Here’s how the new price gouging ban will impact shoppers and retailers alike.

What is a price gouging ban?

Put simply, the new price gouging regulations announced by the government will make it illegal for very large retailers like Woolworths and Coles to be able to charge excessive prices for goods when compared to the cost of the supply plus a reasonable margin.

The new laws have been implemented off the back of the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry earlier this year, which found that Coles and Woolworths dominate Australia’s grocery market in a way that dulls genuine price competition. While the regulator could not conclusively prove illegal price gouging during the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, it did find that both supermarkets maintained or increased their profit margins as prices rose, making them among the most profitable globally. In essence, the inquiry suggests that high grocery prices are not just the result of higher costs, but also of a market where limited competition allows the major players to protect their profits, leaving shoppers with few real alternatives at the checkout.

The intention of the ban is to hopefully lower grocery bills for all Australians, resulting in a fairer trip to the grocery store.

How will this be enforced?

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will be responsible for enforcing the new regime, which includes issuing fines and penalties to retailers. If Coles or Woolworths break the new price-gouging laws, they could be fined at least $10 million, and possibly much more.

The fine will be whichever is highest out of:

But how will the ACCC actually monitor this in practice?

1. Ongoing price surveillance

The ACCC regularly collects data on prices, costs, and profit margins from major retailers (like Coles and Woolworths). They compare price rises with changes in costs (such as wages, fuel, rent, and supply costs).

2. Mandatory information requests

The ACCC can legally force companies to hand over internal documents, pricing models, emails, and profit data. This helps determine whether price increases are justified or excessive.

3. Consumer and supplier complaints

Shoppers, farmers, suppliers, and whistleblowers can report suspicious price increases. A large number of similar complaints can trigger a formal investigation.

4. Market studies and inquiries

The ACCC runs deep investigations into entire sectors (like groceries). These studies look at patterns over time, not just one product or one week.

5. Comparing profits, not just prices

Price gouging isn’t just “prices going up.” The ACCC looks at whether companies are making unusually high profits that can’t be explained by higher costs.

When will it come into effect?

The new regulations will officially come into effect on 1 July 2026, and will become law within the Food and Grocery Code.

Why are supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles opposing it?

Coles and Woolworths say the ban could do more harm than good because it makes pricing decisions riskier and less predictable. The supermarket giants have argued that the law’s idea of what counts as “excessive” pricing is open to interpretation, even when price rises are driven by real costs like energy, freight and wages.

Faced with the threat of heavy fines, the supermarkets warn they may be forced to price more cautiously, scale back discounts, or pass on compliance costs – outcomes they say could quietly push prices higher. Both Woolworths and Coles also both claimed in public statements that the laws unfairly single them out, potentially distorting competition rather than delivering the cheaper groceries shoppers are hoping for.

Image: IMDb

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With vacancy rates at historic lows and rents still climbing, the findings show a market that continues to move faster than renters can keep up with.

Wondering how your salary weighs up to housing trends? Here’s how much you’d need to earn to rent in every Australian capital city.

Sydney and leads the pack

Unsurprisingly, Sydney remains the most expensive city to rent in. A household now needs $135,200 to comfortably rent a typical house, up from $90,133 in 2019. Units aren’t far behind at $130,000, up from $88,400 in 2019, reflecting how tight the rental market has become.

Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are no longer affordable alternatives

Once considered more attainable cities for renters, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth have all seen sharp increases in the income needed to rent. In Brisbane, the jump has been dramatic — from $71,067 for a house in 2019 to $114,400 in 2025. For units, it’s an equally steep climb, from $66,733 in 2019, to $109,200, making it the second most expensive city in Australia.

Adelaide now sits at $107,467 for a house rental, up from $67,600. For units, prices have jumped from $54,600 to $90,133.

In Perth, renters will need to earn $121,333 for a typical house, up from $64,133. And incomes required for units have nearly doubled, from $55,467 to $104,000.

Melbourne shows a slower ascent

Somewhat surprising, Melbourne was overtaken by Brisbane as the second most expensive city.

The data shows the income needed for a house is now $100,533, up from $74,533 in 2019. And for units, you’ll need $99,667, a slight jump from $72,800.

