THE Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals has congratulated Australian Unity on becoming the first mutual organisation in Australia to begin trading Mutual Capital Instruments (MCIs) on the Australian Stock Exchange

Mutual Capital Instruments are a new form of bespoke investment designed specifically to recognise the characteristics and intrinsic nature of member-owned firms.
 
BCCM CEO, Melina Morrison said this landmark event should be a moment of celebration, not only for Australian Unity but for Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises (CMEs) and their members across Australia.
 
“The significance of this milestone should not be underestimated.” Ms Morrison said. “This is a truly transformative moment for co-ops and mutuals in Australia bringing our jurisdiction up to world standard by creating an enabling environment for mutual capital. It’s fitting that Australia’s oldest mutual is the first to take advantage of this enhanced regime for mutuals.
 
“The investor response to the Australian Unity Offer has shown that there is a healthy appetite for investments that make an impact in our communities. Now, more than ever, we need to support the businesses that are helping our regions to thrive.
 
“Following a year in which many CMEs have deployed their capital reserves in order to continue delivering to the needs of their members and their staff, the potential that MCIs represent for these businesses is to grow, transform, innovate and compete in newer and broader markets is immense,” she said.
 
“The acquisition of capital will allow for digital transformations for businesses looking to support new ways of working for their staff; it will provide opportunities to research and develop better product offerings to their members, and it will support Australia’s advancement in manufacturing industries integral to our economic recovery and resilience.
 
“Importantly, this capital will also benefit Australian communities, small and large. CMEs have long played a role in safeguarding regional economies through times of crisis; by facilitating their access to capital, we can ensure that they can continue to protect and grow community prosperity for years to come.” Ms Morrison said.
 
In recent months, more than 30 CMEs have indicated their intention to amend their constitutions to allow them to pursue MCIs and at least 17 members have already made the necessary changes.

KPMG has estimated that if mutuals were able to hold capital levels consistent with their larger competitors, loans could increase by as much as $25 billion to generate additional profits of $375 million, assuming a 1.5 percent spread. This would equate to a 25 percent increase in size and 60 percent increase in profitability.
 
“Lack of awareness about the CME contribution to the economy, which last year was more than $34 billion, drove the establishment of BCCM, the first peak national body representing member-owned businesses across all industries. The significant potential for growth in this sector should not be overlooked as we strive to recover from the economic devastation of the past year,” Ms Morrison said.
 
A campaign led by BCCM and funded by its members resulted in legislative amendments to the Corporations Act allowing co-operatives and mutuals to issue equity instruments without demutualising.

The changes were passed into law by the Morrison Coalition Government in April 2019. The changes had bipartisan support and came after four years of BCCM led industry advocacy starting with the 2016 Senate inquiry into Co-operatives, Mutuals and Member-Owned Firms, and culminating in the 2017 Hammond Review into access to capital for mutuals and co-operatives.

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FINDINGS of a new report by the Federal Government’s Productivity Commission into mental health were shocking and horrifying, with widespread failures extending beyond Australia’s health system, according to presiding commissioner Stephen King.

In an exclusive interview with Monash Business School’s podcast, Thought Capital, Dr King has discussed how the estimated cost of mental health to the economy was “understated”; how insurers use mental health to discriminate; and how he had himself been unaware of how stigmatising mental health issues continue to be in Australia.

The 1250 page report found one in five Australians experienced mental ill-health in any year, with the annual cost of treatment, suicide, and under-performance of the mentally ill as much as $180 billion.

Dr King, an Adjunct Professor at Monash University and a former Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, said the estimated annual cost was  “conservative”, as it did not take into consideration the additional emotional, social and financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report, tabled on June 30 and released publicly by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on November 16, 2020, made 21 recommendations and more than 100 actions to transform the Australian mental health system and reduce the risk of youth mental ill-health through early intervention strategies. 

“It’s not just the health system; it is the broader system, which includes community, sports, housing, education and so on. The failures going on across the system to deal with mental health were quite shocking,” Dr King told Thought Capital.

“Almost any adjectives I come up with are going to understate the problem. There is an incredible stigma problem with mental illness in Australia. People will hide mental illness. They’ll hide it for social reasons; they fear discrimination. They fear, not just social, but also economic discrimination, for good reason.”

In his interview, Dr King highlighted how insurers used outdated attitudes to mental health to deny people coverage.

"If you go for, say, income protection insurance and you mention that you've seen a psychologist at any stage in your life... you could be 60 and you saw the psychologist when you were 20... you'll, in general, be refused that insurance," he said.

"If you go for travel insurance, again, they're asking questions which relate to issues that can no longer be relevant for your health, but are normal in considering mental health."

Dr King's report reveals a dearth of services for people with mild anxiety or mild depression, with an over-reliance on medication, sometimes leading to tragic consequences.

"There is some evidence suggesting we should be concerned about our level of prescribing mental health medication in Australia," he told Thought Capital.

Dr King admitted he had misunderstood aspects of the issue before embarking on the report.

"It has been a very challenging inquiry. It's been quite confronting. Understanding my own ignorance that I went into this inquiry with has been part of a personal journey, and I think all of the inquiry team had a similar experience,” he said.

