
Don't do this first thing in the morning
Australians preparing for tax season have been warned to be watchful for early-morning scams designed to catch them off guard.
Taxpayers should expect a deluge of scam activity ahead of June 30, as cunning crooks impersonate the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in emails and texts.
CPA Australia tax lead Jenny Wong warned the public that these communications could often be sent overnight, designed to catch people out before they'd had their morning coffee.
'These 'phishing' scams not only look legitimate, but they're designed to catch you off guard. That's why you'll often see them arrive first thing in the morning because you may be more likely to have a momentary lapse in judgment,' Ms Wong said.
'The scammers know Australians will have tax on their mind and are vulnerable to prompts to act, which is why these messages usually create a sense of urgency or claim of significant refund.
'While they could come at any time, be especially careful opening up and reading messages while you're still waking up in the morning.' Taxpayers have been warned to have their morning coffee before looking at any tax communications. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia
Scam emails impersonating the ATO have titles including 'Urgent new notification in your account inbox', directing unsuspecting people to log into their myGov account through a fake link.
ATO data shows a huge rise in this type of impersonation scam, up by more than 300 per cent in the past year.
The ATO said more scam messages were generally sent during tax time, as scammers tend to know taxpayers expect communications from the tax office.
To avoid falling prey to these scams, people have been warned to look for grammatical errors such as Americanised spellings in communications. Impersonation scam losses have increased massively this year. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NCA NewsWire
Other signs of scams are hyperlinks in unsolicited text messages, anomalies in the sender's email address, and requests for urgent personal or financial information.
The National Anti-Scam Centre reports that Australians have lost $13.7m in impersonation scams since the start of the year compared with $4.6m for the same period last year.

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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
'Partial tick': coalition cautious on PM's summit idea
The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters


The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
The burning question about renewable energy
Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers. It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities. Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage. Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro. By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent. That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply. Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher. Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem. To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future. This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election. So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia? READ MORE: RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes. They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities. There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia. Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers. It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities. Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage. Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro. By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent. That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply. Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher. Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem. To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future. This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election. So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia? READ MORE: RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes. They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities. There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia. Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers. It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities. Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage. Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro. By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent. That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply. Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher. Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem. To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future. This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election. So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia? READ MORE: RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes. They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities. There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia. Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers. It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities. Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage. Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro. By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent. That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply. Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher. Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem. To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future. This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election. So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia? READ MORE: RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes. They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities. There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia.


Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
US retail giant opens new Aussie store
Amazon is expanding its massive footprint in Australia, to business supplies. Amazon Business opened an Australian site on Wednesday morning, the retailer's eleventh country-specific business wholesale store. Questioned about taking on retailers such as Officeworks, Amazon Australia executive Lena Zak told NewsWire: 'We've invested in our selection, we've invested in our delivery processes and customers are getting deliveries as fast as the same day'. 'We are really customer-focused, not competitor-focused … We really believe that now is the time to launch for (business-to-business) customers, who we feel have been under-served by the procurement processes that we have in Australia.' Amazon's current infrastructure, like Sydney's Kemps Creek warehouse, can sustain the new business site and sales, executive Lena Zak tells NewsWire. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Amazon Business offers wholesale rates and 'eligible' businesses can consolidate their purchases and tax invoices in one place. Amazon does not disclose what exactly makes a business eligible other than being 'legitimate'. Amazon Australia's growth marketing boss, Ms Zak, told NewsWire the company's existing courier network could handle the new business customers. The business arm of the retail giant sells millions of items. Beyond pens and desk chairs, there are cleaning supplies, trades equipment, cookery and first aid. 'They're also buying nappies and formula, and toys, and the list goes on,' Ms Zak said of business customers, such as day care centres. 'Without Amazon Business, they may have had to visit multiple stores to get everything they need … with this launch, they can get all of that in one place, delivered fast and free and with exclusive discounts.' Amazon uses a network of 20 different courier companies in Australia. NewsWire / Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia Ten other countries have a dedicated Amazon Business store, namely Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US. Touting independent research from YouGov, Amazon says 78 per cent of small and medium businesses have made cost-cuttings in the past three years, signalling room in the market for Amazon's massive product range and member discounts. The general platform allows small businesses to sell their products; in total, 14,000 Australian businesses sell their wares on Amazon, Ms Zak said. 'So for those sellers on our side, we're now giving them access to a whole new customer base to continue growing their businesses' In the US, the retail giant is trying to make inroads in another lucrative market – groceries. Consumers can pay US$99.99 a year on top of their Prime subscriptions to get groceries delivered. Mexican and British grocery chains have signed similar deals with the retailer. Ms Zak and other spokespeople for Amazon said there were plans for Australian grocery deliveries.