" environment for innovation.
‘War’ on tax avoidance overlooks some obvious legal fixes
This article is by Antony Ting, Associate Professor, University of Sydney. It originally appeared on The Conversation.
opinion/analysis The war on tax avoidance by multinational...
ASX plans blockchain solution for Australian equity market
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has selected US firm Digital Asset Holdings to develop a blockchain post-trade solution for the Australian equity market.
Telstra preparing mobile network for 1Gbps speeds ‘later in 2016’
Telstra has made a raft of announcements this week, including the launch of 1Gbps speeds on its mobile networks in certain areas.
iiNet chairman “proud” as TPG sell-out looms
iiNet chairman Michael Smith has labelled the company’s planned sell-out to TPG as a “very significant day” in iiNet’s “proud history”, as shareholders vote today on what is still one of the most controversial mergers ever to have been proposed in Australia’s telecommunications industry.
Xbox One goes off with a bang … but will the PS4 launch eclipse...
Which console launch are you most excited about, and why? Am I right that the PlayStation 4 has most of the momentum at this point? Or is underdog Microsoft making a comeback with the Xbox One?
Telstra invests in NGINX web server project
Telstra Ventures – the venture capital arm of the major telecommunications firm – has announced a strategic investment in NGINX, a San Francisco-based company providing open-source web server software that supports many of the world’s busiest websites.
Samsung offshores Aussie mobile support
As Korean giant Samsung has grown its presence in the mobile phone space to rival and even exceed that of industry leader Apple, it has also had to grow its support network. This is to be expected. But what many readers may not have realised is that much of the company’s support for its devices in Australia was actually supported from Australia, with a call centre based in Wollongong. Unfortunately for those concerned, according to Ausdroid, those jobs are now to be offshored.
Budget 2014: NICTA will be heavily affected by funding cut
Just a day or so ago, National ICT Australia appeared relatively unfazed by the Coalition Federal Government’s decision to entirely cut its funding within two years, vowing to seek alternative options. But an interview with the group’s chief executive Hugh Durrant-Whyte in the Financial Review newspaper yesterday paints an entirely different picture.
Capgemini launches Backelite digital service in Australia
Capgemini, the international consulting, IT and outsourcing services firm, has announced the Australian launch of Backelite, its digital service design consultancy.
auDA appoints policy development veteran as new CEO
.au Domain Administration (auDA) – the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space – has announced that policy development veteran Cameron Boardman has been appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer.
IIA hands baton to Comms Alliance
Australia's Internet Industry Association is to to shut down and transfer its operations to the Communications Alliance, in the second major termination of an Australian telecommunications representative group in under three years.
Australia’s got ICT talent: So how do we make the most of it?
AUSTRALIA 2025: How will science address the challenges of the future? In collaboration with Australia’s chief scientist Ian Chubb, the Conversation is asking how each science discipline will contribute to Australia now and in the future. Written by luminaries and accompanied by two expert commentaries to ensure a broader perspective, these articles run fortnightly and focus on each of the major scientific areas. This instalment takes a look at ICT’s role.
NBN may be delayed by Alcatel-Lucent strike
Employees at Alcatel-Lucent Australia have threatened to commence industrial action to defend wages and entitlements, in a move that could see the rollout of the National Broadband Network delayed.
Bugcrowd raises $15m in Series B funding round
Australia-founded Bugcrowd, a provider of crowdsourced security for enterprises, has announced the completion of a $15 million Series B funding round led by Blackbird Ventures.
HP opens new Sydney security ops centre
Global technology giant HP yesterday announced it had created a new dedicated Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Sydney that will support the company's managed security services platform and deal with customers located around the globe.
Disruptive tech companies killing off workers’ rights, says union
The 'disruptive economy' being brought about by companies such as Uber is "driving down" workers’ rights, the Transport Workers Union has warned.
Farce: Apple Australia pays extra $4m of tax on $1.8bn revenue gain
US technology juggernaut Apple has revealed it only paid an extra $4.5 million worth of corporate tax in Australia in its 2015 financial year, despite the company making an extra $1.8 billion in local revenue, taking its local taxes to a paltry sum of $85 million off record Australian revenues of $7.8 billion.
Pollenizer celebrates five years with a book
Startup consultancy and incubator Pollenizer celebrates five years with a new book about the lifecycle of startups, Startup Focus.
Telstra doubles NBN/broadband data on new bundle deals
Telstra has announced limited-time bundle deals for new NBN or broadband customers, offering extra data, bonus calls, and access to Wi-Fi when away from the home.
Just months later, M2 to sack another 150
National telecommunications company M2 this morning revealed it had plans to make another 150 positions redundant, just five months after culling 100 staff from its operations.
Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vodafone splurge on 1800MHz spectrum
Four major telcos have together splashed out over half a billion dollars on shares of the 1800 MHz spectrum band, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Govt delays IT startup funding decisions
According to From Little Things, the Gillard Government is currently sitting on its hands with respect to decisions about supporting Australia's IT startup sector and hasn't responded to its own review in the area.
Uber takes ATO to court over GST
Ride-sharing company Uber has taken the Australian Taxation Office to court over the agency’s insistence that drivers providing its ride-sharing service collect GST the same way taxi cabs do, in a move that represents Uber’s latest legal battle against the taxi industry.
NBN offers 50Mbps/20Mbps fixed wireless product
The NBN company this morning announced it had launched a fixed wireless broadband service offering download speeds of 50Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps -- double the speeds currently available on the company's wireless platform.
Future Capital expands with Agenda and BlueChilli
Future Capital Development Fund (FCDF), the prominent Australian web 2.0 investment group, announced its investment yesterday in two more companies, TheAgendaDaily.com and BlueChilli Technology. This brings the total of fast growing Internet companies in the Future Capital portfolio to at least 14.
Lockheed Martin to establish R&D facility in Melbourne
Multinational security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has revealed that it is to set up a multi-disciplinary research and development facility in Melbourne.
Coalition dumps Lundy’s $42m NICTA boost
The Coalition has revealed an extra $42 million in funding to support peak ICT research group National ICT Australia (NICTA) unveiled several weeks ago by Labor Digital Economy Minister Kate Lundy will be a victim of its election drive to cut costs.
ACS elects Anthony Wong as new President
The ACS, the professional body for Australia's ICT industry, has announced that Anthony Wong has been elected as its President for a two year term commencing 1 January.
VMware appoints new Asia-Pacific chief
Virtualisation giant VMware has announced the hiring of a new regional chief for the Asia Pacific and Japan.
Apple reseller Next Byte to close following revenue decline
Vita Group has announced it will close the remaining eight stores of its subsidiary Next Byte – an Apple product reseller – over three months starting from January 2016.
Budget 2014: Govt chops NICTA funds in two years
The Federal Government tonight revealed plans to totally stop funding the nation's peak ICT research group National ICT Australia (NICTA) after two more years, with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull stating that the organisation would then need to move to a "self-sustaining model".
Back in the black, baby: Three more tech firms to list on ASX
Three more small technology firms have confirmed plans to follow the high-profile initial public offering of online talent marketplace Freelancer to list on the Australian Stock Exchange, as the nation's early stage technology sector as a whole shifts into hyperdrive and seeks capital from Australian investors to expand.
Cisco launches Internet of Things innovation centre in Sydney
Cisco has launched a new innovation centre in Sydney that will focus on open Internet of Things (IoT) developments.
Politicians flood launch of #fintech hub Stone & Chalk
blog Sydney-based financial technology startup hub Stone & Chalk launched last night to great fanfare, with a solid wedge of politicians from both major...
Financial problems take down 99dresses
Pollenizer-backed startup 99dresses this week took its site down for renovation promising that it would eventually return, but revealing it was suffering from financial problems linked to its use of virtual currency.
NSA intercepts US routers, implants spyware
Remember how the US Government made such as a huge song and dance about the claimed security implications to buying networking equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei? Well, it turns out that this was squarely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Telstra snaps up O2 Networks
The nation's largest telco Telstra today announced it had acquired O2 Networks, a leading Australian provider of network and security consulting and integration services for enterprise customers, in a deal reported to be worth $60 million.
Tapestry.net picks up $400k investment
Not every Web 2.0 startup is for sexy young things who are devoted to sharing every instant of their “social universe” online. Some startups aim at different categories. A good example is Tapestry.net, which just picked up a cool $400k in investment from government group Commercialisation Australia.
