Apr
10
2025
Co-founder of telehealth platform Updoc Dylan Coyne says he and his business partner Clifton Hodgkinson have made a point of hiring “really smart, bright, intelligent people” and giving them a large measure of autonomy. “We empower them,” Coyne says. “They can make decisions. They can work collaboratively with others. They can really do what they …read more
Apr
10
2025
Practice management software company Cliniko operates on a 30-hour week, which company co-founder Joel Friedlaender says is a substantial benefit for employees, but also a considered management decision. “It’s good for us to be able to recruit better people when we can offer a perk like that,” he says. “And in my experience, if …read more
Mar
25
2025
Australian companies are fostering internal “cultural resilience” with extensive training, by testing staff on potential outage scenarios and by using past incidents as learning opportunities. Systemic weaknesses in digital platforms have been exposed by massive disruptions in recent years and the government, clients, consumers and shareholders now expect corporate Australia to take action to repel, reduce and …read more
Mar
25
2025
Australian finance sector organisations will soon have to demonstrate oversight of their service providers’ risk management practices, providing a level of transparency now considered critical in an increasingly technologically complex and digitally interconnected world. Coming into force on July 1, 2025, APRA’s CPS 230 rule will make finance sector companies responsible for their own operational resilience …read more
Feb
27
2025
A geophysicist who worked for decades for a large international firm, Richard Plumb had no superannuation in Australia. Now 65, Plumb and his wife Marisa, a couple of years older and a former teacher’s assistant, were concerned the private company pension offered by his international employer would be considered foreign income and attract tax in Australia. So, …read more
Feb
27
2025
Quantity surveyor Ian Jackson, now 71 and “pretty well retired”, sought expert financial planning advice in 2007, when he was a director of a professional surveying/consulting firm and earning a share of company profits. Initially, Greg Barter, now director and principal financial adviser at Allied Wealth, suggested various strategies to maximise Jackson’s funds, including arranging super …read more
Feb
5
2025
Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder a year ago, Stephen Zissermann is now studying a master’s degree in public health online at the University of Technology, Sydney. A school teacher and a public health worker, married with children, and aged 51, he says the degree appealed to him because it is 100 per cent online. “When I was …read more
Feb
5
2025
Romy Stein had trouble finding a suitable placement to complete her Master of Counselling course at Edith Cowan University in Perth. “I originally intended to work with adults, but there is a shortage of placements and sometimes you have to go with what’s available,” she says of her extensive hunt for suitable on-the-job work experience. She was …read more
Dec
10
2024
Kate Paterson and her husband David left their home in Melbourne’s Richmond in July last year for a new life in Italy. With their two children, now aged two and four, the couple moved to an apartment they had rented on-line in Lucca, a town west of Florence in Tuscany. They had never been to Lucca before, …read more
Nov
27
2024
Recruitment professional Michael Walters launched the Mergent Group agency midway through the pandemic. As COVID spread, the private sector was forced to institute widespread lay-offs and stand-downs; investors were skittish and workers confused and angry. There was a growing need for professional recruitment expertise, particularly in regional Australia.