What you’ll need to earn in 2026 to rent a house in your city

What you’ll need to earn in 2026 to rent a unit in your city

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Where the gender pay gap stands in 2025

Across more than 5.4 million workers and 8,200 employers, WGEA found that women earn the equivalent of 78.9 cents for every dollar paid to men. Put differently, the average woman takes home around $28,000 less per year than the average man.

The national pay gap now sits at 21.1%, which is a slight improvement of 0.7 percentage points on the previous year. WGEA chief executive Mary Wooldridge described this as “progress” — and, importantly, progress that is beginning to speed up — but emphasised that deep structural issues remain.

Why the gender pay gap persists

Wooldridge says the shift toward fairer pay is being driven by employers introducing stronger policies around gender equality, flexible work and employee safety. These changes are slowly dismantling outdated assumptions about who leads in the workplace, and how different types of work are valued.

But even with these improvements, disparities run deep. The gap varies state to state, with Western Australia recording the largest divide (28.8%) and Tasmania the smallest (10.6%). All states, however, saw at least some improvement from the previous year.

Perhaps most concerningly, WGEA’s data shows the pay gap among CEOs has widened, not shrunk, growing by 1.2 percentage points to 26.2%. Specifically, female chief executives earn $83,493 less in base salary than male CEOs, and the difference grows to $185,335 when bonuses, superannuation and other benefits are included. Representation is also still lopsided: women hold only one in five CEO roles, one in three board seats, and four in ten management positions.

Similarly, the pay gap isn’t confined to male-dominated industries. Earlier research from Jobs and Skills Australia reveals that men earn more than women in 98% of occupations — including sectors where women make up most of the workforce, like nursing and care work.

Shifts in parental leave are encouraging

There is, however, one encouraging sign: more men are taking primary carer parental leave. Their share has climbed to 20%, up 3% from the previous year. It’s a small but meaningful shift in a country where caring responsibilities have historically fallen disproportionately on women.

Wooldridge argues that employers must ensure men feel equally empowered to take parental leave and request flexible working. “Policies are only half the battle,” she said. “Workplaces also need cultures that genuinely support men and women to use these entitlements.”

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But 1 June has been and gone, and many Australians are wondering where their debt reduction is. The good news is that the debt reduction has officially passed, and you might actually receive a text message confirming your reduction this week. Here’s what you need to know.

Information about your reduction should start appearing via text

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek have confirmed via social media that the 20 per cent reduction to HECS and HELP debts have started rolling out.

In a post to Facebook, Albanese confirmed that people eligible for the scheme don’t need to complete any forms and that the debt will reduct automatically. “No application, no forms. Just real cost of living relief. And keep an eye on your phone,” he posted.

Plibersek similarly confirmed that the reduction will start taking place and those eligible will be notified by text within two weeks from 24 November 2025. “Remember to keep an eye out for a text message confirming your new balance. We’ve taken care of the rest,” she said in a post on the social network formerly known as Twitter.

ICYMI: Across the next fortnight three million Aussies will see their student debt slashed by 20%. Remember to keep an eye out for a text message confirming your new balance. We’ve taken care of the rest. pic.twitter.com/E7y3WksOnw

— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) November 23, 2025

For now, keep an eye on your phone and wait for the text that prompts you to check your MyGov account. We should add, it is unwise to click on links sent via text message in case they are scams. Head to the website directly from a browser.

The cut didn’t happen on 1 June because because the legislation hadn’t been introduced – good news, it’s official passed

The reason those of us with a HECS and HELP debt didn’t see a reduction in their student loan balances earlier is because we had to wait for the legislation to be introduced to Parliament; and then be voted on.

So, although Labor had “promised” this change, it needed to be formally voted on first.

The debt reduction legislation was heard during 22-24 July and passed on 31 July

The student debt reduction policy was introduced during the 22 and 24 July sitting dates – these were the first sitting dates for the Australian Federal Parliament following Labor’s 2025 election win. There were also sitting dates on 28-31 July. The policy finally passed on 31 July.

Debt balances won’t be reduced instantly, it took a few months for the ATO to do the maths

Of course, the money couldn’t appear back in your HECS & HELP accounts instantly. It took the tax office a few months to implement these changes. Prime Minister Albanese has previously said in a video that people with a student debt could see the reduction before the end of the year – this is the current timeline we have available.

Who does the cut apply to?

You don’t need to do anything to receive this, it will happen automatically.

It’s also important to know that the adjustments do not apply to Australians who are earning more than $180,000 annually.