Pollenizer takes a further $1.1m, rejigs model
Australian startup incubator Pollenizer has raised a further $1.1 million to continue to develop its operations, and has substantially reformed its model on building startups to place a higher emphasis on its staff acting as co-founders of the startup companies it helps to foster.
UNSW, GoGet working on self-driving car
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have taken the first step towards creating a self-driving car by fitting sensors and other technology to a vehicle owned by car sharing service GoGet.
Report outlines the digitalisation ‘megatrends’ shaping Australia’s employment future
A new report has outlined the "megatrends" shaping the future of employment in Australia and highlighted the importance of education across the jobs spectrum.
Salesforce Australia partners with UN on gender equality program
Customer relationship management firm Salesforce has announced a new partnership with the United Nations Women’s National Committee for Australia that will see the company join its global 'HeforShe' gender equality program as its first Australian corporate partner.
Telstra, Seven splurge on HealthEngine startup
Telecommunications and media giants Telstra and Seven West Media have revealed they will splurge a total of $10.4 million on HealthEngine, in a move which represents the second major investment in the seven-year-old Perth-based health appointment search startup in less than a year.
Research: Netflix now reaches over a million households in Australia
The number of Australian households with a Netflix subscription rose in October to top one million, according to data from Roy Morgan Research.
Well, d’uh: ACCC finds it is possible to monitor Aussie broadband speeds
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published a 72 page report detailing the fact that it is possible to establish a program to monitor and report to consumers on the quality of local broadband services, but has not yet decided to go ahead with such a program.
Delicious buys Aussie startup Trunk.ly
Global social bookmarking company Delicious has bought Australian startup Trunk.ly, less than a year after the site launched in the wake of Delicious' own temporary sunset at the hands of former owner Yahoo.
‘Google Schmoogle’ – how Yellow Pages got it so wrong
Yellow Pages directories have been appearing on doorsteps across Australia in recent weeks. As often as not, they go straight into the recycling bin. In the world of the internet and e-commerce, the very notion of a book the size of two bricks being the source of valuable purchasing information seems plain silly.
Atlassian files for IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market
Australian enterprise software provider Atlassian has publicly filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol 'TEAM'.
Optus, Huawei achieve 1.41Gbps speeds in 4.5G wireless trial
Optus and Huawei late last week said a live trial of 4.5G technology has produced mobile download speeds of 1.41Gbps.
Atlassian announces massive revenue jump
Atlassian, the Sydney-founded provider of team collaboration and productivity software, has announced a spike in revenue in its latest financial results.
River City Labs to double in size with new Fortitude Valley premises
Not-for-profit co-working space and startup hub River City Labs has announced plans to double in size within the next six months, following a shift to new premises.
iiNet shareholders vote ‘yes’ for TPG buyout
iiNet shareholders have overwhelmingly voted for the company to be acquired by rival TPG, with approval by the competition regulator and the Federal Court the two remaining conditions before the acquisition can take place.
IBM Australia to reportedly slash 500 staff
The new year has not started well for Australian technologists in terms of the jobs situation. Qantas is cutting IT workers, Sensis is cutting workers, Telstra is cutting workers, the Victorian Government is looking into offshoring, and now, according to The Australian newspaper, IBM Australia has embarked on another major redundancy round.
Ingogo picks up another $3.4m funding
What this investment, as well as the planned ASX listing and its past healthy fundraising efforts, shows is that ingogo is pulling in substantial revenues.
Red Cloud to build $40m next-gen datacentre in Hobart
Red Cloud Ltd, a data centre services provider, has announced it will build a $40-million, resilient, Tier-3 data centre in Hobart using proven state-of-the-art modular technology.
Vocus and Nextgen to build Australia-Singapore 100Gbit/s high-speed cable
Vocus Communications has confirmed that it has signed a non-binding agreement with Nextgen Networks to construct a high-speed Australia-Singapore submarine cable (ASC) and and is currently "engaged in due diligence on the opportunity".
Australian IT should play to mining, farming strengths, says Fletcher
I don't want to comment too strongly on the substance of the speech at this point, but I wanted to make readers aware that Malcolm Turnbull's Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher has delivered a major speech on the Coalition's vision for the Digital Economy.
Telstra claims ‘world first’ following 1Gbps mobile speed test
Mobile provider Telstra claims to have achieved a "world first" following "successful" tests of 1Gbps speed capability on its commercial mobile network.
Free to fail: Why corporates are learning to love venture capital
Opening a venture capital branch seems to be the new “thing” in the corporate world. While Telstra and Westpac are the new big national players, Google is clearly ahead of the curve, with two distinct venture capital firms: the newly launched Google Capital and the five-year-old Google Ventures. But why are so many companies, across a range of sectors, now running to open their own venture capital funds?
Software is officially a rip-off in Australia, So what can you do?
It’s official: Australia isn’t the “lucky country” in the IT sector. Consumers, government and industry down under are charged typically 50% more for software and hardware compared to their American counterparts. Why is this the case and, more importantly, what can affected customers do about it?
Australia Post invests $20m to accelerate e-commerce adoption
Australia Post has announced that it will be investing $20 million in emerging e-commerce businesses, as well as co-locating its venture accelerator program within the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Accelerator programme (MAP).
Corruption raises its ugly head in Australia’s technology sector
The newspaper alleged, and Leighton has substantially verified, the fact that staff from Visionstream were suspected of aiding Silcar staff in stealing Visionstream tender files relating to a $240 million contract to deploy Optus’s 4G network, which the two contractors were competing to bid. I’ll have a separate article on that situation shortly.
What you may not realise is that this not an isolated incident.
Suncorp invests in Trōv ahead of insurance app launch
Suncorp has bought a US$5 million (A$6.59 million) equity stake in US-based tech firm Trōv.
TPG/iiNet shuts down TransACT’s Canberra call centre
TPG and its subsidiary iiNet have quietly shut down the dedicated call centre supporting ACT and Victoria-based ISP TransACT, making all of its staff redundant and shifting call volumes to other call centres around Australia.
Oracle to buy NetSuite
Oracle has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based cloud solutions provider NetSuite at a cost of approximately US$9.3 billion (AU$12.34 billion) in cash.
Telstra offshores 34 Tasmanian jobs
Your writer can't imagine that it's easy working at Telstra. Although Australia's biggest telco has an extensive workforce with many career opportunities, it also conducts regularly redundancy rounds as part of its ongoing drive to become more efficient and cut costs.
‘Keeping the company in Australia’: Freelancer.com turns down $400m buyout to list on ASX
Outspoken Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie today noted that the company would turn down the offers it had received to sell to a larger group or take investment, instead flagging plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year and continue the drive to develop Australia's home grown technology industry.
Banks dump accounts of Bitcoin firms
Australia's growing cadre of Bitcoin trading companies have discovered that the mere nature of their business has been enough to get them blacklisted by Australia's major banks.
Sydney’s Bubble Gum studio raises $2.5m more
Sydney-based children's entertainment company Bubble Gum Interactive has raised another $2.5 million to help fund the expansion of its Little Space Heroes online game, adding to an initial $1 million raised in mid-2011.
Startmate startups incorporated in … Delaware?
Every so often you come across something in Australia’s technology sector which infuriates you because of its counter-intuitiveness. Today’s item is the news broken by Mahesh Sharma at ZDNet.com.au that local technology incubator Startmate has successfully advised its latest batch of companies to become incorporated in the state of Delaware in the US instead of in Australia.
Telstra tests high-speed encryption on its carrier network
Telstra has trialled high-speed optical encryption in its production network between Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney claiming it as a "world first" in data safety.
A fascinating startup brain dump from Phil Morle
If you're interested in Australia's IT startup ecosystem, you could do a lot worse than read this fascinating braindump by Morle posted amid the dying embers of 2012.
Capgemini appoints new CEO for Australia and New Zealand
Global consulting, technology and outsourcing company Capgemini has announced the appointment of Nicolas Aidoud as its new Chief Executive Officer for Australia and New Zealand.
Telstra hires Kevin Russell and … Stephen Elop?
Telstra has announced two notable executive hires in its retail and innovation divisions as it moves to simplify and strengthen its core business.
US tech visionary Harper Reed to keynote Cisco Live
Technology giant Cisco has unveiled the line-up for its Cisco Live confab in Melbourne next week, with US-based technology evangelist Harper Reed to feature as one of the main keynotes, alongside several senior global Cisco executives.
KPMG launches fintech startup accelerator for corporates
KPMG Australia has announced the launch of a corporate-focused accelerator called mLabs that is intended to connect mutual banks and credit unions with Australian fintech startups.
