BUDGET REACTION — MGA Thermal CEO, Mark Croudace had good things to say about how the Future Made in Australia program and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) Solar Sunshot program would dovetail successfully.

He said the Federal Budget “proves that, at a government level, Australia is getting more serious about looking to green energy in an effort to diversify from finite carbon based energy resources like gas and  coal”. 

“The Future Made in Australia policy, in particular, the $835 million Solar Sunshot funding commitment for solar panel production is a positive step, and there is ample opportunity to expand support further,” Mr Croudace said. 

“While additional solar capacity is certainly needed, we face a bigger challenge on the horizon as supply and demand reach a point where power becomes worthless unless it’s stored and time-shifted effectively.

“Solar energy, in particular, has a limited impact during evening hours when demand peaks. This is where the government needs to intervene to ensure the power system can store and redistribute energy for longer durations than lithium-ion battery arrays can, to keep the grid running.

“Australia’s energy transition is an evolutionary journey, and as the Treasurer (Jim Chalmers) said, it is the biggest transformation in the global economy since the Industrial Revolution,” Mr Croudace said.

“To date, focusing on front-of-meter solutions like solar and wind has been an appropriate starting point. However, the emerging signal that we’re beginning to experience excess power generation during the middle of the day is an important one. It doesn’t mean we’ve overemphasised front-of-meter solutions, but rather that the time has come to diversify and change the mix. 

“We now need to complement our existing renewable generation with behind-the-meter energy storage solutions to help smooth out the imbalances and problems that are starting to arise in our grid system. 

“While Australia has made commendable strides in renewable energy investments, we urge the government to place greater emphasis on supporting energy storage solutions across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. It will allow us to capture excess generation during periods of oversupply and deploy that stored energy when demand peaks.

“A holistic approach that balances utility-scale renewables with distributed energy storage is vital for Australia to effectively manage the evolving supply-demand dynamics of a clean energy future.”

Australia’s future gas strategy

Mr Croudace also had strong opinions about Australia’s gas strategy. 

“While the Labor Government views gas as a critical transition fuel, we need to look beyond stopgap measures and towards future-focused solutions to achieve our energy transition goals,” he said.

“Steam power for manufacturing continues to underpin nearly every major industrial process, constituting 23 percent of Australia’s total energy demand. However, factories currently burn natural gas continuously to generate steam, unable to meet round-the-clock demands with intermittent renewable sources alone.  

“Innovative thermal energy storage technologies offer a viable solution, generating 24/7 clean industrial steam without disrupting existing operations. They provide a reliable energy storage buffer that industries can draw upon just like traditional gas reserves, maintaining consistent steam output.

“By backing such technologies aligned with harder-to-abate sectors, the government can drive decarbonisation while safeguarding business performance,” Mr Croudace said.

“The key is supporting solutions that seamlessly integrate into industrial processes, allowing organisations to embrace decarbonisation targets without compromising operations or economics. Technologies that offer reliable thermal energy storage with uninterrupted steam supply validate their alignment with Australia’s energy transition roadmap.

“Supporting the development and commercialisation of these technologies through policies, incentives and funding will enable a smooth transition for heavy industries towards sustainable energy sources while maintaining productivity and competitiveness,” Mr Croudace said.

www.mgathermal.com

Bills must not derail energy transition

Jack Curtis, co-founder of Neara, said while the Budget’s bill relief scheme would provide relief to Australian families and small businesses now, long-term solutions must be built in to the clean energy transition.

“The Albanese government’s $3.5 billion energy bill relief scheme will alleviate pressure on households and small business owners across Australia struggling to manage rising electricity prices,” he said. “Yet despite the short-term financial support, concerns are rising around the growing cost of the energy transition.  

“The clean energy transition is crucial to Australia’s future. But years of rising energy costs and reduced reliability as we transition from fossil generation to renewables are becoming harder to justify for many.

“The $300 energy bill relief package for home owners is a great initiative, but it’s not enough. The cost of the clean energy transition could easily blow out within the next six years and continue to increase financial pressure on consumers. 

“Equal focus and investment must be applied to the underlying drivers of rising energy costs, particularly those related to the energy transition, and what can be done differently to mitigate them. To offset costs and stabilise energy prices, the government must source the most efficient, cost-effective pathway to 82% clean energy by 2030.

“This means embracing a holistic strategy encompassing all generation and network capacity sources whilst leveraging new technology that can optimise both,” Mr Curtis said.

