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New data reveals WFH laws risk driving jobs and investment out of Victoria

Victorian businesses are warning the State Government its proposed work-from-home legislation will increase costs, damage hiring and push jobs and investment interstate. New research reveals business concerns have escalated sharply since the policy was first announced. New Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry results show that while 77 per cent of businesses already allow employees to work from home, an overwhelming 80 per cent expect the proposed legislation to negatively impact their operations. The findings reinforce a message that Victorian businesses have delivered consistently since the policy was announced: flexibility is already widespread but legislating a one-size-fits-all right risks creating significant cost, complexity and unintended consequences. The results represent a significant deterioration in business sentiment since the Victorian Chamber and Committee for Melbourne first surveyed employers following the Government’s September 2025 announcement. In October 2025, 56 per cent of businesses said Victoria was harder to operate in than other states. That figure has now risen to 72 per cent. The earlier survey found more than one third of businesses would look to expand operations and hire staff outside Victoria if WFH legislation was introduced. The latest results show 47 per cent are now more likely to start, expand or invest outside Victoria, while 42 per cent are more likely to hire staff interstate. Additional survey results also found: 92 per cent anticipate additional costs from the legislation, including legal advice, policy development, technology, equipment, insurance, cyber security and compliance. Of businesses estimating additional annual costs, 25 per cent expect costs of $50,000 or more. 44 per cent say the new right would make them less likely to hire new staff based in Victoria. 47 per cent say it would reduce their willingness to employ younger or less experienced workers who may require greater training, supervision or mentoring. 72 per cent […]

ESGAgent.ai closes seed round to accelerate AI-Driven compliance

ESGAgent.ai, a Brisbane-based software company helping heavy industry use AI to automate climate, safety and governance reporting obligations, has closed a seed round led by US-Japan venture capital firm DNX Ventures, completing its second investment in Australian startups. The investment brings total funding raised to $1.7 million and will support product development and customer growth as Australian organisations face mandatory compliance obligations across climate disclosure, emissions reporting, workplace safety, modern slavery, biodiversity and broader ESG governance requirements. For example, thousands of businesses face new reporting obligations under the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB S2). While Group 1 entities have reached their reporting deadline, Group 2 and Group 3 organisations will come into scope over the next 12-24 months, creating significant demand for tools that can simplify compliance and reporting processes. ESGAgent.ai’s platform automates compliance activities that have traditionally required months of expensive consultant-led work, reducing reporting timelines from months to hours and replacing manual workflows with AI-driven processes. “We built ESGAgent.ai because compliance is becoming increasingly complex, costly and resource-intensive for Australian industry,” said Shan Vahora, Founder of ESGAgent.ai. “With growing regulatory expectations across climate, safety and governance, many organisations still rely on old-school spreadsheets, consultants and fragmented systems. We have developed an AI-native platform that helps businesses automate that burden and turn compliance into a strategic advantage rather than an administrative exercise,” he added. The startup has secured customers across Australia’s most demanding sectors, including tier one mining clients, major food manufacturing businesses and global engineering consultants, deploying the software across carbon reporting, climate risk management and safety compliance programs. The company’s long-term vision extends beyond individual reporting frameworks to become the end-to-end compliance platform for Australia’s highest-regulated industries. ESGAgent.ai brings climate disclosures, safety and workforce compliance, risk management and broader ESG obligations into a single platform, helping organisations […]

Monash University launches critical minerals initiative as global supply pressures mount

