The ANZ bank will allow transgender and gender-diverse staff in Australia and New Zealand to take six weeks of paid leave and up to 12 months of unpaid leave so that they could affirm their gender. The bank, which is Australia’s second-largest by assets with more than 40,000 staff globally, announced on Monday that the…

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) are “locked in a battle” after UTAS declined to comply with the union’s request to provide up to 30 days’ leave for transgender staff. The university currently offers 10 days of special leave for their staff irrespective of their gender, however, the NTEU…

Both economists and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are maintaining their positions on their respective forecasts for the economy after a strong recovery post-Delta. In its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy (SOMP), the RBA said the economy bounced back strongly after Delta lockdowns and the effect of Omicron on spending has been “relatively small.”…

The Australian economy contracted by 1.9 percent in the September quarter (Q3), when state lockdowns against the Delta variant of COVID-19 occurred, but it was less than the 2.5 to 3 percent drop that economists were fearing. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed in the latest National Accounts that despite the quarterly drop, Australia’s…

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures revealed that retail sales volume fell a record 4.4 percent in the September quarter, after Australia’s two biggest state economies went into lockdown. “The Delta outbreak from late June led to protracted lockdowns in many mainland jurisdictions, with the restrictions causing many retailers to close their physical stores throughout…

The Reserve Bank of Australia has retained the cash rate at 0.1 percent for the 12th month after its monthly board meeting, despite mounting inflation and rate hikes by the big four banks. The bank has frequently stated that the cash rate will not be raised until inflation is sustainably between 2 to 3 percent,…

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8 percent in the September quarter, in line with economists’ expectations, and 3 percent annually. The quarterly increase was driven by the rising fuel costs (7.1 percent) and housing construction (3.3 percent). “Construction input costs such as timber increased due to…

Despite an alarming jump in Australian petrol prices in the last couple of weeks to new peaks, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said they are focused on the medium to long-term in regards to inflation. The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence and inflation expectations saw inflation expectations jump 0.3 percentage points to 5 percent,…

A government taskforce involving the big four banks, peak bodies, and Australia Post will examine the impact of regional bank branch closures on the local communities, businesses, and industries. Regionalisation Minister Bridget McKenzie said it would provide a platform to determine how changes in the banking industry have affected regional communities. “Having access to bank…

Australia will provide $68 million to Fiji to assist with airport upgrades amid a wider influence push into the South Pacific region against Beijing’s encroaching hegemony. The government-backed Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) will partner with ANZ Bank to support infrastructure upgrades to increase passenger capacity at Nadi International Airport to help…