Atlassian buys HipChat
Australian enterprise software firm Atlassian revealed this week that it had acquired San Francisco-based HipChat.
Another great Aussie IT company to go overseas? CSC makes offer for UXC
I personally feel it would be a real shame to see UXC snapped up by CSC. UXC is a strong Australian business, with its Red Rock, Oxygen, Connect, Telsyte and other brands being very well-known in Australia. Of course, CSC would be likely to keep most of its staff intact. But the Australian IT services market would feel a lot less ... Australian without UXC existing on its own.
Australians offered digital inbox for real mail
A trio of business process companies have teamed up in a joint venture to offer Australians an easy way to receive their physical mail -- online.
ANZ’s startup accelerator reveals next class
The Innovyz START startup accelerator program recently launched by ANZ Bank has revealed the second 10 startups to which it will attract funding and mentorship, with the major of successful startups originating in South Australian capital city Adelaide.
Australia’s second dot com boom is here
If you've been paying attention to Australia's technology startup sector recently, you might have noticed that it's absolutely booming. Tens of millions of dollars are being ploughed into new startups, incubators and co-working spaces are popping up all over the place, and successful startups like Freelancer.com are considering massive stock market listings.
Have journalists found the inventor of Bitcoin or simply been duped?
If taken on face value, the evidence was actually reasonably compelling. The problem was, as NY Times reporter Nathaniel Popper explained, Wright’s writing and personality didn’t match that of Nakamoto’s.
Gizmodo has been chasing people around Sydney that might be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
Gizmodo has revealed that it, too, has been tracking Craig Wright and his friend Dave Kleiman for some time regarding the claim that they may jointly be the creator of Bitcoin. The media outlet has gone as far as visiting people associated with Wright and Kleiman in Sydney and asking them for further information.
Clothing with Bluetooth safety alerts idea wins mining hackathon
After over two days of non-stop brainstorming, a team composed of university students and scientists has won the 2015 Unearthed Melbourne Hackathon.
Kogan puts company up for sale
Depending on what you choose to believe, a report published by the Financial Review this morning suggests that either Ruslan Kogan may have run out of energy and is looking to take a break or is looking to take his business to the next stage with a decent slab of capital injection.
VMware introduces new desktop virtualisation platform
Virtualisation giant VMware has unveiled a new platform for delivering secure digital workspaces for flexible working on any device.
VCs plough $14m into crowdsourcing startups
Two high-profile Australian startups who have built their businesses on crowdsourcing this week revealed they had attracted a total of $14 million in venture capital funding that will allow them to continue to grow aggressively and extend their reach outside Australia.
Foxtel to launch first Internet piracy blocking attempt in early 2016
National pay TV operator Foxtel has reportedly confirmed plans to launch an attempt early in the near year to have a specific website allegedly hosting pirated film and TV content blocked, in what is expected to be the first test of new legislation designed to tackle Internet piracy.
amaysim buys fellow mobile telco Vaya
Mobile telco amaysim this morning announced it had bought privately owned Vaya for $70 million, in a move that will add some 140,000 subscribers to amaysim's customer database and further consolidate the already tight mobile market.
Apple CEO bitchslaps Melbourne store staff in front of whole company
In an email to all staff, Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly called a recent incident in which black teenagers were turned away from an Apple store in Melbourne "unacceptable".
Optus rolls out guest Wi-Fi at Mirvac shopping centres
Optus Business is now providing Wi-Fi services for Australian property group Mirvac at two of the firm's flagship shopping centres.
Solar Movie is the content industry’s first site blocking target
As revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald and a number of other media this morning, the content industry's first target will be Solar Movie.
Kogan loses licence in high-speed police chase
We know we’ve pinned Ruslan Kogan for a certain degree of … arrogance, previously, but we really didn’t expect the maverick online retail and consumer electronics guru to go quite this far in proving our point.
Police raid alleged Bitcoin founder’s home in Sydney: ATO investigation
This afternoon, The Guardian reported that police had raided the home of alleged Bitcoin creator Craig Steven Wright's home in Sydney on the basis of an investigation by the Australian Taxation Office.
Industry group lists digital policies to boost Australia’s economic prospects
The Australian Industry (Ai) Group has released a report outlining seven priority policies that it believes are essential to strengthen pro-digital reforms and lift Australia's prospects in the digital economy.
Reboot ICT teacher training to halt the computing brain drain
The shortage of computing experts in Australian schools has serious implications for our future as a player in the knowledge economy.
Square’s low-cost credit card reader launches in Australia
Global payments technology provider Square has announced that its low cost 'Square Reader' credit and debit card reader is now available in Australia.
Kondoot social network plans $10 million IPO
Australian video social network Kondoot has announced plans to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in a bid to raise $10 million for its marketing and expansion plans.
Budget a harsh wake-up call for the tech sector
Listening to the shrieks and squeals of tech sector commentators over the past few weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking Joe Hockey’s first budget contained nothing for the industry. A more measured inspection of the budget entrails and you will find the Coalition has delivered a lot. A lot of pain, and a lot of lessons.
APN invests in Pollenizer’s Friendorse
Newspaper group APN News & Media has confirmed that it is investing in the Pollenizer-backed startup Friendorse.
Foxtel hiring anti-piracy investigator
Australian pay television company Foxtel is hiring an anti-fraud investigator to drive the firm's efforts to cut down on piracy and other criminal activities.
Dick Smith administrator shuts David Jones stores, 181 staff affected
The administrator for Dick Smith Holdings has announced that it will shut down all the troubled retailer's outlets within David Jones department stores, leaving over 180 employees facing an uncertain future.
Oracle Australia reportedly loses MD Ebbeck
Larry Ellison's baby hasn't yet confirmed precisely what is going on here, but several outlets have this morning reported that Oracle Australia managing director Tim Ebbeck has resigned from his post and is currently on gardening leave.
Court throws out Australia Post digital lawsuit
The Federal Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Australia Post against fledgling e-post joint venture Digital Post Australia with reference to the similarity in the name of the company with its own well-established brand.
Google publishes book on Aussie innovation
Google Australia has published a new 47 page book. Dubbed 'Australia's Innovation Generation' and part of the search giant's Start with Code campaign, the book chronicles the stories of ten innovative Australian entrepreneurs, including high-fliers such as Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes and entrepreneur-turned-investor Niki Scevak.
‘Improved’ telco consumer protection code released
The Communications Alliance has released a series of proposed revisions to the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code 2012 that are aimed to improve the code's provisions and reduce complaints to the industry ombudsman, CommCom.
Most remaining Dick Smith stores to close
With the exception of airport locations, all remaining Dick Smith and Move stores across Australia and New Zealand are to close, according to the receiving company Ferrier Hodgson.
ACS report reveals “major skills shift” in Australian economy
The ACS – the professional association for Australia’s ICT sector – has published a report that revealing that "major shift" is underway in Australia's economy, as employers seek workers with digital and other skills.
Telstra meets CWU over alleged issues with redundancy procedures
Telstra has met with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over claimed procedural discrepancies as the telco seeks to reduce staff numbers via voluntary redundancies.
Lucy Turnbull backs scheme to turn kids into entrepreneurs
Lucy Turnbull AO, wife of the Prime Minister, has become patron of an organisation called DICE Kids, which aims to turn Australia's kids into entrepreneurs.
Australia’s IT startups need more capital
According to Phil Morle, the co-founder of startup incubator and consultancy Pollenizer, the situation still isn’t where it needs to be in terms of IT startup funding in Australia.
MYOB acquires Greentree in bid for growth
MYOB, a provider of online business management solutions, has announced the acquisition of resource planning software group Greentree at a cost of NZ$28.5 million (AU$27.12 million).
Victorian Govt cuts NICTA funding
Australia's peak ICT research body National ICT Australia will be forced to make substantial job cuts to its Victorian operations, ZDNet reports today, as the result of funding cuts by the Victorian State Government.
Leave Google’s tax alone, Victoria tells Federal Govt
Today Victoria's’s Technology Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips has gone into bat for technology giants such as Google, defending the search giant against the Federal Government’s attempts to make it pay a fair level of tax in Australia.
Carnegie unveils $120m ‘digital’ fund
Venture capital and private equity firm M. H. Carnegie has revealed it is preparing to launch an $120 million venture capital fund using local user interface and digital marketing firm Vivant as an incubation facility, in one of the more unusual such collaborations seen so far in Australia.
Hyde quit NEC to run HP’s Enterprise division
Seasoned Australian technology executive Alan Hyde left his managing director role at NEC to lead the South Pacific division of HP's Enterprise Group, it has been revealed.
