The Australian share market finished lower in September, ending an impressive 11-month run of gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 losing 1.9% for the month. The Energy sector benefitted from rising coal and oil prices, with the sector up 16.7% for the month. The Utilities sector also finished higher with a 2.5% gain. Materials (-9.3%), Health Care (-4.9%) and Information Technology (-3.9%) were the biggest drags on the Index. For the quarter the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.7%, with Energy the standout sector (+9.2%), whilst falling iron prices weighed on Materials (-9.9%).

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The ACCC’s Scamwatch had reported that over $104 million had been lost in 2020 to people falling victim to scams.

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Employers get ready, from 1 November, there’ll soon be an extra step involved when it comes to hiring new employees.

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One of the risks retirees can face is the potential to run out of retirement savings by living longer than expected—commonly referred to as longevity risk.

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The Australian share market continued its advance for the year following a strong reporting season, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 2.5% for the month; year to date the index is up an impressive 17%. Information Technology contributed strongly with a 17% gain for the month, with Consumer Staples (+6.9%) and Health Care (+6.8%) also leading the index higher. Materials and Energy were the only detractors for the month with the sectors retracing 7.3% and 3.9% respectively; continued weakness in iron ore prices and a softer month for oil contributed to the losses.

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Amounts received by businesses from various state or territory governments as COVID-19 support payments may or may not have to be included in their tax returns as assessable income.

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Many individuals completing their 2020-21 tax return this tax time will have received some form of government support payments as a result of the economic fall-out from COVID-19, including the JobKeeper, JobSeeker, the COVID-19 disaster payment, or the pandemic leave disaster payment.

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2021 marks the beginning of annual APRA performance tests on MySuper products. The requirement was introduced a part of the government’s Your Future, Your Super reforms and is aimed at holding funds to account for underperformance and enhancing industry transparency

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Unlike the first wave of COVID-19 where the Federal government provided most of the financial help for businesses, with the new Delta variant and its associated lockdowns, the bulk of business support is now being provided through individual States.

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