“Put simply, more money needs to go further. Australia doesn’t have the same depth of funds as our overseas counterparts, specifically compared with the United States Inflation Reduction Act. Federal and state governments need to work closely on the strategic deployment of funds by stress-testing each proposed pillar of the energy transition and its potential cost before rolling out the initiative. 

“The renewable energy infrastructure toolkit we’ve been relying on is essential, but it’s expensive, time-extensive, and continues to face increasing headwinds. Australia has alternative solutions to stress-test costs and bring renewable energy online faster.

“We must actively explore these alternative opportunities or risk exacerbating the current state of play — increased energy bills during a cost-of-living crisis and a delayed energy transition effort,” Mr Curtis said.

“Holistic generation and network modelling offer Federal and State Governments the chance to evolve beyond project-specific initiatives. By sourcing optimal paths to unlocking grid capacity and connecting renewable assets through a precise lens, we can optimise costs and save time.

“The energy industry is still plagued by significant data opacity constraints, where critical stakeholders from governments to networks, developers, and consumers cannot access all necessary information to make the best decisions around where and how renewable generation can be introduced to the energy mix most efficiently.”

Thumbs up for Solar Sunshot investment

Mr Curtis was cautiously optimistic about the Federal Government’s Sunshot Solar and Battery Breakthrough announcements.

“Scaling Australia’s solar manufacturing industry to any meaningful size will likely take two to three years to achieve at a minimum,” Mr Curtis said. “While the government’s $835 million Solar SunShot program and $523 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative are good ideas from a long-term energy security perspective, the likelihood of both making substantive contributions to the 82% renewable energy target by 2030 are low.

“The future of Australia’s energy sector needs a coordinated approach to cost-efficiently and time-effectively generate and connect renewable energy. To their collective credit, Federal and State Governments have already implemented numerous strong policies – including the Capacity Investment Scheme – which will support the necessary generation required. 

“However, Australia still has two major constraints preventing the energy transition: permitting/planning delays and network availability and accessibility. With these two critical challenges to the energy transition remaining largely unresolved, we cannot afford to over-index on initiatives like the Sunshot Solar program,” Mr Curtis said.

“The government can continue encouraging and supporting all the generation projects required, but if this extra generation cannot be connected to the grid, the energy transition will run into a proverbial brick wall. Transmission is one critical avenue to address network access issues, but it’s expensive and increasingly delayed. Relying on the necessary amount of transmission projects to be built on time and at cost is no longer realistic.

“The government must assess all parts of the equation and provide broader funding support to address network constraints,” he said. “Embracing behind-the-meter solutions and optimising the existing network is essential to reaching net-zero targets and realising Australia’s role in the global net zero economy.

“While greater investments in solar, battery technology and transmission, can play a role in Australia’s long-term energy security, we must focus on strategies that solve our short-term energy transition and security goals. A coordinated, technology-driven approach should not be a supporting component, but must represent the next phase of the clean energy strategy.”

www.neara.com

Hiringa Energy boss says now is the time to innovate

Andrew Clennett, CEO and co-founder of Hiringa Energy said the Future Made in Australia Act was “a generational opportunity” to even the playing field with fossil fuels, crowd-in investment and accelerate timelines for low-carbon product availability “which will be essential to enabling businesses to make responsible change”.

“The Federal Government has demonstrated its understanding of the important role hydrogen has to play in the energy transition and the scale of investment required, and we welcome the budget’s $19.7 billion allocation to accelerate investment in priority industries, including $8 billion to support production of renewable hydrogen,” Mr Clennett said. 

“Government support is essential and welcome. There are a range of decarbonisation pathways, and government intervention should facilitate the development of a broad toolkit of viable decarbonisation technologies allowing for the breadth of our industries and use-cases.

“We believe this budget has set the framework for achieving such a balance, including through the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive and CfD mechanisms via additional Hydrogen Headstart funding,” Mr Clennett said.

“Having experience of developing commercial hydrogen infrastructure we are confident that these mechanisms will help catalyse the nascent industry. We encourage ongoing policy to allow the market to indicate where green hydrogen makes the most sense, which will ensure a broad range of projects deliver low-emission products to end-users in the format they need, at the point they need it, and at a scale that is consistent with actual demand.”

Support for current transition policies

Mr Clennett said the Federal Government’s support for a range of initiatives was vital for clean energy transition success.