Airbnb officially launches in Australia
A quick search of accommodation crowdsourcing website Airbnb reveals that it’s been operating in Australia for a while (or at least taking bookings and accommodation advertisements from Australians), but the US-based startup hasn’t previously had an official presence Down Under. Until now.
Older IT workers ‘dumped’ for 457 visa staff
The Australian Computer Society has accused local technology employers of dumping older staff and failing to hire graduates, replacing both categories with "cheap" imported labor through the Federal Government's 457 Visa scheme, as debate continues as to how the nation will serve its growing need for technology skills.
Could Telstra buy Telecom NZ?
Speculation has started floating around Australia's blogosphere from senior sources that the nation's number one telco could find it opportunistic to be positioning itself for a buyout of New Zealand's incumbent telco Telecom New Zealand.
Deloitte proposes concrete startup employee share changes
Corporate and technology consulting firm Deloitte has proposed a set of concrete definitions and rules that would substantially change the way the Australian Taxation Office deals with the contentious issue of employee share schemes for Australian startup companies.
Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes has kicked off a Reddit AMA
In Australia's technology pantheon, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes is somewhere near the top. Cannon-Brookes successfully developed a massive software company still largely based in Australia, has invested in scores of other local technology startups, and is trying to save Australian Technology Park in Sydney. Now you'll get the chance to ask the entrepreneur anything you want, courtesy of a Reddit AMA he's starting to promote the closing date of the latest intake round for the Startmate incubator.
Why Australia should tax Apple + Google less
Writing on the ABC's The Drum site, Institute of Public Affairs senior fellow Julie Novak argues that globally, countries are competing to be centres of taxation, and that Australia should start playing the game better, as low-taxing countries such as Ireland have.
CSC completes UXC acquisition
Multinational IT services corporation CSC has completed the acquisition of UXC, Australia’s largest independent and publicly owned IT services company for over $420m.
Melbourne grabs key tech startup event from Sydney
Phillip Dalidakis, Victorian Minister for Small Business, Trade and Innovation, was in Sydney on 30th October to make an announcement along with Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer. Addressing an audience of over 2,000, the two announced the shifting of Australia’s largest startup tech conference, SydStart, from Sydney to Melbourne.
Sydney’s Paloma wins $1.5m local investment
Sydney-based next-generation mobile startup Paloma Mobile has raised $1.5 million in investment funding from Australian venture capital firm OneVentures, in a move which will further highlight the growing strengths of the local funding landscape for Australia-based technology startups.
TEDx tech talk takes place on Qantas flight to Silicon Valley
Passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney to San Francisco yesterday had the novel experience of a mid-flight TEDx lecture that the organisers have called "the world’s first tech talk in the sky".
Report: Oracle may be dumping its Australian support centre
Spend a lot of time calling Oracle's Australian support centre for those pesky database support enquiries? Well, if a report late last year and mutterings this week around the traps are any indication, you could shortly be speaking to someone in somewhere like Romania instead.
NEC enters ‘smart cities’ partnership with University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide and technology company NEC Australia have signed a new agreement that will see them collaborate on a so-called 'smart cities' project aimed to help urban areas become more dynamic and sustainable.
Aussie startup wants us to outsource chores
Airtasker, a new online community marketplace based in Australia that lets people outsource everyday tasks and chores to ‘runners’ -- local community members looking to earn some extra money -- was launched on February 21, according to a media release issued by the company this week.
SAP sets up public, financial services business units
SAP, a multinational provider of enterprise software, has established a public services business unit in Australia, along with a financial services business unit covering both Australia and New Zealand – both have been set up to help the company scale in the region, the firm said.
iiNet offers 50% discount on terabyte HFC cable plans
iiNet is offering a 50 percent discount for a limited period on HFC cable plans in some parts of Victoria where it owns its own infrastructure.
Equinix expands third Sydney datacentre
Just how much new datacentre space is needed in Australia? A lot, if you believe the industry. New listed datacentre player NEXTDC has been busy setting up new facilities all over the place, HP just built a mammoth new centre in Western Sydney, and this week established datacentre provider Equinix announced the expansion of its third Sydney datacentre.
Consumer commission sues LG Electronics for ‘misleading’ consumers
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced court proceedings against LG Electronics Australia, saying that the tech giant made "false or misleading" representations to consumers over their rights regarding faulty products.
Sysadmin victory: Bulletproof to list on ASX
Sydney-based hosting and cloud computing company Bulletproof Networks has unexpectedly revealed its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of a mining firm, in the second example in as many months of a major Australian technology firm going public.
Aussie start-up incubators need fresh meat
There is good news for Australian start-ups looking for investment and guidance, as start-up incubators are opening new rounds of applications for their funding intake and mentorship programs. These investors provide internet companies seed capital, mentorship, connections, opportunities for Australian web start-ups, usually for a minority stake, and even pitch for top-tier venture capitalists and angel investors.
Valleys, alleys and roundabouts: Innovating beyond a precinct
In Australia, the Australian Technology Park in Sydney, Parkville Knowledge Precinct in Melbourne, and Kelvin Grove Urban Village in Brisbane are certainly emerging urban knowledge precincts.
Late to the party: Vodafone still wants to provide fixed NBN services
Mobile telco Vodafone has confirmed it is still planning to eventually offer fixed broadband services over the National Broadband Network’s infrastructure, despite the fact that its trial over the NBN died a quiet death several years ago.
Campaign Monitor takes US$250m from US VC
Australia-based software as a service email marketing platform Campaign Monitor announced overnight that it had taken a $250 million investment from US-based venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners, in one of the largest ever VC investments in an Australian technology startup.
Tesla Model S may come to Australia shortly
Queue the hype train, because Gizmodo reported this morning that US electric car firm Tesla has shipped one of its popular Model S units over to Canberra for testing.
Victoria partners with Zendesk to boost Melbourne employment
Customer service platform provider Zendesk, Inc, has announced a new partnership with the Victorian Government that will create up to 175 new jobs in the state's developing tech industry.
Business warming to NBN but most still unprepared for it
Australian businesses expect massive change from the NBN and are rapidly warming to the potential role of NBN-driven teleworking, but most still aren’t ready for the changes the network will bring, a major survey of business readiness has concluded.
Insight: Warning: Most of Australia’s IT bellwethers are cutting jobs
Yesterday morning an unexpected chill wind blew through Australia's technology sector.
Adobe increases Australian Creative Cloud prices
Software giant Adobe has informed its users of its intention to substantially increase the price of accessing its Creative Cloud family of image and video editing products, in a move which appears set to cause frustration amongst the company's already tetchy local user base.
IT startups pan ‘narrow’ tax changes
Those of you who were watching closely would have noticed that the Federal Government finally last week released a discussion paper looking at new rules for Australian technology startups (see the media release here), which would make it much easier for IT startups with 10 staff or less to launch share programs for employees without having those programs attract massive taxation headaches. But do the rules go far enough?
IT firms dominate stock market listings, report says
An OnMarket report has revealed not only that IPOs in Australia are delivering some unusually high returns to investors, but that IT firms are now dominating stock market listings over all other sectors.
Landmark report plots path for Australia’s startup sector
A landmark report published by Australia's largest startup industry representative group has outlined what is billed as the nation's first comprehensive plan to boost the local technology startup ecosystem, with a number of concrete steps listed which the Federal Government and other stakeholders can take to facilitate rapid growth.
IBM announces national cybersecurity facility in Canberra
IBM has announced the creation of a cybersecurity centre in Canberra aimed to bring about greater cybersecurity resilience and collaboration between Australia's governments and businesses on strategy and policy.
Connecting to Australia’s first digital technology curriculum
Australia finally has its first digital technology curriculum which is mandatory for all Australian children from Foundation, the name replacing kindergarten, to Year 8.
Did Apple shift $9bn of profits out of Australia?
The Financial Review newspaper reports that Apple has shifted some $9 billion in profits out of Australia, avoiding a normal tax situation being applied to them.
Atlassian shifts to the UK, on paper
Australian software firm Atlassian has revealed it will shift its headquarters to the United Kingdom on paper, to aid with its plans to eventually list in the United States.
Spectrum re-farming in NSW, ACT boosts Vodafone 4G coverage
Vodafone has completed re-farming the low-frequency 850MHz mobile spectrum in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory to bring about stronger 4G coverage and extra capacity.