The reduction applies to the full balance of your loan at 1 June 2025 – indexation will be recalculated based on the new balance

Despite the delay in the legislation being heard and the funds not arriving until later in 2025, the reduction will apply to whatever the balance of your loan was on 1 June this year.

The reduction will be applied to the balance before the indexation from the previous year is added, but will not include any of your repayments from the last financial year – to be clear, this is a good thing. It means you’re getting the highest possible sum off your loan. Here’s an example of how it will work:

Sally has $10,000 owing on her student debt on 1 June. This balance will be reduced by 20%, leaving her with a balance of $8,000. The indexation from the last year is 3.2%. As such, $256 is then added to the reduce balance of her loan on 1 June, leaving her with $8,256 owing.

Sally has a salary of $70,000 per year. She falls within the 2.5% HELP repayment bracket. Over the last financial year, Sally has a total of $1750 in student loan repayments held from her paycheque. She files her tax return on 1 August with no deductions. These $1750 of held repayments are applied to her student loan when her tax return is processed in August. The balance of her loan is now $6,506.

If you need more information on how HECS & HELP debts work in Australia, our guide to indexation and repayments can explain it all for you.

HECS repayments now start at a higher income threshold

The Labor Government has also made some adjustments to the payment thresholds to account for bracket creep. Australians used to start paying back their HECS debts once they earned $54,435 or more. Now the threshold has been moved to $67,000.

You will now pay 15 cents on any dollar earned over $67,000 and under $124,999 towards your debt. And it will be 17 cents for every dollar over $125,000.

What are people saying about it?

The education minister Jason Clare pointed out that the average Australian with a HECS or HELP debt would save $5,500. That is not an insignificant sum.

While many students welcome this move, critics say it doesn’t solve the deeper problems. Degree costs have been rising, and under previous policies, some courses (like arts) have become far more expensive. The Greens and student unions argue that this reform is a start – but they’re calling for much more, including wiping all student debt and making university free again.

In short, this reform gives welcome financial relief, but the bigger debate about how we fund higher education in Australia is far from over.

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A recent TikTok about the concept of a “meandering career” has gone viral, with creator Alexa discussing her experience of swerving through jobs, industries, and career goals in her twenties. In short, she articulated what it seems so many of us feel: that it no longer feels realistic to follow a straight, predictable career path.

To understand why this idea is resonating now, it helps to zoom out. For most of the 20th century, work was framed as linear progress, with success given to those who studied, landed a job in a related field, and gradually climbed the corporate ladder. This is what Harvard researchers Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas refer to as the “standardisation covenant.” Their work on the Dark Horse Project, which examined hundreds of high achievers who took unconventional paths, challenged that narrative. Instead of tidy progressions, they found careers full of pivots, resets, and unexpected leaps. The common thread wasn’t discipline or charisma, but the decision to pursue fulfilment over convention.

The common thread wasn’t discipline or charisma, but the decision to pursue fulfilment over convention.

Today, that standardisation covenant model feels increasingly incompatible with reality. In 2025, industries transform overnight, entire fields emerge from nowhere, and university degree rarely predicts the work you’ll actually do. So, how can we reframe our mindset to better fit the current state of the job field?

Alexa suggests viewing your career path as less of a map, and more of a compass. A map assumes a predetermined route, which rewards those who stay on course, and avoid deviation. A compass, by contrast, doesn’t tell you where you’ll end up — only what direction feels true in the moment. “In a compass career,” she explains, “you focus on what’s energising you, what you care about, what you can’t stop thinking about right now.”

She also addresses why, historically, so many of us have chosen to pursue a career map. “As humans, we are so wired to always be seeking certainty… Our brains hate the feeling of the unknown. In the unknown, our brains cannot predict danger, which is often why we react with things like panic, fear, self-doubt, shame and anxiety. It is literally our biology just reacting to a state of unpredictability.”

“Our brains hate the feeling of the unknown. In the unknown, our brains cannot predict danger, which is often why we react with things like panic, fear, self-doubt, shame and anxiety.”

Importantly, Alexa says, meandering has value, particularly when it comes to . “Jumping between roles, launching something new, leaving it… shifting industries, shifting cities — it can feel chaotic. But every pivot is a data point. Every experiment teaches you what excites you, what drains you, what you value, and what you want no part of. That kind of data cannot be replicated,” she says.

