Individuals facing tougher penalties for wage non-compliance

By Zoe Brodie and Lucy Harper, NRA Legal With the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act 2018 (Cth)...

By Zoe Brodie and Lucy Harper, NRA Legal With the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act 2018 (Cth) (the Amendment Act) taking effect last month, now is an apt time to reflect on how officers of a company are subject to hefty penalties for failing to pay employee...

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Message from the CEO: 7 May 2019

The Labor party’s commitment to introduce a national ban on single-use, lightweight plastic bags from 2021 should they win...

The Labor party’s commitment to introduce a national ban on single-use, lightweight plastic bags from 2021 should they win Government is one policy retailers, especially those with a national footprint, may have noticed amidst the noise of a fascinating election campaign. However simple they may sound, new laws are always...

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Enterprise Agreement Update

By Lucy Harper, Associate and Lindsay Carroll, Deputy CEO and Legal Practice Director The National Retail Association recently facilitated its...

By Lucy Harper, Associate and Lindsay Carroll, Deputy CEO and Legal Practice Director The National Retail Association recently facilitated its inaugural Enterprise Agreement Stakeholder Panel (EASP) meeting. The EASP is a forum for members to facilitate discussion and learning about enterprise bargaining and build industry insights into the current state...

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Creating ‘theatre’ in your store display

Written by Brian Walker, CEO Retail Doctor Group  Great “Fit” retailers create theatre at every opportunity, unfit retailers have the same...

Written by Brian Walker, CEO Retail Doctor Group  Great “Fit” retailers create theatre at every opportunity, unfit retailers have the same old windows and displays with the same old stock sitting there and hoping to change the results. Theatre attracts interest , interest creates foot traffic and foot traffic converted is sales. Retailing can...

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Message from the CEO – 30 April 2019

As federal election campaigns of parties large and small gather momentum, retailers will be interested in what’s in it...

As federal election campaigns of parties large and small gather momentum, retailers will be interested in what’s in it for them. Hopefully, the May 18 result brings a government with enough balance of power to get cracking on what’s good for the company – and good for retail. In the...

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The new Employer Toolkit is making waves for disability employment

Retail is one of the industries most open to hiring people with disability, now employers have more tools to...

Retail is one of the industries most open to hiring people with disability, now employers have more tools to go from willing to hiring. There are so many benefits that come from disability employment. New research shows that retail employers understand this. 77 per cent agree that a workplace should...

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Message from the CEO – 23 April 2019

Holidays should be a time for relaxing. Unfortunately, given the complicated regulatory environment we operate in, they can be...

Holidays should be a time for relaxing. Unfortunately, given the complicated regulatory environment we operate in, they can be a cause of great stress for Australian retailers. Any business owner or operator knows that this country has a complicated industrial relations system.  And understanding and complying with this system is...

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Sticks and stones: Managing psychological health risks in the workplace

By Lucy Coogan and Calum Woods, NRA Legal  SafeWork Australia reports that approximately six per cent of all accepted...

By Lucy Coogan and Calum Woods, NRA Legal  SafeWork Australia reports that approximately six per cent of all accepted workers’ compensation claims relate to work-related mental health conditions. It was further reported that the most common causes of the claims were: work pressure (31%), bullying and harassment (29%), and...

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Message from the CEO – 16 April 2019

Readers with long memories (who are kind enough to keep reading) might remember that three years ago, just before...

Readers with long memories (who are kind enough to keep reading) might remember that three years ago, just before the last federal election, I wrote, “let’s hope the new Prime Minister manages to survive the full three years’’. Here we are again in 2019, and after yet another leadership spill...

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Hop to it: Ensuring your business is ready for April public holidays

By Lucy Coogan and Zoe Brodie, NRA Legal The nature of retail means that public holiday requirements can be quite...

By Lucy Coogan and Zoe Brodie, NRA Legal The nature of retail means that public holiday requirements can be quite complex. This year, a late Easter means up to five public holidays will fall in the space of a week, raising questions as to employee entitlements, attendance, and trading hours during...

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Understanding the difference between unfair dismissal claims and general protections claims

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Late last year, the media introduced us to Angela Williamson, an employee...

By Calum Woods and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal Late last year, the media introduced us to Angela Williamson, an employee of Cricket Australia allegedly sacked after she posted on Twitter criticising the Tasmanian Government’s policy on abortion laws. Ms Williamson subsequently filed an application with the Fair Work Commission, arguing that...

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Message from the CEO – 9 April 2019

Retail was a big winner in last week’s Federal Budget. Following sluggish sales figures in successive ABS retail trade reports...

Retail was a big winner in last week’s Federal Budget. Following sluggish sales figures in successive ABS retail trade reports it was imperative that measures were put forward to restore consumer confidence. The NRA was therefore very pleased that the Government has pledged to double the low and middle income...

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Why you should enter the 2019 National Retail Awards

The 2019 National Retail Awards will take place on Wednesday September 4 at the five-star luxurious hotel, The Star...

The 2019 National Retail Awards will take place on Wednesday September 4 at the five-star luxurious hotel, The Star Sydney. In 2019, we again have a raft of awards categories that showcase the amazing work of all those employed in retail and we’re certain that this year’s nominees will be...

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Tenth anniversary of the Fair Work Act – Part 1: A change to the union landscape

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal With the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act) nearing its...

By Alex Millman and Lindsay Carroll, NRA Legal With the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act) nearing its tenth anniversary in April, now is an apt time to reflect on how the landscape of industrial law has changed both because of the Act, and because of changes to...

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2019 BUDGET SUMMARY

1. BUDGET OVERVIEW The 2019 Budget announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg outlines a projected surplus of $7.1 billion for 2019-20,...

1. BUDGET OVERVIEW The 2019 Budget announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg outlines a projected surplus of $7.1 billion for 2019-20, making it the first budget surplus in 12 years. The Government will look to use key measures contained in the statement to frame the upcoming election, expected to be called...

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Message from the CEO – 2 April 2019

Throughout the history of retail, one thing has remained a constant: the need to remain competitive. A successful business...

Throughout the history of retail, one thing has remained a constant: the need to remain competitive. A successful business model today is not necessarily a match-winner in the future. Being competitive involves mastering a range of factors such as offering a quality product, keeping business costs efficient, as well as...

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