Following Atlassian, BigCommerce will also list in the US
There is currently a great deal of debate and controversy out there surrounding the decision by Australian software giant Atlassian to go public through listing its shares on a US-based stock exchange rather than in Australia. Some successful Australian entrepreneurs, such as Freelancer chief executive Matt Barrie, have been trying to persuade Atlassian to list locally for years, in a move that they believe will help change the focus of Australia's financial markets towards the tech sector.
Optus makes first startup investments
National telecommunications player Optus has made its first investments in several Australian technology startups, courtesy of its Innov8 seed fund set up in collaboration with parent SingTel, with local groups 121cast and Venuemob getting the nod for initial capital investment.
Australian tech startup BigCommerce closes US$30m funding round
Australian e-commerce platform BigCommerce has announced the closure of a US$30 million (A$41 million) funding round.
Cloud computing player Ninefold shuts down
Ninefold, the Macquarie Telecom-owned cloud computing company which provides infrastructure as a service offerings, has decided to shut down, with its last day of operation being January 30, 2016.
NSW Govt funds Fruit Ninja Sydney studio
Leading Australian game developers Halfbrick Studios are opening a new Sydney office and will be developing the next edition of their internationally acclaimed app Fruit Ninja in the city, announced NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner yesterday, with the support of funding from the State Government.
NEC Australia opens new HQ and Innovation Centre in Victoria
Japanese IT services and products giant NEC has opened a new Australian headquarters in Victoria.
Australian Bitcoin mining probably not worth it
You may recall that MacTalk founder and all-round geek Anthony Agius has been conducting something of an experiment to determine whether an Australian Bitcoin miner could make enough money to justify the practice. Well, the results are in: And the answer is: “Most likely not”.
Square Peg launches Australia’s second $200m VC tech fund
Honestly, sometimes it feels at the moment as though there is just a huge stack of pure cash money flowing in the streets for Australia’s technology startups. Several weeks ago the Queensland Government announced a $40 million co-investment fund for startups, last week Victoria followed with a $60 million effort, and of course who could forget the new $200 million fund unveiled by Blackbird Ventures in August. Well now there’s another $200 million fund targeting Australian technology startups.
Telstra, Cisco team up for Software-Defined Networking products
Telstra has joined forces with Cisco to launch a suite of software-defined networking products that are aimed to enable Australian businesses to quickly deploy and configure services over its networks.
NEC to set up cybersecurity facility in Adelaide
NEC has announced that it will establish a $4.38 million cybersecurity centre in Adelaide to address growing demand for online security.
Australia Post, Telstra and the ‘dying business’ dilemma
Who would run a former government-owned monopoly these days? In the last week, Australia Post’s Ahmed Fahour announced 900 administration jobs were to go from its Melbourne operations, while last week Telstra’s David Thodey recounted discussions from his recent trip to the US, where he was told his “business model is dead”.
TPG’s FTTB rollout still progressing extremely slowly
news Retail broadband provider AusBBS has released new statistics showing that the Fibre to the Basement network which Australia's third-largest telco TPG is deploying...
Optus pays $51k fine over false claims broadband speeds are ‘NBN-like’
Optus has paid fines of $51,000 for making false claims about its broadband services, saying they were "NBN-like" in their speeds.
Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone resigns
Telstra Chairman Catherine Livingstone has announced she is resigning from her position on the board of directors at Australia's largest telecommunications company.
Husic: Govt ‘ignoring’ concerns over equity crowdfunding bill
The Labor opposition has once again criticised the government's stance on its proposed equity crowdfunding legislation, which was introduced to Parliament in early December.
ATO may investigate Apple, Google
Remember that year when search giant Google made revenues from its Australian operations estimated at north of $1 billion, but paid corporate taxes of just $74,000? Or the year that Apple made $6.1 billion in revenue but paid just $36 million in corporate tax? Yeah, good times, good times. Well, the good times may well be over for these technology giants, with the ABC reporting that the Australian Taxation Office has (finally) set up a dedicated task force to tackle the situation.
Google trumps Apple with banking partners for Android Pay launch
Google has announced that it will be be bringing its digital wallet Android Pay to Australia in the first half of 2016 with a number of financial partners.
SAP opens HANA enterprise cloud in Canberra
SAP Australia has announced the opening of an SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud service in Canberra, and revealed that the Australian Government's Shared Services Centre is the service's first customer.
Govt “committed” to addressing startup share issues
The new Coalition Federal Government has stated that it is "committed" to addressing the ongoing concerns Australian startups have with tax arrangements for employee share schemes, re-opening consultation on the matter for two weeks late this month and early in February. Any opening up of the scheme is likely to be welcomed by Australia's IT startup sector.
Comcast runs successful real-world test of gigabit HFC
In what it is calling a "world first", Comcast has switched on gigabit hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) broadband at a home in the US.
Yelp launches in Australia; but will it fly?
US-based community led search site Yelp has ventured into Australia through a local version of its site. The website is a platform for sharing opinions and recommendations on businesses and services in the neighbourhood.
Banks team up to deal with Apple Pay
In a move that looks likely aimed at countering the threat from mobile payments apps like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, a group of Australian banks has applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for authorisation to enter joint negotiations with providers of third-party mobile wallets.
Atmail picks up $2m from Starfish
Anyone who still thinks there aren't sufficient funding options in Australia for startups had better take another look at that belief, because over the past year we've seen an absolute heap of decently sized early funding rounds for fast-growing local IT companies. Now there's one more to be added to the list -- email and collaboration company Atmail, which has picked up $2 million from Starfish Ventures.
Wi-Fi company SkyFii raises $4 million
New institutional and retail investors have provided Australian wireless company SkyFii with over $4 million in new investment capital through the issue of new shares.
CSC announces revised UXC acquisition agreement
Global IT services provider CSC has now entered a binding Scheme of Implementation agreement to acquire UXC, an Australian IT services company with headquarters in Melbourne.
Bevan Slattery launches cloud and datacentre directory
Australian tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery has launched a comprehensive cloud and datacentre directory called Cloudscene.
Labor pledges to go after Apple for “extraordinary” tax habits
The Federal Opposition this week pledged to force tech companies like Apple and Google to pay their "fair share of tax in Australia", with Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare describing Apple Australia's claim that it should only pay $85 million of tax on local revenues of almost $8 billion as "extraordinary".
Simon Hackett funds electric race car
Simon Hackett has teamed up with another senior former senior Internode executive and two early executives from electric car pioneer to found a new startup focused on building a new type of electric car specifically designed for high-speed performance racing.
Pollenizer-backed Pygg banks $600k
Another one of startup incubator Pollenizer's portfolio companies has raised a significant amount of investment capital to expand its operations, with social payments company Pygg today revealing it had taken $600k in funding.
Labor demands tax action on transfer pricing
The Federal Labor Party has demanded the Government bring Australia's international taxation regulations into line to deal with multinationals such as Apple and Google, which are siphoning billions of dollars of revenue out of Australia while paying only small amounts of local tax.
US VC firm pumps $30m into Aussie software vendor
US-based venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures has invested $30 million into Australia-based company SiteMinder, which develops software that allows hotels to better monetise their inventory themselves and via more easily connecting to online platforms.
Messaging startup Slack opens Melbourne HQ
Slack Technologies has opened a new regional headquarters in Melbourne that is expected to create 70 new jobs for Victoria’s growing tech sector.
Tax heat intensifies on Apple Australia
Given that Australia's Parliament is currently in the process of introducing laws that would force more taxation transparency on companies like Apple, and that governments in the US, UK and Australia are all now angrily demanding answers from companies such as Apple and Google on this issue, I suspect that we'll see some resolution of the tax situation with respect to these giant technology multinationals soon.
Redditor downloads 421GB on Telstra ‘free mobile data day’
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news A single individual Australian appears to have taken advantage of Telstra's 'free mobile data' day on Sunday to download...
The NBN alone does not guarantee a strong “digital economy”
If you listen to the rhetoric emanating from Australia’s political sector, especially the Australian Labor Party, you’d no doubt believe that the construction of the NBN alone was enough to guarantee that Australia will develop a strong local technology startup culture, similar to that found in Silicon Valley in the US, or in other locations internationally such as Tel Aviv in Israel. However, as one of Australia’s most experienced startup mentors and commentators, Sandy Plunkett, writes, this simply isn’t true.
Victoria Govt launches $11m ICT fund
The Victorian Coalition Government has launched an $11 million 'Digital Futures Fund', which is aimed at giving a substantial boost to cutting edge Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in the state.
Will the green shoots of Australian innovation policy be cut off prematurely?