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Anglicare Australia published a damning review in 2024 into wealth inequality in Australia, showing how the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, with a small percentage of Australians hoarding most of the country’s wealth. To put it in perspective, the report found the average wealth of the top one-fifth of income earners was $3.2m, 90 times that of the lowest earners, who have just $36,000 to their names.

You probably also saw, too, the announcement last year that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia turned at $9.8 billion profit during a cost of living crisis. It’s raised eyebrows. Coles and Woolworths also announced a $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion profits respectively.

In response to the continued posting of billion-dollar earnings at a time when many Australians couldn’t even afford to turn on their heater over the winter months, the Greens proposed an urgent tax reform. Leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, used his National Press Club address to propose a new tax structure around corporations who generate “excessive profits” – arguing these excessive profits should be taxed at a higher rate. Naturally, it has stirred up heated feelings across the board.

Regardless of how you feel about the Greens proposed answer to corporate profits, there’s no denying that the divide between the socio-economic classes in Australia is wider than ever. It all feels very “let them eat cake”.

So why is this happening? And why are some experts and organisations arguing that Australia’s tax system is wholly unfair – especially to young people. It’s obviously a big question with complicated answers. But there are a few core tenets to our tax system that we can look at to better understand how we got here.

62% of our government income comes via individual income taxes

Australia applies most of its tax pressure to the working population via income tax. In fact, we have the highest rate of tax from income (personal and company) out of any country in the developed world. For nations similar to us, the tax burden on individuals is 34% on average.

In 2020 47.2% of government revenue came just from personal income taxes. That’s you and me. When you consider you have mega-corporations and banks recording 10 billion dollar profits each year, you would imagine most of our tax funding should come from corporate taxes or at least from these high earning businesses, no? Perhaps a levy on excessive profits like the Greens have proposed could be a fairer way forward?

Or maybe we should be looking more closely at big Australian mining companies? The natural resources of Australia belong to all of us, the Australian people. But in many cases, big mining companies are allowed to take these precious and finite resources in exchange for very little compensation to the public purse.

In 2021, Australia overtook Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. Qatar actually generates so much revenue from its mining exports that it doesn’t need to charge its population an income tax at all. In fact, Qatar collects 20-times more revenue on its gas exports than we do. For context, that’s around $76 billion collected in 2023 while we only collected $2.6 billion. Sadly, this is also the most we’ve ever collected from the global energy giants, and in recent years, the number has actually been less than $1 billion.

As time goes on, the country becomes more and more expensive to run. We have an ageing population that require care and increased access to Medicare. Higher interest rates means that Government debt is more difficult to service. More people means more infrastructure requirements. And the burden to pay for all of this sits mostly on the working-aged tax payer – rather than increasing the tax burden on big companies that seem grow their profits – sometimes astronomically – every single year.

There are many ways for governments to increase revenue without relying so heavily on individuals. But instead, we’re left with a system that is largely inequitable, particularly for younger people.

Money made from labour is taxed at a higher rate than money made from assets

Think about this: if you work a job and make $100,000 in 12 months – you will pay income tax on $100,000.

However, if you buy a property and after 12 months, you sell it for $100,000 profit – you will only pay tax on $50,000. Both parties made $100,000, but the investor is taxed far less than the person who toiled.

This is because of the capital gains tax discount (or CGT discount). It means that if you hold an asset for 12 months or more, you only need to pay tax on half of the profits. This applies to any asset, from property, land, shares and even cryptocurrency.

To state the obvious, the people most likely to be able to hold profitable assets in 2024 are those who are already wealthy. Purchasing a money-making asset involves having the funds to invest a down payment, or to simply buy it outright. As such, the CGT discount means that people who are already wealthier are able to pay less tax on the profits they make than people who cannot afford to purchase assets.

Additionally, making money from assets is a tactic that you can stack. This is because making money via assets does not involve exchanging your time for money. You can buy asset after asset and make money in the background, with very little time investment required.

Couple this with the CGT discount which makes it so financially-attractive to make money via assets, those with the means choose to buy a lot of them. And they’re usually houses.

Where does this leave us?

Well, people who have to exchange their time for money – like going to your job each day – are taxed in full. Meanwhile, those who are wealthy enough to make money from assets like houses, buy lots of them, driving the price of housing up which tends to have the best long-term capital gains return.

Again, another one in the “cons” list for young Australians.