Demand for critical minerals is surging, and geopolitical competition is intensifying, yet Australia’s processing capacity is falling behind. Monash has assembled a cross-disciplinary team to tackle the challenge from the ground up. Australia is sitting on some of the world’s richest reserves of the critical minerals needed to power the global clean energy transition. Yet exploration rates have fallen, processing capacity remains heavily concentrated offshore, and domestic capability is fragmented across institutions and sectors. With the International Energy Agency forecasting demand will double – or even quadruple – by 2040, Monash University has launched a major cross-disciplinary initiative aimed at securing Australia’s place in the global supply chain. The Monash Critical Minerals Initiative (MCMI) brings together more than 40 researchers from the university’s faculties of Business and Economics, Science, Engineering and Arts. Its work spans the full minerals value chain, from resource discovery and extraction technologies to environmental stewardship, supply chain modelling, investment policy and social licence outcomes. Professor Russell Smyth, Deputy Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Business and Economics, said the challenge could not be solved within a single discipline. “The MCMI brings together expertise from across disciplines to help balance supply security with sustainability, ensuring that extraction, processing and recycling are efficient and responsible,” Professor Smyth said. “By drawing on the considerable expertise on critical minerals across Monash, the MCMI can tailor solutions that anticipate market volatility, reduce geopolitical risk, and accelerate the transition to clean energy technologies.” From discovery to delivery The initiative is built around six research pillars: new mineral resources, future processing technologies, mine rehabilitation, environmental and social impact systems, policy and economics, and national security. The minerals in focus – rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt and others – are essential for technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines, solar panels and defence capabilities. Researchers will […]

What entrance security drift is really costing your data centre

“Loss” in a data centre environment typically means breaches, outages, or downtime. But some of the most significant losses caused by physical security weaknesses don’t show up in those reports at all. Instead, they creep up slowly through little deviations from defined access control procedures that don’t cause incidents on their own, but steadily increase labour costs, create compliance exposure, and reduce operational efficiency over time. Because entrances are operational systems with a direct impact on how smoothly and reliably your data centre runs day-to-day. Entrances are often treated as fixed controls… not dynamic risk points Power systems are redundant. Cooling is monitored. Networks are load-tested, patched, and hardened against evolving threats. Entrances rarely receive the same treatment. Too often, they’re designed, deployed, and then forgotten, typically considered “good enough” once access card readers function and access appears restricted. Eventually, this can lead to a disconnect between how entrances were designed to perform and how they actually operate in practice. As staffing levels become stretched, people start optimising for speed. Nothing fails. But the process no longer works as designed. Operational efficiency starts to slip, slowly at first Compromised entrance security often begins with a loss of operational efficiency. When your access controls can’t consistently enforce one-person-per-credential entry, that responsibility falls back to your guards and staff. Someone has to watch entrances more closely, guide people where they need to go, and manually approve access exceptions, like when: Guards are occupied handling routine access instead of monitoring cameras Employees stop to resolve credential issues or receive manual access Contractors wait for escorts or someone to resolve confusion Entry lines clog during shift changes or peak activity periods Employees and guards become traffic cops rather than risk assessors. Guard coverage turns into a hidden expense Entrances that […]

Gas reservation doesn’t fix Australia’s manufacturing competitiveness, analysis finds

Artificially oversupplying the gas market under the Federal Government’s proposed reservation scheme would do little to improve the competitiveness of Australia’s largest manufacturers while risking investment in future gas supply, independent analysis by Wood Mackenzie has found. Wood Mackenzie analysed the gas costs of 13 of the largest industrial gas users on the east coast, which together generated almost $24 billion revenue and $3.8 billion in profit last year, and assessed the impact of manufacturers’ proposal for a ‘must-sell’ obligation requiring gas to be supplied below $10 a gigajoule, even where prices fall below the cost of production. It found gas accounts for less than five per cent of the facilities’ combined operating costs, and that reducing wholesale gas prices from $12/GJ to $10/GJ would lower combined annual operating costs by just $94 million and increase average profit margins by only 0.4 per cent. Even if wholesale gas prices fell to $8/GJ, average profit margins would improve by just 0.8 per cent. The report also found many of Australia’s largest manufacturers have long-term gas supply contracts to 2035 and beyond, meaning any changes to wholesale gas prices would have little or no impact on their operations. Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the findings reinforced concerns the Government’s proposed reservation framework would undermine investment in new gas supply while delivering only marginal benefits for manufacturers. “The analysis shows cheaper gas is not the panacea for the competitiveness challenges facing Australian manufacturing,” Ms McCulloch said. “Manufacturers need reliable and affordable gas for the long term. But that can only be achieved through a stable and competitive market that encourages investment in new supply. “Artificially oversupplying the market may deliver a temporary sugar hit, but it would undermine investment in new supply, push domestic-focused producers out of the market and […]

