Australian economy stories

Festive food, drink and dining out delivered a surprise December spending lift, as households splurged ahead of Christmas gatherings.

FinTech Australia joins a new AUD $50 million Austrade-backed Trade Diversification Network to ramp up fintech export growth and reach.

Australian businesses are turning cost optimisation into a permanent strategic mandate, reshaping technology, talent and operations for efficiency.

Australian IT teams are taking charge of climate goals, but data gaps and weak ROI metrics still limit real sustainability progress.

SOTI predicts AI, automation and on-device intelligence will overhaul how Australian retailers, logistics and healthcare manage mobility by 2026.

Rising costs and tighter conditions are exposing six avoidable mistakes that could sink Australia’s newest start-ups within their first year.

AI is set to overhaul Australian freight, data strategy and jobs by 2026, as leaders shift from pilots to deep, context-aware deployment.

AirTrunk will pour AUD $5bn into a second Melbourne hyperscale campus, boosting its local AI and cloud data capacity beyond 630MW.

AI tools and online deals help drive a 5% rise in Australian Christmas retail spending, with discount and department stores surging.

Young Australian men are ditching pub nights for online gaming, as new research shows digital hangouts now rival bars for socialising.

Energy bills surge for Australian SMEs as federal rebates end, driving cost cuts, delayed investment and a pivot to digital and AI tools.

Australian bosses split on burnout as AI both piles on pressure and eases strain, exposing a deep workplace wellbeing paradox.

CBA data shows wage growth nudging higher while jobs remain steady, reinforcing expectations the RBA will stay cautious on interest rates.

With crime costing Australia up to AUD $60.1 billion a year, robust PEP and sanctions screening is now a strategic necessity for business.

In 2026, agile AI, sovereign data, subscriptions and energy efficiency will redefine how ANZ businesses grow, compete and stay resilient.

OpenAI launches its first Asia Pacific OpenAI for Countries plan in Australia, pairing sovereign AI infrastructure with major skills drives.

One in five Australians has been duped by fake online tickets, losing an average AUD $432 as scams surge ahead of the busy summer events season.

Australian SMEs step up a campaign against the RBA’s proposed blanket ban on card surcharges, warning it will lift prices for all shoppers.

Cloudera forecasts Australia’s AI shift from pilots to industrial-scale, privacy-first deployments by 2026 as tech spend tops AUD $172 billion.

Ransomware attacks cost Australian organisations AUD $42 billion annually, urging a shift from prevention to pragmatic cyber resilience amid rising threats.