Emily Piesse

Achieving improvements in students’ confidence levels and academic performance is the driving force behind not-for-profit group Australian Business and Community Network, which recently appointed a manager for Western Australia and officially launched its

Western Australia’s booming economy may be a magnet for British firms, but the relationship between the two nations needs to be cultivated in order for each to remain competitive in the globalised world, according to British High Commissioner Helen Liddel

Western Australia’s export strength was recognised at this year’s Australian Export Heroes Awards, with four of the eight recipients coming from WA.

The venue for this year’s 40under40 Awards gala has a touch of the exotic, and certainly a touch of class about it.

Volunteering makes a significant contribution to the national economy, worth between $35 billion and $50 billion a year and equal to 5 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

Kwinana-based specialist fabricator and manufacturer, Ausclad Group, has posted an $8.2 million net profit for the half-year ending December 2006, providing a further boost for the company on the back of several recent lucrative contracts.

The decision to sell the family home to fund a new business, with two children under three years of age, was one Julie Smith-Massara did not make lightly.

Small to medium sized enterprises in Western Australia are leading the nation in their engagement with China, according to international research released last week.

Three Western Australian agribusinesses are to be showcased internationally this week as part of an Australian contingent attending the World Ag Expo 2007 in Tulare, California.

Data asset management company SpectrumData and information technology specialist ISA Technologies have combined their services in an ongoing collaboration between the two Technology Park residents to service their mutual oil and gas sector clients.

Several not-for-profit organisations in Western Australia have made management changes at an executive level in the early part of the year.

Health retreats have typically evoked images of preening and pampering, with cucumber facial treatments, mud wraps and massages that last for hours.

Pressure to consolidate is one of the major issues facing small agencies in the not-for-profit sector, driven largely by government funding strategies and corporate sponsors’ preference for brand names.

Perth-based upstream oil and gas engineering services provider, Advanced Well Technologies, has expanded its presence in South-East Asia with the launch of subsidiary company AWT (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and the opening of an operations centre in Kuala Lumpur l

Two of Western Australia’s most iconic companies are looming as takeover targets and face the prospect of their respective founding families losing controlling interest.

Western Australia continued to record a strong overall trend for retail growth in December despite slowed growth in several categories, according to the latest retail trade figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The shortage of so-called unskilled workers in Western Australia has reached crisis point in the hospitality and trucking industries, yet employers are unable to recruit overseas labour easily due to a national migration program favouring skilled workers.

Data recovery and storage company, SpectrumData Ltd, has accepted a request by US space agency NASA to retrieve data from 200 magnetic reel tapes broadcast more than 35 years ago.

Former Home Building Society managing director Craig Coleman has decreased his direct and indirect interest in the company by selling 70,000 shares, valued at more than $1 million, through an on-market trade.

Western Australia’s robust economy is exerting a disproportionate influence on the national rate of inflation, with Perth’s inflation rate significantly above that of other state capital cities, according to recent data from the Australian Bureau of Stati

Bassendean businessman John Mitchell wants to unlock some of the secrets of small business, especially the reasons why so many fail.

Staff retention is an ongoing challenge for many not-for-profit human services providers in competition with the private sector.

Another step towards the establishment of the Pilbara’s long-awaited Australian Technical College was taken last week, with the signing of a $23.5 million funding commitment by the federal government.

Diversified non-bank lender Financial Resources Ltd has recouped an 8.2 per cent share holding in the company from one of its substantial shareholders, Michael van Rens, after he defaulted on several loans from the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, FRL (

Commercial players are not alone in facing a shortage of office space in the CBD as a result of the state’s economic boom, with the not-for-profit sector also struggling to deal with rising rental rates and the space squeeze.

Water access and usage is fast becoming a major infrastructure issue Australia wide, with supply and demand inequities prompting business and government to develop innovative strategies and solutions.

The federal government has enacted another element of its industrial relations reform package, with the passage last month of new legislation governing independent contractors.

Western Australia’s retail trade sector continues to outperform those in other states due to its strong domestic economy, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week.

The state government has effectively gifted a parcel of land valued at $2.2 million to the Alzheimer’s Association of WA to help the association generate cash flow for the establishment of a new research centre.

Western Australia’s medical research sector is again flying the flag for the state at a national level.

Western Australia’s labour market remains tight, with the highest employment participation rate and the lowest unemployment level of all the states, according to recent data from the Department of Treasury and Finance.

Metropolitan and regional players shared the industry awards last year in the state’s arts, culture and hospitality sectors.