However, Dr King said he heard stories of "great courage", including harrowing evidence from a husband whose wife died by suicide, leaving their two children, after experiencing side-effects that had not been made clear by medical practitioners. 

"Just the courage to come forward, understanding that the system had fundamentally failed them," he said.

While Dr King acknowledged COVID-19 was perhaps the wake-up call Australia needed to improve its delivery of mental health services, he argued it’ was not the bedrock upon which a new strategy could be formed.

“We know that the pandemic has significantly increased psychological distress, but you can’t design a mental health system just for a pandemic, nor can you design it for a bushfire emergency or the next drought,” he said.

“We need to make sure we design a mental health system that has the flexibility to be able to ramp up and down as needed. Our system needs to be flexible so that we can respond to the various crises that will occur in the future.”

Launched in 2018, the Thought Capital podcast is produced by Monash Business School and covers topical and thought-provoking issues that prove that business is for everyone. 

Hosted by highly respected finance commentator Michael Pascoe, Season 3 takes a look at the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to "connect the dots of COVID-19" including working from home, mental health, the economy, how small business has fared, the effects on the property market and Australia's global trade prospects.

Download the latest edition of Thought Capital to hear this interview with Dr Stephen King.

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RYAN, a global tax services and software provider, has acquired TCF Services (TCF), a research and development (R&D) tax incentive and government grants consulting firm in Australia.

The acquisition expands Ryan’s international market position and service offering in Australia for companies engaged in R&D activities and adds significant relationships to Ryan’s client portfolio, who will benefit from Ryan’s comprehensive suite of global tax solutions.

With offices located in Sydney and Melbourne, TCF offers a suite of services focused on the delivery of benefits under the R&D Tax Incentive and other state and federal government grant programs. This strategic transaction adds a team of highly qualified tax professionals to Ryan’s Asia-Pacific team.

“TCF’s unique, market-leading R&D tax credits practice greatly benefits our clients doing business in Australia,” Jon C. Sweet, Ryan’s president of European and Asia-Pacific operations said.

“We share a common goal of maximising value for our clients and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their tax function. The addition of the TCF team builds on Ryan’s plans to expand its R&D tax credit capabilities globally and further establishes the firm as the global leader in tax."

TCF managing director Gerry Frittmann said “The TCF team is excited to join Ryan and bring our R&D tax credit services to their portfolio of clients in Australia. Ryan’s exceptional reputation for client service and results is well known throughout the industry. Our team is also drawn to the dynamic culture Ryan offers and the ability to provide a more diverse offering of tax solutions to our clients. We are thrilled to join such a talented group of professionals.”

The acquisition of TCF follows Ryan’s recent acquisition of Sydney-based Australian firm Indirect Tax Solutions, an indirect tax services firm with deep specialisations in goods and services tax and fuels tax credits.

Mr Sweet said, combined, these two transactions greatly expanded the services offered to Ryan’s Australian clients and demonstrated Ryan’s commitment to investing in the Australian market.

About Ryan

Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, is the largest firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes. The firm provides an integrated suite of international tax services on a multijurisdictional basis, including cost management, compliance, consulting, and technology services. Ryan is an eight-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the myRyan work environment, which is widely recognised as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan’s multidisciplinary team of more than 2,800 professionals and associates serves over 16,000 clients in more than 50 countries, including many of the world’s most prominent Global 5000 companies. www.ryan.com/asia-pacific.

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MACQUARIE TELECOM Group (ASX: MAQ), has welcomed the publication of the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill, introduced to Parliament on December 10  by Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton.

The Critical Infrastructure Bill will recognise telecommunications and data centres as critical national infrastructure for the first time.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and sudden lockdowns have highlighted the economy’s dependence on telecommunications and data services, and Australians’ expectation that these services will be accessible even in the worst of circumstances," Macquarie Telecom Group CEO, avid Tudehope said.

"But the lockdowns also highlighted that these industries were not actually officially recognised as being essential or critical to the functioning of society," he said.

“This new legislation will rectify this as it recognises the infrastructure that enables our digital economy to function as critical infrastructure that needs to be secured from all hazards just as our water, energy and other vital national assets are.”

Mr Tudehope said Macquarie Telecom believed the legislation would help ensure the resilience and security of Australia’s digital and physical infrastructure in the face of growing risks. The company believed this was a shared responsibility, with government "providing the leadership and intel needed to guide critical infrastructure owners and operators".

“As a provider of cloud, data centre and telecommunications services to governments and businesses, we understand the risks to data security and networks,” Mr Tudehope said.

“These risks are significant and underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach to national security. Securing government and critical business data involves more than just protecting the physical infrastructure from unauthorised access.  It requires stringent compliance with internationally recognised standards and the application of best-in-class technology and operational frameworks.”

He said while welcoming the new framework, Macquarie believed that the new security expectations in relation to critical business data should apply more generally across all critical infrastructure sectors. 

“A critical infrastructure operator’s data should be treated as a critical asset regardless of whether it is kept inhouse, hosted by a third-party cloud or data centre, or located offshore. It should be subject to the same security expectations and standards regardless of who is storing it or where it is located," Mr Tudehope said.

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