News Articles for Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA

Western Australia has recorded the largest increase in employment of any state for the month of October, up by 6,300 people, but its unemployment rate has remained static at 5.7 per cent, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The incidence of worker fatalities across Australia has continued its trend decline over the past decade, with the number of deaths attributed to workplace incidents falling to 13 in WA and 144 nationally.

Today's decision by the state government to increase the payroll tax exemption threshold has been welcomed by industry bodies.

The McGowan has reversed one of its first policy initiatives, announcing over the weekend that Perth will once again be classified as a ‘region', making it easier for international students to gain work after their studies.

WELLNESS@WORK: Healthier Workplaces WA is helping workers across the state get up and stay in shape.

ASX-listed GDI Property has reported mixed leasing success at its Westralia Square office building, with the state government reducing its commitments in the CBD tower to around 14,000 square metres, down from more than 25,000sqm previously.

Exports to Thailand from Western Australia have surged about 270 per cent from a low point just three years ago, as the South-East Asian country seeks to strengthen linkages with Australia and partners.

Western Australia's business confidence has fallen for the second quarter in a row, which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA says indicates the need to reduce WA's payroll tax.

Our weekly appointment wrap includes Rick Newnham, Brendan Acott, Tyron Hayes, Danny Murphy, Cameron Syme, Kristy Ryan, Paul Martin, Kenn Donohoe, Helen Sarcich, Nick Houldsworth, Matthew Read, Gary Thomas, Lucy Mengler, Rachel Horton, Richard Lilly, Lauren Haygarth, Donna Marsh, Peta Rapson, Stephanie Driscoll, Maree Ferguson, Susan Oldmeadow-Hall, Danny Olsen, Mark Giuffre, Timothy John, Melissa Reid, Jackson Wheeler, Daniel Butler, Tamara Arapovic, Garry Zacher, and Tamica D'Uva.

Scott Morrison vowed to roll back regulation, pass tax reform and fight militant unions in his first major economic speech since the LNP's surprise election victory this past month.

Business peak groups have slammed newly minted opposition leader Liza Harvey's policy shifts on public sector wages, privatising Western Power, and retail trading hours.

WA's Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) this morning announced a 2.75 per cent increase to the state minimum wage, provoking criticisms from unions and business groups.

Ratings agency Moody's has announced that it will lift Western Australia's credit rating from Aa2 to Aa1, with the McGowan government's strong control over spending highlighted as a key reason.

The state government has introduced a science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills strategy, which aims to have 85 per cent of year 12 students completing two or more STEM courses.

The South West Development Commission has won a $400,000 contract to deliver the federal government's Tradestart service in the southern parts of Western Australia.

Wage growth in Western Australia has again come in at the lowest level in the nation in the year to March, prompting UnionsWA to call for workplace reform.

WA BUDGET: Property industry lobby groups have urged the state government to use its more favourable budgetary position to provide more stimulus to the housing sector.

Western Australia's unemployment rate has increased by 0.1 per cent taking it to 6 per cent in March, making it 1 per cent higher than the national average of 5 per cent.

WA's business lobby has blasted state government plans to shake up the industrial relations system, and called for residual workplace powers to instead be handed to the Commonwealth.

The unemployment rate in Western Australia fell by 1 per cent in February, as 11,000 people stopped looking for work.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has dismissed a critique of Labor's wages policy, describing the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA as a trade union for employers and insisting wage increases were sensible.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has put its Hay Street headquarters on the market, appointing CBRE and Knight Frank to sell the 7-storey, 5,240 square metre office building.

More than a third of visitors to Western Australia who used Airbnb said they would never have had a holiday if it wasn't for the online home-share platform, the company asserted today, as it fought back against criticism by Tourism Council WA and the Australian Hotels Association.

Business groups have welcomed a bill introduced by the state government today to establish the advisory body Infrastructure WA.

The state government has used the launch of its battery industry strategy today to announce that one of the first initiatives will be to develop an investment attraction strategy for the sector.

China's economic slowdown and the lingering threat of a trade war between the world's largest country and the US are the biggest threats to Western Australia, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.

Western Australia has regained the mantle of the highest unemployment in the country, after a 0.8 per cent uptick in the jobless rate in November.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has returned to profit after three years of major restructuring that has cut staff numbers and revenue to one third of 2014 levels.

Western Australian small and medium enterprises are the second least confident of all states and territories, but are the most optimistic for the long-term future, a survey of 1,000 SME operators has revealed.

Western Australia's jobless rate has fallen to 5.7 per cent in October, while the national figure remains at a six-year low.

The state government has confirmed it will use an estimated $1.7 billion GST windfall to pay down its debts, after the legislation cleared federal parliament today.

A new report has cast doubt on Western Australia's suitability as a lithium battery-making hub, claiming low labour productivity, distance from major markets and difficulties sourcing the necessary material as barriers to any potential development.

Full-time employment in Western Australia has hit a three-year high, as the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed a decline in the state's jobless rate to 6 per cent in September.

John Atkins is back in town to help Anglicare WA usher in a new strategic plan. He joins outgoing chief executive Ian Carter to reflect on the history and future direction of the not-for-profit group.

The prospects of a GST overhaul have been given a boost today, after the federal government said the proposed legislation would include safeguards to ensure every jurisdiction will be in a better financial position over a set period.

The Housing Industry Association has appointed former Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA director of advocacy Cath Hart as its Western Australian regional director.

The state government has announced it will proceed with the sale of gaming agency TAB and introduce a new 15 per cent consumption tax on all betting in Western Australia.

The state government has signed up for the Commonwealth's vocational training fund, which will provide up to $126 million in matched funding for a planned incentive scheme to boost apprenticeships and traineeships.

Job vacancies in Western Australia have reached their highest level in more than five years, while the state's mining industry has hit a record level of employment.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has lashed the state government's decision today to reduce extended Christmas trading hours as applied last year.