FAQ · Economy & Work 23

Santos Limited is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Adelaide. It serves as the largest supplier of natural gas in Australia, utilizing plants in the Cooper Basin and South West Queensland to supply the eastern states. The company owns various oil, pipeline gas, and liquefied natural gas assets. Its operations also extend to the Northern Territory and the seas off Western Australia. According to the 2024 Forbes ranking, it is the 15th largest company in Australia.

Bonus shares issued by a company from its share capital account are treated the same as splits. These shares only change the number of shares in your holding. However, complicated rules apply when bonus shares are offered in lieu of dividends or when they are part-paid shares. Bonus units from a unit trust are considered similar to bonus shares. Fully paid units with no amount to include in accessible income merely change the number of shares in a holding.

The resource sector in Australia faces shortages in areas like steel, fabrication, and resource-related jobs. To meet recruitment needs, employers have turned to temporary skilled workers using 457 visas. This approach helped smaller firms grow and gain legitimacy despite high costs. However, businesses must follow complex measures to ensure these visas are not abused. They are required to advertise positions to local citizens first and provide evidence of training locals.

Significant service in Australia covers a wide range of professional and community sectors. Recognized contributions include work in tertiary education, international trade, and development economics. Other areas of importance involve community health, social welfare organisations, and business administration. Experts have also been noted for their service to primary industry, agricultural management, and industrial relations. This diverse range of service helps support various aspects of the nation's social and economic structure.

Feral camels in Australia cause significant agricultural impacts by interacting aggressively with domestic livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats. These animals can also be dangerously territorial towards people, particularly during the mating season. Beyond direct interaction with livestock, camels compete with endemic animals for available plant matter. They also pose a threat to water sources by consuming large amounts of hydration and soiling the water in the process. This creates an environment that is unsafe for other animals to drink from.

In Western Australia, the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission handles industrial disputes and sets employment conditions. This commission fixes wages and salaries through industrial awards and approves enterprise agreements. It also decides claims regarding unfair dismissal for employers not regulated by the Commonwealth under the Fair Work Act 2009. The system was originally modeled after New Zealand's industrial laws and was established in 1900. Western Australia remains the only state that has not exercised its power to delegate further jurisdiction to the Fair Work Commission.

FIFO work practices are common in the resources, medical, and health services industries where workers fly to remote locations on scheduled rosters. While these roles can be financially rewarding, the lifestyle often impacts the emotional health and well-being of individuals and families. Research indicates that these rosters can lead to increased mental illness, stress, anxiety, and substance abuse. Additionally, long shifts and disrupted sleep schedules can cause significant fatigue and affect work performance. It is important for workers to have sufficient rest days to recuperate from sleep debt and avoid the dangers of fatigue.

Small business CGT concessions were introduced starting from 21 September 1999. These concessions help reduce tax for small business owners who are retiring or when active assets are sold. The rules also allow for a rollover when a person sells one active asset to purchase another. It is important to note that the 50% CGT discount is not available to companies. Superannuation funds are instead entitled to a 33% CGT discount.

Australia applies a 10% Goods and Services Tax known as GST to most goods and services. This tax is always included in the displayed price of any consumer purchases. When you receive a receipt, it is referred to as a tax invoice and will contain the GST amount. Certain items like unprocessed foods, education, and medical services are exempt from this tax. Visitors may also be eligible for a refund of the GST through the Tourist Refund Scheme if they meet specific criteria.

CPA Australia is a professional accounting body that was originally founded in 1886 as the Incorporated Institute of Accountants. The organization underwent several name changes, including becoming the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants in 1990. It eventually adopted its current name, CPA Australia, in April 2000. As of late 2020, the body has over 168,000 members located in 150 different countries and regions. The organization currently maintains 19 staffed offices across various locations including Australia, China, and the UK.

All public holidays and substitute public holidays are considered bank holidays. In South Australia, every public holiday and Sunday is also a bank holiday. Specific holidays vary by region, such as Canberra Day in the ACT or Melbourne Cup Day in Victoria. Because these days are bank holidays, banking services are affected by the local holiday schedule. You should check the specific public holiday regulations for your state or territory.

Insurance Australia Group Limited, also known as IAG, is the largest general insurance company in Australia. It is a multinational organization headquartered in Sydney that also operates in New Zealand and five Asian countries. While IAG is an umbrella organization, it is not a customer-facing brand itself. Instead, it manages numerous well-known insurance brands that it has acquired over time. These brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU Insurance, and WFI among others.

Local government areas in Australia use various official designations depending on the state and region. Most urban municipalities across all states are referred to as cities. In Western Australia, many areas within the Perth metropolitan area are officially called towns. Rural areas are often designated as shires, district councils, or municipalities depending on the specific state. The Australian Capital Territory is unique because it has no separate local government and is overseen by the ACT Legislative Assembly.

Australia applies a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) to most goods and services. This tax is always included in the displayed price of your consumer purchases. You can find the specific GST amount on your receipts or tax invoices. For those who qualify, Australia offers a Tourist Refund Scheme. This scheme provides a refund of the GST if you meet the necessary criteria.

The provided information does not list any specific public holidays occurring in August. Most states observe holidays like Australia Day in January, Easter, or the King's birthday in June or September. Standard business trading hours are typically Monday to Friday from 9AM to 5PM. While major supermarkets in main centres often stay open late on weekdays, opening hours can vary by location and state. You should check local guides for specific information regarding any regional closures.