“Hiringa Energy strongly commend Australia’s Federal Government for continued support of ongoing and in-development initiatives which will serve as a framework underpinning national decarbonisation, including through adoption of low-carbon products,” he said.

“The Safeguard Mechanism, GO and REGO schemes, and introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosure are all great examples of policy which will deliver integrity, assurance, accountability and for some, a financial driver to accurately capture and report environmental impact, and transition to low-emissions products and processes.

“Hiringa views Australia as an extremely promising opportunity for green hydrogen industry development, however low-carbon fuels and feedstocks do not experience an even playing field compared to fossil fuel-derived incumbents that have enjoyed over 150 years to create economies of scale. That being said, technologies such as green hydrogen have incredible potential to accelerate commercialisation and create scale economies and drive costs down in a fraction of that time, but there is a need for near term support.”

www.hiringaenergy.com

Clean energy sector’s skills shortages warning

HiBob vice president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, Damien Andreasen warned about the Federal Budget’s oversights regarding skill shsortages in the sector.

“One of the glaring omissions from the budget was any kind of measure that directly addresses Australia’s skills shortages beyond the construction sector,” he said. 

“Employers in Australia across several industries have struggled over the past few years to attract people with the right skills — especially in tech, AI, science and engineering — first during the pandemic when our borders were closed and then again last year during severe economic headwinds.

“Now would’ve been the perfect time to announce further plans to fix this systemic problem through a mix of education and training programs for home-grown talent – especially for the rising unemployed – and further short-term visa incentives to attract high-skilled workers to Australia,” Mr Andreasen said.

“Against this economic backdrop, a recent HiBob study found that pay is the number-one factor that would encourage young people working in tech to switch jobs.

“And so, for the immediate short term at least, employers who have invested so much in their culture, diversity, flexibility and employee wellbeing over the past few years — essentials for modern business — will have to compete mainly on good old-fashioned compensation to recruit the most sought-after talent. That makes workforce planning for each employer even more important than usual.”

www.hibob.com

AI could come to the rescue in healthcare sector

Australia is in the melee of a healthcare crisis according to Harrison.ai co-founder and CEO, Aengus Tran.

“With spiralling costs, an ageing population and workforce shortages, Australia is in the throes of a healthcare crisis,” Dr Tran said. “A crisis that technology – especially AI-enabled solutions – could help overcome. 

“The Health Research for a Future Made in Australia package announced in the budget is an encouraging step in creating better standards of care for all Australians. This is further supported by the National Digital Health strategy launched earlier this year, which specifically supports the power of technology in healthcare. 

“However, Australia still remains far behind many other nations when it comes to investment in AI research and adoption for healthcare. A blindspot that limits us from reaching the full potential of technology in improving patient outcomes. 

“As an Australian-grown health tech company, we would love to see policies that aid the adoption of medical AI into clinical practice,” Dr Tran said. “It’s essential that these tools are scientifically validated not only to meet regulatory requirements, but also the needs of those who use them.

“Dedicated funding for AI research would enable healthcare professionals to gather evidence of its role in improving our healthcare system, ultimately helping to inform future policies and funding decisions.”

“We also need to focus on creating pathways for reimbursement for digital health technology like AI, including short-term solutions like funding that can be used to kick-start adoption and measure impact.

“The UK, for example, has exclusive funding to speed up the deployment of highly promising AI imaging and decision support tools so patients can get a quicker diagnosis,” Dr Tran said.

“In Australia, similar funding models are needed to support wider advancements in technology and medical AI in healthcare practices nationally.”

www.harrison.ai

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BUDGET REACTION – The Chief Executive Women (CEW) group has welcomed Federal Budget measures aimed at unlocking women’s workforce participation, to address Australia’s economic challenges by removing barriers for women and families. 

The 2024-25 Federal Budget has confirmed funding for several of CEW’s policy asks, including: 

• $1.1 billion over four years from 2024-25 and $623 million per year from 2028-29 to extend paid superannuation to include Commonwealth paid parental leave;  
• Commitment to fund pay increases for aged care and early childhood workers in line with Fair Work Commission processes;
• $1.6 billion over 11 years to provide paid work placements for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students;
• $925 million over five years to establish the Leaving Violence Program;  
• Adapting the Stage 3 Tax Cuts to address gendered outcomes;
• To support gender procurement processes, women-owned and led businesses will be able to self-nominate via the Voluntary Commonwealth Supplier Registration process through AusTender;
• $55.6 million over four years for the Building Women’s Careers program to advance women in key male dominated industries, including construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and digital technology;
• $38.2 million over eight years to support a thriving, skilled and diverse STEM workforce; and
• Delivery of the Working for Women National Strategy.