Negative gearing is easily manipulated

Ultimately, and perhaps boldly, I don’t think the principle of negative gearing is fundamentally wrong. I know this is a very bold statement to make, but simply, if the costs exceed the income you make from a housing investment, the property is considered “negatively geared”. If you make more than the costs, the property is “positively geared”.

Negatively gearing a property allows people to deduct their costs from their earnings on a housing investment. If you own a property as an investment, and you’re paying tax on the rent you get from that property, you can tax deduct the expenses you pay. Fair enough.

The problem comes where this system is misused and manipulated. And it so often is.

The costs that you’re allowed to deduct include things like strata costs, council rates and maintenance or improvement costs. Additionally you can also deduct the bank interest that you pay on a mortgage used to buy the property and the depreciation of the fixtures inside the property. These last two line items are the ones that opponents of negative gearing take issue to, as they can be manipulated to minimise the true earnings of the property.

Let’s say you get a rental income of: $30,000 per year. Your strata rates are $1500 per quarter, your council rates are $500 per quarter and the interest on your loan is $1500 a month. This totals $26,000. Meaning that your rental income earning comes down to just $4,000.

But if you can argue that the depreciation on the fixtures is $4000 a year or more, you could pay no tax on this earning. And if the costs somehow exceed the rental income earned, you will have technically incurred a loss which you can use to reduce the amount of tax you pay on other streams of income.

That “loss” can also be carried forward into other years if you do not have an income stream to deduct it against in the current financial year.

Franking credits can be paid as cash refunds

A franking credit (or dividend imputation credit) is a type of credit or tax refund you receive on dividends.

To break it down: when you own shares, you own a literal share in that company. So when companies make a profit, you will get a share of that profit. This is called a dividend. Companies are subject to company tax, and often pay this before paying you your dividend. This means that a certain amount of tax has already been paid on this money before it comes to you. When you come to pay your own income tax, you could receive the tax already paid by the company as a franking credit.

Prior to 1987, your dividends would have been subject to the company tax and then your own income tax. But the Keating Government introduced a system that would give individual tax payers a credit for the tax the company had already paid, and the dividend would only be subject to your personal income tax.

Let’s say you get a dividend of $1000 and the company that paid it to you had to pay $300 tax on that money before it arrived in your bank account. This means that when you’re doing your taxes and tallying up how much you earned (including dividends and bank interest), you will have a $300 franking credit and can reduce the amount of tax you pay overall.

In 2001, John Howard slightly tweaked the franking credit scheme with big results. He amended the protocols to actually allow for a cash refund to be paid where individuals have no taxable income, or income below the taxable threshold. Of course, this largely benefits retirees who often have large investment portfolios via superannuation or other shares, but no working income. It means that if their money and dividends earned falls below the tax-free threshold, the Government will write them a cheque for the value of their franking credits at tax time.

It means that you can earn money via dividends and then ALSO have the Australian tax payers send you additional money on top of these dividends. This tax loophole – which mostly benefits retirees and the wealthy – is estimated to soon cost the people who actually do pay tax a massive $8 billion a year. It not hard to see why it’s a controversial policy, or how it negatively impacts the young.

The family trust system is often used by wealthier people to avoid tax

Family trust arrangements are available for all Australians to use and benefit from, however, these arrangements tend to be used by older and wealthier Australians who have the means to set them up. Because – of course – there is a cost to setting up a trust.

Trusts can often be used to shelter large sums of money from being assessed as taxable. One way the trust system can be manipulated is via “income splitting”. High-income earners can assign earnings to lower-income family members to have the earnings taxed at a lower rate.

Another way some people manipulate the trust system is by interlinking multiple trusts and stacking them. This makes chasing a paper trail very difficult, making it potentially easier to conceal money, or move money around in a way that you can avoid paying tax on it.

By conservative estimates, trusts are sheltering between $672 million and $1.2 billion a year.

Why should you care?

Simple: “Every dollar of a tax subsidy is a dollar that has to be paid by another taxpayer.” It’s a line I read in a proposal on discretionary trust reform.

There is a certain amount of money we need as a country to keep everything running, and all the tax that is “minimised” or “avoided” needs to be paid by someone else. Typically someone who already can’t afford the skyrocketing cost of living, or young people, who have the deck stacked against them financially.