Understandably, new governments have an interest in putting their own stamp on policy, particularly in areas as critical to our future as research and innovation, but sometimes continuity and re-badging is preferable to scorched earth.
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Online retailer Kogan files for IPO
Online retailer Kogan.com has announced an initial public offering (IPO) that it said is aimed to raise $50 million via the sale of new shares.
Bitcoin miner lists on ASX
If you needed any further indication that we now live in the science fiction future long ago mapped out for us by visionary authors, then look no further. News arrived this week that an Australian digital currency company and Bitcoin mining concern, digitalBTC, has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing.
Atlassian sells US$150m stock to US funds
Software group Atlassian, which was founded in Australia but has since formally shifted its headquarters to the UK, has sold $150 million worth of stock to United States investment firms T. Rowe Price and Dragoneer Investment Group, in what the company has stated is a move designed to reward the company's employees through buying their shares.
19-year old Aussie pumps taxi booking app
A 19-year-old Australian developer, Zac Altman has successfully launched an online service for taxi users in Australia focusing on mobile bookings, thrusting himself into an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Oracle CEO jets into Australia to reassure customers on support offshoring, flag huge sales...
Fresh off the back of claims that Oracle has just dumped its entire Australian support operation, news has arrived from the Financial Review this week that global Oracle co-chief executive Mark Hurd has landed in Australia.
BT pledges 300Mbps broadband speeds to 10m homes by 2020
news The chief executive of British incumbent telco BT has announced a significant upgrade to his company’s broadband expansion plans, with BT now planning...
Dell sells services business to Japan’s NTT Data
Computing giant Dell has announced that Japan-based NTT Data is to acquire its IT services consultation division, Dell Services.
Uber has paid out $600,000 in taxi fines in Victoria
To my mind, this action by Uber is something akin to corporate heroism. Its customers want to use its services, and so it is continuing to provide services that customers want, despite the fact that the Victorian Government is essentially trying to shut it down at the moment.
FastMail staff buy it back from Opera
Long-time Australian email company FastMail.FM has announced that it has been bought back by its own employees from Opera, just three and a half years after it was sold to Norway-based browser firm.
ACCC green-lights ihail taxi booking app
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given its approval for a new taxi app called ihail, a joint venture between taxi networks and other participants that the industry hopes will allow it to fight back against ride-sharing services like Uber.
AngelCube opens 2014 startup intake
I just wanted to post a quick note to let readers know that AngelCube, the Melbourne-based startup accelerator, has opened the doors for applications for its 2014 intake. If you don't know about AngelCube but you are interested in starting your own IT startup, you had better familiarise yourself quickly, because you only have a few days to file your entry.
Optus, Cisco announce $12m innovation partnership
Optus and Cisco have announced a joint initiative to develop technologies that they anticipate will create "disruptive capabilities" for Australian businesses and government.
Brennan IT selects Commvault and Huawei for backup-as-a-service
Brennan IT, an IT and telecoms managed services provider, has deployed a "scalable and flexible" backup-as-a-service solution utilising Commvault software and support, alongside Huawei OceanStor hardware.
Australian web 2.0 start-ups raise big capital
Thereitis.com, the Adelaide start-up spun out of Flinders University has elicited a $2 million angel investment round to steer international commercialisation of its user interface technology.
Foxtel more than doubles broadband quotas to beat Telstra
Foxtel has more than doubled the quota available on the broadband packages it bundles with telephone and pay TV offerings, with customers now able to receive a terabyte of quota along with a Foxtel subscription TV package and unlimited local and national calls for $130 a month, in plan bundles that appear to beat those offered by Foxtel partner Telstra.
Tradie search site hipages.com.au takes $6m
Tradie search site hipages.com.au this week announced it had secured $6 million in venture capital from a range of investors to expand its operations connecting Australians with small service providers in their area.
Short-lived: Six months killed two hyped startups
Two of Australia's most hyped Internet startups have shut their doors just six months after launching or taking investment, in a sign of how quickly events move in the rapidly evolving local technology ecosystem.
“Burning ambition”: Brisbane launches digital economy strategy
It seems virtually everyone's getting on the whole "digital economy" bandwagon these days. The latest cab off the rank is Brisbane, which has appointed a chief digital officer and this week launched its new 'digita strategy'. Nice.
Equinix completes expansion of Melbourne datacentre
Equinix, an international provider of datacentres and Internet exchanges, has completed the second phase expansion of its Melbourne datacentre, known as ME1.
Victoria launches new body to give startups a boost
The Victorian Government has unveiled a new body called LaunchVic that is aimed to accelerate startups, drive new ideas and create jobs in the state.
Telstra pumps $18m into US startup Kony
Telstra has been talking up its investment arm for a while now, and it's good to see the company start to make some strategic investments. It's just a pity that it's not focusing more on Australia.
AirTree raises $250m for venture capital fund
Australia-based venture capital firm AirTree has announced that it has raised $250m for what will be the country's largest ever VC fund.
Telstra shares millions with Box
The nation's largest telco Telstra has added to a recent splurge of funding on smaller companies, ploughing a reported $10 million into US-based corporate cloud file-sharing company and Dropbox competitor Box.
Telstra offers free Wi-Fi to customers over summer season
Telstra has announced it is giving millions of customers "unlimited free access" to its Wi-Fi network, Telstra Air.
Is the Govt’s missed e-health target meaningful?
We could question whether there are not better things within the health system that the nearly AUS$1 billion spent so far on PCEHR could have been spent on.
Blackbird launches $30m Aussie VC fund
Less than 24 hours after one of Australia's most high-profile declared Australia's venture capital industry "dead", a new $30 million venture capital fund has launched locally to support the next wave of Australian tech startups, backed by a who's who list of the local early stage technology industry.
Sources claim Oracle has completely dumped its Australian support centre
Delimiter has been contacted by several sources who have stated that The Register's report is accurate, and that Oracle has indeed completely offshored its Australian support centre in the past month.
Startup pays local to line up for iPad
Australian startup Airtasker has used its fledgling jobs board service to advertise for someone to line up outside the Sydney Apple store to buy the new iPad when it is launched this Friday in Australia.
River City Labs boosts Brisbane’s startup infrastructure
River City Labs, a Brisbane based start-up company, was officially opened on 22 March 2012 by Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner. According to a press release, Labs is a not-for-profit co-working space founded and funded by Stephen Baxter, PIPE Networks co-founder (pictured, above left) and a well-known figure within the telecommunications and Internet industry.
Aussie IT startup A-Team creates new VC fund
A who’s who of the Australian technology startup founder scene (you know these guys, it’s much of the same crew behind initiatives such as Startmate — the Atlassian founders, Niki Scevak and so on) has reportedly banded together to kickstart a new Australian venture capital fund dubbed ‘Blackbird Ventures’.
HPE may cut 200 Adelaide jobs, just months after hiring binge
Just months after flagging a sizable expansion of its business in South Australia, insiders have revealed Hewlett Packard Enterprise is actually in the throes of cutting several hundred staff from the state.
Govt details FinTech support, action on GST treatment of cryptocurrencies
The Federal Government has released a statement that sets out its plans to support Australia's FinTech startups in order to boost jobs and economic growth, and includes measures to tackle the "double taxation" of digital currencies.
Crackdown: ATO targets eight major tech giants paying little tax
The Australian Taxation Office has revealed plans to investigate eight major multinational technology companies, some of which which are paying "very low or no" tax in Australia, as scrutiny on so-called 'profit-shifting' activities by the local operations of technology giants such as Apple and Google continues to ramp up.
Digital tech “critical” for massive agricultural industry growth
Digital agricultural technology (AgTech) will be a "critical component" of Australia's plan to develop a $100 billion agricultural industry by 2030, according to a new StartupAUS report.
Optus replaces Telstra as official Olympics telecoms partner
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has inked a 10-year agreement that sees Optus become the official telecommunications partner of the Australian Olympic team.
Victory for Australian pirates as court blocks punitive damages
The Federal Court this morning ruled that copyright owners could not use the preliminary discovery process to sue alleged Internet pirates for punitive damages, in a move that will be likely to limit the potential liability of those Australians illicitly downloading films and TV programs.
Three years later, Vodafone finally refers journalist spying to police
National mobile operator Vodafone yesterday revealed it would finally refer to law enforcement authorities an incident which it became aware of three years ago where one of its staff members had accessed the call records of a journalist who was dealing with a whistleblower within its operations.