CEW president Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said investment in the care economy was a logical budget response that would benefit many Australian families and the economy more broadly. 

“Commitments to continue expanding paid parental leave and to increase pay for our vital care workforces, signals the importance of the care economy to all Australians, both now and in the future,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said. 

For consecutive years, CEW has called for intentional investment in gender equality and women’s workforce participation as the best way to boost productivity and build a modern economy.

“We know that working women are significantly overrepresented in the care sector, and we also know there are skills shortages in many areas like aged care and early childhood education. The latest budget measures will go some way to improving economic security for women and attract more people to these essential professions,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.

CEW research has found that 1 million additional full-time skilled workers could be unlocked in Australia if women were engaged in paid work at the same rate as men. According to Deloitte, $11 billion would be added to Australia’s GDP by increasing women’s working hours by just 2 percent.

CEW has also called for the Federal Government to relax the Child Care Subsidy Activity Test, increase JobSeeker payments and prioritise women’s safety.

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said, “it was disappointing the budget did not act on advice of the Productivity Commission and the ACCC to relax the Child Card Subsidy Activity Test.

“Ten government reports in the last four years have told us that the Activity Test is not working, and that the system is overly complex and inoperable for many parents.

“We continue to call for at least three days of quality early childhood education, regardless of parents’ activity,” she said.

Research by Impact Economics and Policy found that abolishing the test altogether could increase GDP by up to $4.5 billion a year through increased workforce participation of mothers.

“An investment in universal access to early childhood education for the benefit of all would unlock an existing workforce, uplift productivity, support families with cost-of-living pressures, and give our children the best start in life,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said. 

“The Budget does not comprehensively address the circumstances of women living in poverty in Australia, which is concerning. JobSeeker payments sit below the poverty line at around just 43 percent of minimum wage, trapping the most vulnerable Australians in poverty instead of enabling them into work.

“Women’s safety and ability to escape gendered violence is intertwined with their economic security, and we also know that more needs to be done to fund the services supporting women escaping violence.

“We strongly urge the government to make these priorities for future policy and budgets.” 

A complete list of CEW’s 2025 budget recommendations can be found here.

www.cew.org.au

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BUDGET REACTION – Small business owners across Australia will be feeling a bit underwhelmed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2024 Federal Budget, according to leading accounting body CPA Australia.

In his speech, Dr Chalmers spoke of wanting small businesses to share the big opportunities ahead – and certified practising accountants' body CPA Australia agreed in principle.

The problem was that while CPA Australia saw positivity in the small business statement highlighting several measures, this Federal Budget focused start-up opportunities on its Industry Growth Fund, limiting the initiatives that would encourage more younger Aussies to start or buy a business.

CPA Australia found the Budget outlined some cost-of-living relief for Australian households, but it only included a small amount of energy cost relief for struggling small businesses.

“Fuel costs, power bills and various other inflationary pressures are having a hugely detrimental impact on many small businesses,” CPA Australia chief executive officer, Chris Freeland said. 

“Small businesses – most of which already have very thin margins – desperately needed a budget that would help alleviate the cost pressures they are facing on a daily basis,” Mr Freeland said.

“While the emphasis on relieving pressures on household finances was expected, a more business-centric budget would benefit all Australians as small businesses are significant contributors to the economy and job creation.”

Many small and medium sized businesses are also feeling overwhelmed by red tape at a time when they need to focus on running their business, not complying with new obligations.

Mr Freeland welcomed the one year extension to the instant asset write off for smaller businesses. However, a more permanent solution would provide the certainty business owners desire.

“While instant write-offs and subsidies for power bills are welcomed, the truth is small business needs more support, particularly those in energy-intensive sectors,” Mr Freeland said.

“The Budget confirmed investments in supporting businesses in distress and those facing mental health issues, but there is little in the way of additional funding for programs aimed at preventing businesses getting into trouble in the first place and enhancing business owners’ skills to help these businesses grow.”

Research from CPA Australia shows Australian small businesses trail behind most countries in the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to business innovation, use of new technology and are ultimately less likely to experience growth.