Australia needs to back itself

By Rob Williamson, President of the Gladstone Engineering Alliance and Managing Director of Alpha HPA. I had the opportunity to join business leaders from across Australia at an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event in Sydney last week alongside Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres. The conversation focused on Australia’s industrial future, how we remain globally competitive, attract investment and build the industries that will underpin our economy for decades to come. It’s an important conversation because the world isn’t standing still. Supply chains are being redrawn, investment is becoming increasingly competitive and countries around the world are moving quickly to secure the industries that will drive future economic growth. Despite that, I believe Australia has every reason to be confident to meet this moment. We have world-class natural resources, outstanding research capability, highly skilled people and a reputation as one of the world’s most trusted trading partners. More importantly, we have the capability to do far more than simply export raw materials. We have the opportunity to manufacture the high-value products the world increasingly demands. But potential doesn’t become prosperity on its own. It requires businesses prepared to innovate, pragmatic governments prepared to provide internationally competitive policy settings, investors prepared to back long-term opportunities and industries willing to work together. It also requires us to recognise where Australia’s strengths already exist and continue building on them. From where I sit, Gladstone is one of those strengths. As President of the Gladstone Engineering Alliance, I see every day both the opportunities ahead and the practical challenges of turning vision into investment. I also see the capability that exists across our region. More than 100 engineering and industrial businesses make up the GEA membership, employing thousands of people who design, fabricate, build, maintain and operate some of Australia’s most significant […]

Colli’s $5.5m manufacturing facility upgrade to help fast-track housing

A $5.5 million upgrade of Colli Timber & Hardware’s manufacturing facility in Cardup is set to quadruple the number of framing systems the company can craft each year, helping to fast-track WA’s housing supply. Colli will match the $2.734 million recently awarded to its parent company, Cardoso Pty Ltd, through the WA Government’s Housing Innovation Fund to help fund the installation of advanced automated and computerised manufacturing systems at its truss and framing production centre. The $5.5 million is in addition to the more than $3 million already invested into the facility over the past 24 months. Colli Timber & Hardware managing director Cesare Colli said his group was focused on building smarter and faster to support more efficient home construction. “This investment represents a major step forward not only for Colli, but for the future of housing construction and local manufacturing in Western Australia,” he stated. “Once fully commissioned, our Cardup centre will be one of WA’s most advanced timber wall frame and roof truss manufacturing facilities, potentially able to manufacture and deliver 20 standard 4×2 home framing systems each week, up from five a week. “This enhanced production model will see an up to 400 percent increase in our production capacity over three years, allowing Colli to supply framing and truss systems for up to 960 homes annually.” Mr Colli said the group was excited to be delivering substantial benefits to the local economy, builders, developers and home buyers. “As well as supporting local manufacturing growth in Western Australia, our FrameForward WA project will contribute to faster, more efficient housing construction, improved product supply, quality and consistency, reduce waste, improve timber utilisation and lower production costs,” he stated. “Through this, we’ll play a part in improving housing affordability and make scalability easier for large residential developments and builders. […]

Wind and Transmission Towers a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity for Australian Manufacturing