When big businesses or high-wealth individuals avoid paying their share of tax, it means that the middle income and low income individuals are the ones that have to make up the gap.

And that’s not fair on any of us.

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Now, new research published in The Economic Record has revealed the true value of Australia’s unpaid labour, and it’s a staggering $688 billion a year. That’s about one-third of the nation’s GDP, and most of it is carried by women.

Economist Dr Leonora Risse, author of the study, measured what this unpaid labour would be worth if it were compensated like any other job. She calculated its value by matching each task to an equivalent wage: a childcare worker’s hourly rate for caring for children, a domestic cleaner’s for household chores, a kitchen hand’s for cooking.

When the maths is done, women’s unpaid labour adds up to A$427 billion annually, compared to A$261 billion for men. Women also spend significantly more time on these tasks – nearly four hours a day, versus men’s two and a half.

Women’s unpaid work makes up almost half of Australia’s labour

If unpaid work were recognised in official economic statistics, women’s share of total labour would jump from 36.8 per cent to 47.2 per cent.

The picture gets even more interesting when we adjust for bias. Many of the roles used to calculate unpaid work – childcare, cleaning, domestic support – are undervalued because they’re female-dominated sectors, which are often paid less precisely because of gender.

Risse’s research compensates for this by factoring in what she calls the “gender discount” applied to these jobs. Once this undervaluation is corrected, women’s contribution climbs again – to 50.5% of all labour in Australia. In other words, if unpaid work were properly recognised, women would account for half the country’s total labour effort.

Why this matters

These numbers reframe how we think about the economy itself. While GDP measures production through wages and market prices, it overlooks the domestic and emotional infrastructure that allows paid work to exist at all. Recognising unpaid work doesn’t just alter the figures, but it also redefines what we consider valuable in the first place.

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In response, the Federal Government has fast-tracked one of its key housing policies: as of Wednesday, October, eligible first homebuyers are able to purchase a property with just a 5% deposit — down from 20% — and without paying lenders’ mortgage insurance. It’s a step aimed at getting more people into home ownership sooner. So who is eligible for the scheme, and how do they access it? Here’s what we know.

Who is eligible for the scheme?

There are 35,000 places within the scheme each year. To qualify for one of these spots, you must be:

You can check your eligibility here.

There are no more income caps

Previously, the scheme had income caps of $125,000 for individuals, and $200,000 for couples. As of October 1, these will be removed, meaning the scheme will expand to cover all first home buyers.  In May 2025, Labor announced plans to do this in 2026 if re-elected into government — so October 1 is a significantly earlier date.

What kinds of homes can you buy under the scheme?

The First Homebuyers Guarantee covers a range of property types, but not every kind of home is eligible. To qualify, the property must be:

The following kinds of homes are covered by the scheme:

But there are price caps by state and region

The value of properties that can be purchased under the scheme will continue to be limited. However, these caps were still raised as of October 1.

The maximum property price you can buy under the scheme depends on where you’re buying. This online postcode tool will give you a guide of the price cap for the location you want to buy in. However, you will still need to confirm the exact price cap with your bank or lender for the property you intend on purchasing.

The current price caps by state and region are:

How do you actually access the scheme?

Okay, so all that sounds great, but how do you access the scheme?

You don’t have to apply through Housing Australia to get access to the scheme, if you meet the eligibility requirements and you’re one of the first 35,000 people to buy, you automatically get access. The only caveat is that you will have to apply for your loan through one of the approved and participating lenders. You can find a list of them on the Housing Australia website.

The list includes some of Australia’s biggest banks, credit unions and loan providers. If you’re having trouble, a mortgage broker could help guide you through the process and help you compare loans.

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Every year, around this time, there are some pervasive myths that circulate about what you can and can’t claim on your tax turn. With the Australian Tax Office (ATO) cracking down on personal deductions, it’s more important than ever to lodge your return by the book. Below, find some of the most common myths about what you actually write off on your tax return.

And, if you’re unsure about any of your deductions, it’s always best to speak to a registered account who can help you. Or consult the ATO website for more information.

What you can’t claim

Your handbag (in most circumstances)

No, you can’t buy a new designer handbag and just decide to write the whole thing off on your tax return.

There is a provision that allows you to claim a work bag, but the rules are very specific.

First of all, the bag has to be fit-for-purpose, meaning it must fit your laptop and other work supplies. It also needs to be used for work and work only. If you use it outside of work, you need to keep a log of its usage and only claim the percentage that is used for work.

