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This is to give you an update on the support package available for self-employed, small business people, particularly if you are a sole trader.

On Monday we released this summary which has generated very high Internet traffic.  More...

Just think. Only two weeks ago the prospect of a massive coronavirus emergency was only beginning to sink in across Australia. Now the nation has moved rapidly into full-scale lockdown in a war against an unseen killer.

The federal government has moved quickly with a massive economic support package. The full extent of this support was released yesterday (Sunday, 22 March). We now know the support package for self-employed small business people, particularly for sole traders.

With assistance from government advisers and support staff we have put together an easy-to-use summary of the key information you need.  More...

As the enormity of the Coronavirus contagion sinks in, a rapid adjustment to what’s needed to survive is taking hold.

First is everyone’s health. We are in the hands of the health professionals and simply will do as they advise.

Second is to do the best we can to look after our collective and individual financial well-being. None of us will avoid financial pain, but some will feel (and are feeling) the hurt more than others. The more we pull together the stronger we will all be.  More...

We started our campaign against ‘reverse factoring’ in October last year. That’s the ‘game’ that large businesses play where they delay paying their small business suppliers. Then they say ‘oh we know a friendly financier who will lend you the money we’re not paying you!’ What a scam!

In November last year we called for reverse factoring to be stamped out. Here’s my YouTube comment from Parliament House.  More...

We’ve been pretty quiet during January on issuing news alerts. That’s because we’ve been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation for 2020. This year we’re making a big push for key reform issues for self-employed small business people. The timing is right because there is heightened political interest in small business issues.

Our 2020 campaign agenda has three key targets, all to do with small business people receiving a fair deal: More...

There has been a major development in the last days of Federal Parliament for this year. For the first time a parliamentarian has made a clear call for reform of the Australian Taxation Office.

Liberal elder statesman Senator Eric Abetz is a former senior minister and government leader in the Senate. Last Wednesday (4 December) he delivered a punchy speech in which he demonstrated why the ATO needs to be reformed. He also outlined a model for how that should be done. More...

It’s not long before we all attempt to eat too much Christmas pudding and hopefully settle down for a decent holiday relax! To all SEA members: our grateful thanks for your support during this very big year. Your membership contributions keep our efforts going, defending the rights of self-employed people.

To all our followers, including the many thousands of our social media watchers: our Seasons Greetings. We’d really appreciate your membership and support. You can join here.  More...

I’m in Parliament House Canberra.

We’ve talked about this before… reverse factoring.

Let’s stamp it out.

Here’s our quick YouTube post from Parliament calling for action:  More...

I’ve just completed a two-week research project in Washington DC into the laws governing the operations of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS’s operations are starkly and vastly superior to those of the ATO. The difference is in the laws covering the IRS.

Here’s my brief two-minute YouTube overview of what I’ve discovered.  More...

They are very good, you know! That is, big businesses are really good at working out how to ‘do over’ their small business suppliers.

Perhaps big businesses are most creative in the ‘gotcha’ game in the way they avoid paying small business people on time. Ooops, or sometimes even avoid payment?

Australia’s largest construction conglomerate, CIMIC, has been outed. It has been reported that instead of paying its small business suppliers within 30 days, it’s going to be 65 days! Ah—very smart! And get this: They are doing this on state government-funded projects such as Melbourne’s Metro Trains and Brisbane’s Cross River Rail.  More...