Aussie mobile startup wins $2m funding
Australian mobile app platform startup biNu this week revealed it has picked up $2 million in investment funding from a number of high-profile investors, including TomorrowVentures, the investment group of Google chairman Eric Schmidt.
“An absolute national imperative”: Matt Barrie’s epic rant on Australia’s IT investment
Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie has published an impassioned article on his LinkedIn profile strongly heavily criticising the Government for its underinvestment in the technology sector, which he said had led to a situation where Australia is devoid of good IT talent and "missing out" on the ongoing industry revolution.
Teenage hacker evaded police and left Australia under own passport, now appears on national...
Last week the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7:30 covered the somewhat extraordinary story of Dylan Wheeler, an Australian teenager. According to the program, Wheeler has not only been charged by Australian police on hacking offences, but he has also been highlighted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for his activities. None of this, however, appears to have stopped Wheeler from leaving Australia on his own passport or subsequently appearing on national television.
Google Fiber considers expansion to Chicago and Los Angeles
Google Fiber may soon come to Chicago and Los Angeles, following a call from the tech and search giant for the two cities to explore the feasibility of a rollout there.
An insider’s look at Aussie app development
Australian iOS and Android app development house Shifty Jelly has published an extensive and heart-felt blog post detailing what it's really like to be an app developer in the cold, hard smartphone/tablet world.
Cisco Live 2016 in Melbourne: Photo gallery
Your writer is down in Melbourne attending Cisco Live 2016. We had a fantastic time yesterday and will be posting quite a few stories today from the event. Here's a bit of a window into this huge tech conference with a few photos of what's going on.
WME, Appscore to add 70 tech jobs at new Melbourne HQ
Australian digital marketing agency Web Marketing Experts (WME) has announced that it will add 70 new jobs at its new Melbourne headquarters over the next 12 months – a figure that includes staff at its mobile-focused subsidiary Appscore.
Profiteers snap up Boston Marathon, Waco domain names
Australia’s tight domain name policies may have prevented opportunistic cybersquatters from cashing in on local disasters, but this week’s Boston Marathon bombing and Waco fertiliser explosion have had less luck avoiding cybesquatters, analysis by a local domain-name specialist has revealed.
Australian video game industry now worth close to $3bn
The Australian video games industry grew significantly in 2015, resulting in overall sales of $2.83bn, according to figures from the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA).
TPG dumps Internode PR after 15 years
TPG appears to have dumped one of the longest-standing public faces associated with national broadband provider Internode and its parent iiNet, with South Australia-based technology public relations agent John Harris becoming the latest individual to part ways with the group following the TPG acquisition.
IBM, VMware sign strategic cloud partnership
IBM and VMware have agreed a strategic partnership aimed to make it easier for businesses to advantage of the cloud’s speed and economic factors.
Budget 2014: NICTA vows to soldier on
Australia's peak ICT research group, National ICT Australia, has revealed that it has known about the Federal Government's plans to completely cut its funding since late 2013, but has pledged to continue on and find alternative funding models regardless.
Biteable attracts $1.1m seed round to grow online video tool
Tasmania-based video startup, Biteable, has announced a $1.1-million seed funding round from a group of Australian investors including Tank Stream Ventures and BridgeLane Capital.
Startmate announces class of 2012
Startmate, the Sydney based mentor-driven seed fund that invests in Australian techies who have ambitions of creating startups, has announced its latest class of protégées for the 2012 program. The fund was announced at the Tech23 2010 event held in Sydney and it has a stated mission of helping create world-class companies that will solve customer problems.
Pollenizer raises another $1.1m for startups
Australian startup incubator Pollenizer today revealed it had added a further $1.1 million in investment to its coffers, with the aim of furthering its mission of helping to build innovative technology startups.
Once again, Google Australia pays almost no tax
Despite annual revenues estimated at north of $1 billion and increasing profits made from advertising and services sales to Australian customers, the Australian division of global search giant Google has revealed it paid almost no local tax in the 2013 calendar year, as outrage over the situation continues to grow in the local community.
Commonwealth Bank gets on board with the blockchain
In an attempt to ride the tsunami of disruption that is reshaping the financial services industry, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has joined forces with eight major banks to develop applications based on blockchain, the technology underpinning Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies.
Taxi app goCatch picks up $3m investment; Uber offers ‘free’ week in Sydney
Uber this week announced a somewhat-free week in Sydney, allowing users up to $60 worth of credit on its service. Meanwhile the service which is emerging as its main local competitor, goCatch, just pulled in a cool $3 million in venture capital.
Choice calls for help to defeat Netflix geo-blockade
Following Netflix's announcement that it will prevent users accessing its international content via location-masking tools, consumer advocacy group Choice is calling on Australian Internet users to help others find ways around the blockade.
Fault brings month-long outage for PPC-1 international cable
A fault discovered on the 6,900km PPC-1 submarine cable connecting Australia to Guam is likely to take around 30 days to repair, according to TPG Telecom.
Ashley Madison hacker may be Australian, likes AC/DC
Pioneering US security journalist Brian Krebs — who has broken a number of major hacking stories over the past several years — thinks he may have tracked down one of the Ashley Madison perpetrators. The kicker? He appears to be Australian and may be a fan of local supergroup AC/DC.
“Open, frank + candid”: Apple defends tiny tax bill
Iconic technology giant Apple has described its relationship with the Australian Taxation Office as "open, frank and candid" and its process of calculating its local tax obligation as "rigorous", despite the fact that the company last year paid local company tax of just $40 million, off Australian revenues of $6 billion.
The Inside Track: How Atlassian’s IPO will change everything
The public listing of Australia-based tech company Atlassian on a US stock exchange will have a huge impact on Australia’s technology sector, unleashing a lasting wave of innovation and ongoing digital disruption that will deeply impact the nation at a fundamental level. Watch closely: Things are about to drastically change.
CommBank, Telstra invest $20m in quantum computing technology
Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank have both announced plans to invest $10 million and in-kind support to help develop silicon quantum computing technology in Australia.
99designs co-founder directly siphoning Aussie IT talent to Silicon Valley
Heard the term "Australian brain-drain"? You're probably not going to see a more blatant attempt at it than this.
Australian court holds Google responsible for linking to defamatory websites
The South Australian Supreme Court this week found that Google is legally responsible when its search results link to defamatory content on the web.
Delivery drones: Approach with caution
As many people will be aware, yesterday an Australian startup named Flirtey announced that it in March next year, it would launch a commercial drone package delivery service, using "fully automated drones" to deliver packages in inner Sydney through short flights. But can this claim be believed?
Building a financial system for a cashless age
If the Financial System Inquiry is to achieve its aim of helping to promote growth and productivity in the Australian economy it will need to focus strongly on electronic payments.
Nintendo Australia finances fall off a cliff
The Australian division of Japanese video gaming giant Nintendo has taken another staggering hit to its finances for the second year in a row, losing a further 36 percent of its overall revenue over the past year as its flagship Wii U console has flopped with consumers due to what is perceived to be a lack of quality games.
Microsoft Ignite 2015 (Gold Coast): Photo gallery
Several thousand Australian technologists are currently on the Gold Coast attending one of Australia's technology conferences -- Microsoft's Ignite conference. If you want to get a feel for what you're missing out on, we recommend you check out some of these great photos taken at the event :)
Australian Craig Steven Wright may be the creator of Bitcoin, and a billionaire
If Wired is to be believed, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto may have been unmasked overnight. The magazine has presented a great deal of evidence in this article that Nakamoto is actually Craig Steven Wright, an Australian cryptology expert living in 'Eastern Australia'.
SkyMesh offers symmetric 100/100Mbps NBN
news SkyMesh has launched a set of broadband plans with symmetric speeds of 100/100Mbps over the National Broadband Network’s Fibre to the Premises infrastructure,...
Fetch TV will easily survive iiNet loss
Fetch TV has revealed it is financially profitable and rapidly expanding its operations and customer numbers, in news that signals it will not be substantially adversely affected by the decision by iiNet’s new owner TPG to terminate its long-standing relationship with the Internet television company.
Blackbird reveals whopping $200m tech startup VC fund
Australian tech-focused venture capital fund Blackbird this week announced it had raised $200 million to invest in fast-growing Australian technology startups, in the largest funding round of its kind seen in Australia.
NSW Govt directly regulates taxi mobile apps
The NSW Government has formally embraced and started regulating the taxi smartphone apps which have been taking Sydney and other locations by storm, setting regulations to support the apps against the wishes of incumbent players in the taxi industry and capping surcharges at five per cent to stop overcharging.