“Government support for initiatives like cyber-security will help Australian small businesses catch up to their regional counterparts,” Mr Freeland said. “The rebranded myGov will also bring greater security when interacting with government. These are all steps in the right direction.

“It’s positive that the government continues to talk up the need to build a more productive and dynamic economy. There are many policies essential to achieving those objectives that are in addition to the government’s industry and competition policies,” Mr Freeland said.

“Take for instance, the relatively low proportion of Australians under 40 owning their own business. Our annual small business survey shows that increasing the proportion of young Australians starting their own business or acquiring an existing business has a positive influence on business growth and productivity.

“The range of targeted small business support in this budget makes sense, but a more comprehensive look at the sector is needed.

“We look forward to the proposed National Small Business Strategy that will help business, community and government work together to nurture and grow our economy.”

Key Budget points made by the CPAs were:

• Investment incentives were made for select industries, but there was no shot in the arm for small business.
• Energy relief was welcome, but unlikely to make much impact for most small businesses.
• The Federal Government should incentivise more young business owners and greater innovation.
• Extra funding to help businesses in distress and mental health was a very necessary investment.

www.cpaaustralia.com.au

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BUDGET REACTION – The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman,  Bruce Billson said the 2024-25 Federal Budget did offer targeted measures to help small and family business deal with current pain points and headwinds.

“Small and family businesses facing punishing input costs that are squeezing margins will welcome the modest energy bill relief of $325,” Mr Billson said. “Every saving helps the small businesses who are doing it tough in our community. 

“Matching last year’s Budget, the money will be deducted from the power bills of one million eligible small businesses as part of a cost-of-living relief package.

“Small and family businesses will be relieved by the decision to extend the instant asset write-off for a further 12 months for businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million, allowing them to deduct $20,000 for eligible assets,” Mr Billson said.

“But we note the instant asset write-off measure announced in last year’s budget has still not been passed into law with just six weeks left of this financial year, creating some uncertainty for small businesses.

“This uncertainty has highlighted the benefits of greater predictability to support business planning and investment, reflected by small business groups calling for it to be made permanent.

“Particularly important is the $7.7 million over two years to extend the funding for mental health support through the New Access for Small Business Owners program created by Beyond Blue and $3.1 million over two years for the Small Business Debt Hotline delivered by Financial Counselling Australia,” Mr Billson said.

“We have seen a 20 percent increase in calls to our helplines over the past year from small businesses struggling to manage their debts. It is vitally important that small business owners take time to focus on their own mental and financial wellbeing and these free services are provided by people who understand the realities of running your own business and can offer practical help.

“The Budget also expands the scope of existing funding for ASBFEO to support small business in a dispute with the Tax Office to include unrepresented business dealing with a broader range of business disputes, including those involving franchising, and provides funding to review the adequacy and effectiveness of dispute resolution tools available to ASBFEO’s assistance service.

“There is also $20.5 million for the Fair Work Ombudsman to help small business employers comply with the increasingly complex workplace laws and $10 million to assist smaller employers with administering the revised paid parental leave scheme.

“We welcome $8.6 million a year for key regulators to enforce mandatory codes that oblige telecommunications, banking and digital platform service providers to do more to guard against the harm caused by scams that are hurting too many small businesses,” Mr Billson said.

“The Budget also includes additional funding to improve the uptake of e-invoicing, the effectiveness of the payment times reporting framework and implementation of franchise reforms.

“While income tax cuts will drive demand, the budget forecasts that overall economic growth will be weaker, which will concern small and family businesses who have been doing it tough.

“Sluggish growth combined with persistently poor productivity, tight labour markets, supply chain challenges, and the lagging effects of high inflation, plus 13 interest rate rises, are taking their toll on small and family businesses,” Mr Billson said.

“We need to shift the mindset from minimising headwinds to maximising the ‘wind in the sails’ of our hard-working small and family businesses.

“Some 43 percent of small businesses were not profitable in the last full tax year. Three-quarters of self-employed people, for whom their business is their full-time livelihood, take home less than average total weekly earnings.

“It is often said that small business is the engine room of the economy. We must ensure that small and family business can fire on all cylinders – not have a cylinder taken out.

“We need to get the risk and reward balance right, ensuring small business and entrepreneurship is a really attractive option for people, then create a supportive ecosystem to give enterprising people the best chance to be successful.”

The Government’s small business statement can be found at www.budget.gov.au

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