Weld Australia says renewable infrastructure build-out can unlock jobs, capability and regional industrial growth Weld Australia has welcomed growing momentum behind domestic wind and transmission tower manufacturing, describing it as one of the most significant industrial opportunities available to Australia’s fabrication, steel and manufacturing sectors. The Federal Government’s most recent Capacity Investment Scheme results demonstrate the scale of the opportunity. Announced in late May, Tender 7 selected 19 projects and exceeded the original 5GW target by more than 50%. The projects will deliver 7.8GW of generation capacity, which is enough to power four million households across the National Electricity Market, with associated hybrid projects adding a further 7.9GWh of storage capacity. According to Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden, the scale of this build-out presents a direct opportunity for Australian industry. “This is not an abstract future opportunity. It is happening now,” Crittenden said. “Every wind farm needs towers. Every transmission project needs steel. Every major energy project requires fabrication, welding, logistics, engineering and skilled workers. These are exactly the capabilities Australian industry already has.” The Federal Government has already recognised the potential, with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources recently consulting on domestic manufacturing of wind and transmission infrastructure. The Department stated that Australia has a “unique opportunity to build a competitive, viable and resilient domestic manufacturing industry for wind and transmission towers.” Weld Australia is now calling for practical policy settings that convert opportunity into long-term industrial capability. “Australia has a choice,” Crittenden said. “We can import the majority of the fabricated steel components needed for the energy build-out, or we can use this pipeline of work to rebuild manufacturing capability, create skilled jobs, support regional communities and strengthen supply chains.” The opportunity is already being demonstrated on the ground. At Squadron Energy’s Uungula Wind […]

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Cooling is becoming the constraint: how data centre design is changing under pressure

Data centres have traditionally been designed with a focus on compute capacity, with cooling treated as a supporting system that can be scaled as needed. That assumption no longer holds. As demand for data processing continues to grow, driven by cloud services and artificial intelligence, cooling is becoming a primary constraint on how infrastructure is designed, operated and expanded. This shift is particularly relevant in Australia, where rapid growth in digital infrastructure is being balanced against constraints around energy availability, cost and sustainability expectations. As new facilities are developed and existing sites are expanded, operators are facing increasing pressure to optimise both performance and resource use. One of the clearest indicators of this change is the scale of energy required to run modern data centres. Cooling alone accounts for a significant portion of overall consumption, and total demand continues to rise as compute intensity increases. This is not just a question of efficiency. It is a question of whether existing approaches to cooling can keep pace with increasing thermal loads while remaining viable in a constrained energy environment. The result is a shift in how cooling is viewed. It is no longer a downstream engineering decision. It is a core determinant of performance, cost and scalability. This becomes more pronounced as rack densities increase. Traditional air-based systems remain effective at lower densities, but their limitations become more apparent as heat loads rise. Liquid cooling has emerged as a practical response. By using the thermal properties of liquids, systems can remove heat more efficiently and support higher-density infrastructure. However, this is not simply a technology shift. It requires a different approach to system design, integration and operation. In this environment, performance is no longer defined by capacity alone. It is increasingly defined by control. Cooling systems must operate in dynamic conditions, […]

Power surge: Deakin study finds sharing energy cuts costs and boosts fairness

Australia’s first-ever large-scale randomised control trial exploring a new technology that enables households and small businesses to buy and sell solar and battery power, has found to have increased access to solar and battery use, lower electricity prices, and encourage greater perceptions of a fairer energy system. The Virtual Energy Network (VEN) study, led by Deakin Business School and funded by Energy Consumers Australia’s Grants Program, has explored how households and small businesses can be enabled to sell excess solar or battery-stored power directly to others via a digital platform. Dr Andrea La Nauze, lead researcher and energy economist at Deakin University, said the project shows a potential blueprint for creating a more inclusive and flexible energy system in Australia. ‘Helping more people access the benefits of solar and battery power is vital to supporting Australia’s successful transition to net zero,’ Dr La Nauze said. The Virtual Energy Network allows people with solar to decide who their surplus power goes to, and how much they charge for it. It also shows how we can help more Australians access clean energy – even if they cannot install panels themselves. Our research is a significant step toward leveraging this distributed energy resource for the benefit of all Australians, not just those able to install solar themselves.’ About 300 participants from QLD, NSW, Vic and SA joined the study, which has been running since June 2025. One-third of participants did not have rooftop solar or batteries. The online platform allows energy sellers and buyers to trade based on mutually agreed prices. Buyers stand to benefit from power that is typically cheaper than standard electricity rates, while supporting the broader use of local renewable energy. The VEN led to increased utilisation of solar and also helped increase perceptions of a ‘fairer’ energy system among participants. Importing households […]

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