M2 to merge with Vocus
Mid-tier telcos M2 and Vocus this morning announced they would merge into a large company with a market capitalisation in excess of $3 billion, in a move that will further cement M2’s place as Australia’s fourth-largest broadband player and further consolidate the already minimalist Australian telecommunications industry.
Budget 2014: Govt dumps game dev funding
The Federal Government tonight announced as part of this year's Budget that it would cut $10 million of remaining funding to the Australian Interactive Games Fund, in a move which at least one commentator has already said will "destroy" Australia's video games industry.
Apple Australia wages not insanely great
Given the size, volume of sales and complexity of Apple’s retail footprint, as well as the extreme level of revenue Apple makes in Australia in general, you would have to say that most people would probably expect Apple Store employees to be making a little more. As it stands, the lowest-level employees will barely be making more than minimum wage. And that’s just not insanely great.
auDA dumps CEO Chris Disspain after 16 years … but why?
What I can't understand at this point is why the auDA board itself would turf Disspain from the position he has done an admirable job in. Was it a personality conflict? A professional disagreement of opinion? The statement says auDA is looking for "new leadership", but isn't the essence of auDA that it needs to remain stable -- something which Disspain has certainly been able to deliver to the organisation?
Intel buys Barrie’s Sensory Networks
Those of you who’ve been following the exploits of Freelancer.com chief executive and all-round celebrity Australian technologist Matt Barrie will no doubt be interested in the news that one of the other companies Barrie helped found, high-performance networking outfit Sensory Networks, has been bought by giant chipmaker Intel for about $20m.
Great debate on the lack of diversity in IT startups
Clune's right: Australia's IT startup scene is predominantly composed of white, middle class males, a physical form which venture capitalists usually identify with. But Liubinskas is also right: Things are more complicated than that in real life, and opportunities do abound for the passionate or determined, regardless of who they are. Perhaps the passion and diversity in this debate do much to illustrate the sector as a whole.
Ex-ninemsner Sneesby returns as Cudo CEO
Mike Sneesby was yesterday announced as the Chief Executive of Cudo, the online group buying company that is a joint venture between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co (NEC).
NAB launches Android contactless payments service
National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a new payment service that lets customers use their mobile phone to make purchases, without the need to carry a physical card.
ICAC to investigate NSW TAFE ICT manager
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold a public inquiry starting on 17 August 2015 as part of an investigation it is conducting into allegations that a TAFE ICT manager dishonestly obtained over $1.7 million from the Department of Education and Communities TAFE South West Sydney Institute (SWSI).
Melbourne CDN startup wins $2.3 million
Melbourne-based cloud content delivery network startup MetaCDN this week revealed it had completed one of the largest early stage investment rounds in an Australian technology startup over the past several years, winning $2.3 million in funding from investors including Starfish Ventures and the University of Melbourne Endowment fund.
Airtasker closes $22 million funding round
Australian local services marketplace Airtasker has announced the closure of a $22 million Series B round led by Seven West Media.
Atlassian loses out to CommBank in Australian Technology Park bid
The Commonwealth Bank has beaten off its main rival to acquire and redevelop the Australian Technology Park (ATP), following a successful bid by a Mirvac Group-led consortium.
Microsoft beating Google in cloud email race, says Gartner
A study by analyst firm Gartner has found that 8.5% of global public companies use cloud email from Microsoft's Office 365 service, with just 4.7% using Google Apps for Work.
Bugcrowd picks up $1.6m funding
There might not be enough capital floating around in Australia’s IT startup ecosystem for it to expand at the rate some would like, but some startups, at least, are not finding much difficulty with raising capital. Crowdsourced security startup Bugcrowd today revealed it had picked up $1.6 million in funding from Australian and US investors.
TPG will raise $300 million to repay iiNet debt and support initiatives
Australian telco giant TPG Telecom Ltd announced yesterday it plans to raise $300 million through a placement of shares to "sophisticated and institutional" investors in Australia and certain overseas jurisdictions.
Telstra fixes first blackspots under government program
Telstra has made the first improvements to regions with poor mobile coverage as part of the government's Mobile Black Spot Programme.
PIPE founder, Gordon Bell invest in OrionVM
Australian cloud computing startup OrionVM today revealed it had taken angel investment capital from two high-profile technology sector luminaries: PIPE Networks co-founder Stephen Baxter and US engineer Gordon Bell, of Digital Equipment Corporation fame.
News aggregator Wotnews shuts down
Australian Internet news aggregator Wotnews has announced it will shut the site down to focus on its sister site WeAreHunted, potentially leaving site investor and Wotif.com multimillionaire Graeme Wood out of pocket.
Uber’s ride-sharing: Just the tip of the iceberg for Australia’s emerging ‘sharing economy’
Uber's new 'ride-sharing' service has caused an uproar in Australia's tightly controlled taxi industry. However, the truth is that this innovative offering is just the tip of the iceberg for a whole raft of 'person to person' services shortly to launch in Australia, collectively known as the emerging 'sharing economy'.
Apple’s longest statement about Australia ever
This brief speech was read by Apple Australia managing director Anthony King to Australia's House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications last week on Friday 22 March. As far as Delimiter is aware, it represents the longest and most detailed statement technology giant Apple has made with respect to its operations in Australia over at least the past decade.
Energy-smart appliances cut Australian power bills by billions
The latest review of Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment. According to my estimates from data in the Department of Industry review, the value of energy saved in Australia last year alone was around A$3.2 billion. Of this, some A$2.7 billion was saved by households.
Leidos closes Lockheed merger
US-based multinational defence company Leidos has announced the successful completion of its previously announced merger with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business.
Xenophon announces plan to save Dick Smith gift card holders
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has announced a possible solution for Dick Smith gift card holders following the electronics retailer's collapse.
Australia’s IT startup scene: Blooming, not dying
This morning the Sydney Morning Herald published a series of articles claiming that Australia's technology startup ecosystem is unable to support local entrepreneurs, causing them to increasingly head to the US in search of the financial backing they are unable to attract in Australia. The only problem is, the evidence doesn't support this assertion.
Optus to cut “several hundred” jobs, union says
Australia's second-largest telco Optus is set to cut several hundred jobs, one of its main unions claimed last week, as part of a "company-wide restructure" that may involve outsourcing and offshoring some aspects of Optus' operations.
Posse group picks up $5m in funding
Australian startup Beat the Q Posse Group today announced the closure of an oversubscribed Series A $5M funding round led by key investment partners, the Westpac backed venture fund Reinventure and venture capital firm Exto Partners.
Logicalis buys Australian IT infrastructure specialist Thomas Duryea
Logicalis, an international IT solutions and managed services provider, has announced the acquisition of Australian cloud and datacentre Services firm Thomas Duryea Consulting.
CSC loses Australian chief Larkings
IT services giant CSC has issued a carefully worded statement noting that the long-time managing director of its Australian division, Gavin Larkings, has "left" the business and been replaced by a 15-year-veteran of IBM.
Telstra acquires app developer Readify
Telstra has announced the acquisition of Readify, an Australian app development firm that has previously provided services for Microsoft.
Facebook wants to hide its Australian earnings
It has become more or less the norm for global technology companies to minimise their Australian tax liability in a way that much of the local population finds at least mildly objectionable. Well, perhaps the most arrogant of the bunch (surprise, surprise) has turned out to be social networking giant Facebook, which has filed a form arguing it doesn’t need to disclose its Australian earnings at all.
NextDC confirms second Melbourne data centre will follow equity raising
Australian firm NextDC has announced it plans to raise equity to fund the building of two new data centres, including a second facility in Melbourne.
Liberals want to make Adelaide “startup capital of Australia”
South Australia's Liberal Party has vowed to make Adelaide "the startup capital of Australia" if it wins the upcoming state election, promising to plough some $500,000 into a startup week and committing to a slew of other initiatives that would help alleviate what the party described as the state's "devastating brain drain" crisis.
Salesforce IT research reveals digital shake-up
Salesforce has released its third State of IT research report, an annual look at the industry which this year suggests that the digital revolution is "shaking up" traditional IT departments.
Hackett takes 40 percent UltraServe stake
Internode founder Simon Hackett has made another major investment in an Australian technology company, with the beneficiary this time around being cloud computing and managed hosting services group UltraServe, which has been in operation since the year 2000.
Apple Australia’s revenues flat in 2013
The revenues of Apple's Australian division have finally stopped their massive annual growth initiated in 2009, as the company's lack of new product lines over the past year have stalled its onwards financial march.