Under the Clerks Private Sector Award 2020, a night shift is a shift finishing after midnight and at or before 7 am, and an afternoon shift finishes after 7 pm and at or before midnight. A permanent night shift is a night shift that does not rotate with another shift or with day work and that continues for 4 consecutive weeks or longer. The award summary of hourly rates for adult shiftworkers sets afternoon and night work at 115 percent of the minimum hourly rate and permanent night work at 130 percent of that rate. Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shiftwork in that same summary is paid at 150 percent of the minimum hourly rate. Those percentages are the penalty rates for ordinary hours of clerks covered by this award, and they are not a single night loading for every job in Australia.

On 12 May 2026 the Australian Government set the 2026-27 Permanent Migration Program at 185,000 places, with an approximate 70:30 split between skilled and family migration, unchanged in overall size and split from 2025-26. The Skilled Migration Program has 132,240 places, about 71 per cent of the program, the Australian Family Program has 52,460 places, about 28 per cent, and Special Eligibility has 300 places. Within the skilled total, Employer-Sponsored has 58,040 places, State and Territory Nominated has 35,500, Skilled Independent has 21,090, Regional has 14,110, and Talent and Innovation has 3,500. Family planning levels are Partner 41,500, Parent 7,060, Child 3,500 and Other Family 400, and the Partner and Child categories are demand driven with indicative levels only. Across the skilled and family programs, 129,590 places are allocated to migrants already living in Australia, in addition to the 300 Special Eligibility places.

To buy or sell shares on the Australian Securities Exchange you need a CHESS sponsoring broker, and CHESS is the Clearing House Electronic Sub-register System. Most major banks and financial institutions in Australia offer or are affiliated with an online broker and can help you set up an account, while the exchange does not recommend a broker and says you should check fees and services yourself. A non-advisory or online broker only executes orders you have already chosen, usually for a lower fee, and a full-service broker also gives advice, research and an investment plan for a higher fee. Your Holder Identification Number is printed on the CHESS welcome letter and on later holding statements, where the broker name appears beside the CHESS sponsor description. If you know neither the number nor the broker, the share registry for a company you hold can give you the CHESS participant identifier, and ASX Investor Support on 131 279 can then help name the sponsoring broker.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Consumer Price Index measures household inflation and price change for categories of household spending, rather than a separate index made only for travellers. For the September 2026 reference period, released at 11:30am AEDT on 28 October 2026, the index rose 4 point 3 percent over the 12 months to September 2026, up from 4 point 0 percent over the 12 months to August 2026. Trimmed mean inflation was 3 point 6 percent, up from a revised 3 point 5 percent in the 12 months to August 2026. In the month of September the index rose 0 point 8 percent in original terms and 0 point 6 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, on a weighted average of the eight capital cities. The following releases are the October 2026 index on 25 November 2026, the November index on 6 January 2027, and the December index on 27 January 2027.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says a business must show one total price that includes taxes, duties and every unavoidable or pre-selected extra fee, and it must not mislead you about the charge or the reason for it. Booking fees and service fees that appear only later in an online purchase are called drip pricing, and the business has to say at the start which fees apply and when. A restaurant may still set its own surcharge, but any cost you cannot avoid has to be clear before you order. If a surcharge applies on every day of the week, that everyday amount has to be inside the single displayed price, and only an extra amount on particular days can be left in a separate menu note. From 1 October 2026 a surcharge for paying by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or eftpos is no longer allowed, while a hospitality fee that does not depend on how you pay can still be charged if it is shown prominently.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says a business must give a receipt for anything that costs over 75 dollars, and if the price is under 75 dollars you can ask for a receipt and the business must provide it within 7 days. A receipt may be a GST tax invoice, a cash-register docket, a handwritten note or a digital receipt, and it must show the business name, its ABN or ACN, the product or service, the date of supply and the price. You can also ask for an itemised bill for a service, which must be given within 7 days, and you have up to 30 days after the original bill to ask for that itemised version. The itemised bill must show how the price was worked out and, where relevant, the labour hours and hourly rate and the materials and the amount charged for them. If you later ask for a repair, replacement or refund, the business can ask for the receipt or another proof of purchase, and you need to reasonably show that you bought the item.

The Fair Work Ombudsman describes a meal break as a longer period of uninterrupted rest so an employee can eat a meal, and a rest break, also called a rest pause or tea break, as a short pause during work hours. Awards, enterprise agreements and other registered agreements set whether those breaks are paid or unpaid, how long they last, and when they must be taken. A crib break is a paid meal break for times when the employee might have to resume work during the break or cannot leave the work area. Those same awards and agreements may also require a minimum time off between the end of one shift and the start of the next. The Ombudsman page does not set one national lunch hour for every job, so the length and pay of a lunch break depend on the instrument that covers the work, and the Fair Work Infoline is 13 13 94.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says some restaurants and cafes charge a surcharge on weekends or public holidays, and an exemption means that particular surcharge does not have to be folded into every menu price. If they charge it, the menu must include the words that a surcharge of a stated percentage applies on the stated day or days, and those words must be at least as prominent as the most prominent price on the menu. If the menu lists no prices, the surcharge still has to be shown in another prominent way before you decide to order. A surcharge that applies every day is part of the minimum total cost and must be included in the single displayed price, while only the extra Sunday or public holiday amount can stay in that menu statement. Card surcharges on Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos ended on 1 October 2026, but the Commission says weekend and public holiday hospitality surcharges are a separate fee and may still be charged.