If the cost was under $300, and it fits the other criteria, you can claim it in one go. If the cost is over $300, you will need to claim the bag via depreciation over a series of years.

Make sure you have the receipt, and be ready to show proof of use if the ATO decides to query.

Your clothes

Unless its a required uniform, you can’t claim clothing.

It doesn’t matter if you work at a brand and you are required to wear that brand to work. It doesn’t matter if you had a work event and needed a new dress to attend. It doesn’t matter if you need special orthopaedic support from your shoes because you stand all day. You can’t claim clothing or apparel, and the ATO is very strict about it.

There are some exceptions for specialised protective equipment and for select items that are occupation specific.

Transport and travel to work

You can’t claim the cost of commuting to work, even if you’re commuting to a meeting outside your office. There can be exceptions if you’re a sole trader or if your journey requires special provisions (for example, a truck to transport bulky goods).

Once you’re at work, any required travel should be covered by your employer – and your employer can tax deduct these costs. If your employer doesn’t cover these, then yes, the ATO could allow you to claim this kind of travel.

What you can claim

Charitable donations

That $50 you donated to your friend doing the Million Paws Walk or the Go Fund Me cash you sent via someones Tik Tok link in bio – those could all be tax deductible. Make sure to keep your receipts if you plan on deducting these.

Work from home expenses

If you’ve had to buy a monitor, desk, mouse or any other office supplies to allow you to work from home, these can be tax deductible. There is also a ‘per hour amount’ that you can claim to cover things like wifi, electricity and other costs. But remember, if you are planning on claiming the per hour cost, you do need to have a log of your work from home days and hours. Alternatively, you can manually calculate the actual percentage cost of your utilities that went towards work from home and claim that. But this method is much more difficult.

Education and courses

Enrolled in a photoshop short-course? Bought an SEO guide book? If you’ve invested in education or education resources to assist with your work, you might be able to claim it on tax.

This content does not take into account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. Consider the appropriateness of the information in regard to your circumstances.

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From 1 July (that’s today), the national minimum hourly wage will increase from $24.10 to $24.94. This means full-time workers on the minimum wage who work a 38-hour week will see their weekly pay rise to $948.

So, who stands to gain from this increase — and what does it really mean for workers across the country? Breaking it down, below.

How to know if you will benefit from the minimum wage increase

This increase applies to workers earning the national minimum wage. Less than 100,000 are currently on the nation minimum wage. But the increase also applies to minimum award wages.

So, if you are currently working on the minimum rate for your award, then you will receive the 3.5% increase too. Even if your wages are more than the national minimum wage.

The decision will impact one in five Australian workers on an award wage, which translates to roughly three million workers.

What is an ‘award’ and how do you know if you’re working under one?

An “award worker” is someone whose job pay and conditions are set by a legal document called a modern award. These awards are created and updated by the Fair Work Commission and set the basic rules for wages, work hours, and other rights for certain industries or jobs.

Just some of the dozens of awards include an animal services and veterinary award, a textile, clothing and footwear award, a marine tourism award, a models award and a gardening award. All of these awards will set out a minimum pay rate for that particular industry.

If you are working under an award, it should say in your contract. If it doesn’t you can ask your HR department or your boss who should be able to provide you that information. If you are earning the minimum rate for your industry/award, the minimum wage increase applies to you.

While there are awards for many profession types, award workers tend to be concentrated in the services industries. This means accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and administrative and support services sectors. They are also disproportionately female, with more than half employed casually.

How is the minimum wage increase determined? And why was there a push back?

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was arguing for a for a rise of up to 4.5 per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, groups like the Australian Retailers Association and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry wanted the increase capped at 2.5 per cent which is the current rate of inflation. They argued that anything higher would put disproportionate stress on employers, especially small businesses who are often the employers of award employees. Especially in an economy where productivity is declining, and businesses do not have the capacity to pay employees more.

Productivity in Australia is measured by comparing input into a business to an output of a business. For example, if a business is doing the same amount of work with the same number of employees as last year, but earning less from that same work this year, the productivity of that business has decreased.

Declining productivity is a key concern for many including our central bank, the RBA. Some experts argue that increasing wages could drive increase productivity, since increasing wages means average consumers have more disposable income to spend at small businesses.

Feature image via Pinterest.

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