Break-ception: when a pre-shift smoko on-site is a ‘temporary absence’ from work

By Alex Millman and Victoria Hansen, NRA Legal Workers’ compensation legislation can be complicated and confusing, even to experts, and...

By Alex Millman and Victoria Hansen, NRA Legal Workers’ compensation legislation can be complicated and confusing, even to experts, and the recent Queensland case of Mandep Sarkaria v Workers’ Compensation Regulator ICQ 001 aptly demonstrates just how technically bewildering this legislation can be. In this case, the Industrial Court of...

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The truth about physical store closures in retail

Written by Brian Walker, Retail Doctor Group We sit so high on the city walls Our tears wash clean the cobblestones It’s not...

Written by Brian Walker, Retail Doctor Group We sit so high on the city walls Our tears wash clean the cobblestones It’s not so much that the thrill is gone Just a cleaner, sweeter, brighter thrill has come along – Bernard Fanning To read the retail headlines, on occasion, in ours and in other countries, is...

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How to conduct better product recalls

Product recall situations can happen to any business. It’s too late to know whether your trading partners are prepared...

Product recall situations can happen to any business. It’s too late to know whether your trading partners are prepared to act once a product needs to be removed from the marketplace. You need to understand what your partners need and what you need from them. Consumers expect faulty products to...

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Message from the CEO – 19 March 2019

Minimum wage laws are shaping up to be a key issue ahead of the impending federal election. Last week submissions...

Minimum wage laws are shaping up to be a key issue ahead of the impending federal election. Last week submissions closed for the 2018-19 Annual Wage Review and received sizeable media coverage, particularly off the back of the ACTU proposing a six per cent increase to create a ‘living wage’. With...

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Jail sentence and record fine against reckless employer sets benchmark for WHS prosecutions

Written by Zoe Brodie and Lindsay Carroll. In the first charge of reckless conduct to be successfully tried under...

Written by Zoe Brodie and Lindsay Carroll. In the first charge of reckless conduct to be successfully tried under the harmonised work health and safety legislation, a director of a Queensland roofing company has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for his contribution to the fatality of a 62-year-old...

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Message from the CEO – 12 March 2019

Every day there are people in the retail sector doing amazing things. For this reason, each year the NRA...

Every day there are people in the retail sector doing amazing things. For this reason, each year the NRA holds the National Retail Awards to honour those who have made extraordinary achievements in Australia’s second-largest sector. I’m pleased to announce that this year’s event will take place on September 4...

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A look at the future of retail in 2019 and beyond

Written by Brian Walker, Retail Doctor Group The tectonic shifts in the retail space in 2018 have served their purpose...

Written by Brian Walker, Retail Doctor Group The tectonic shifts in the retail space in 2018 have served their purpose in defining 2019. Retailers should expect to see a 30 per cent growth in online sales over the coming year, with 70 per cent of those sales transacted on smart...

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Message from the CEO – 5 March 2019

Holding a sales event to boost revenue is a tactic as old as retail itself. However, choosing a strategy...

Holding a sales event to boost revenue is a tactic as old as retail itself. However, choosing a strategy around when to do it and what items to put on sales is an art form easier said than done. Variables such as trends, changing customer behaviour and the general economic...

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The Circular Economy, SDGs and Sparking Joy find common ground

Written by Worlds Biggest Garage Sale Currently there is a groundswell of enthusiasm for the Circular Economy in Australia, particularly...

Written by Worlds Biggest Garage Sale Currently there is a groundswell of enthusiasm for the Circular Economy in Australia, particularly in Queensland and this week, as part of International Women’s Day, I’ll be talking about the building of circular economies for advancing Australia's SDG   2030 Agenda at the University of...

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Making a list and checking it twice: Labor IR policy a mixed bag for employers

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Australian Labor Party’s 48th Annual Conference was held in mid-December 2018,...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal The Australian Labor Party’s 48th Annual Conference was held in mid-December 2018, a significant event which determined the key elements of Labor policy heading towards this year’s Federal election. A 225-page national platform was put to, and adopted by, the Labor caucus, although...

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Message from the CEO – 26 February 2018

Australia has one of the most complex, confusing and challenging industrial relations systems in the world. Navigating it can...

Australia has one of the most complex, confusing and challenging industrial relations systems in the world. Navigating it can be difficult for an expert, never mind a hard-working retailer who doesn’t have a background in employment law. However, as we have seen with a few recent cases via the media,...

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Making your trade mark, trademarkable!

By Christine Moody, Brand Audits What’s in a brand name? Brand identity is fast becoming one of the most valuable assets for...

By Christine Moody, Brand Audits What’s in a brand name? Brand identity is fast becoming one of the most valuable assets for a business. Contemporary asset value (for intangible assets such as brands) is now nearly 85% of the market value of S&P 500 companies, according to an annual survey by Ocean...

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“Wage theft” continues to dominate news headlines and government agendas

Wage compliance continues to dominate news headlines in 2019. Retail executives and leadership teams rightly ought to be turning...

Wage compliance continues to dominate news headlines in 2019. Retail executives and leadership teams rightly ought to be turning their mind to the systems that support payroll compliance in their businesses. In this challenging time where wage compliance is not just ‘a nice thing to have’ but an essential...

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Queensland Government invests in more retail training for Queenslanders

The Queensland Government is committed to growing the number of apprentices and trainees across the state to ensure Queensland...

The Queensland Government is committed to growing the number of apprentices and trainees across the state to ensure Queensland has the skilled workers it needs for the future. Acting Minister for Training and Skills Development, Mark Ryan said four organisations will share in $495,000 to promote the exciting opportunities an...

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Lending a Helping Hand

The recent Townsville floods have hit local retailers hard and many are only just now figuring out what the...

The recent Townsville floods have hit local retailers hard and many are only just now figuring out what the next steps for their business will be. The Queensland Government has established a Small Business Recovery Centre and Community Recovery Hub in Townsville to provide financial assistance and support services...

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Message from the CEO – 19 February 2019

You will recall late last year that the NRA was quite vocal regarding the issue of double-dipping, whereby casual...

You will recall late last year that the NRA was quite vocal regarding the issue of double-dipping, whereby casual employees can be entitled to back pay for entitlements such as annual leave and redundancy payments. The issue burst onto the scene late last year following a Federal Court ruling...

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