Restaurants, building firm insolvencies remain high
Insolvencies remain trending higher among the food and beverage sector, CreditorWatch says. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP
The level of Australian businesses going under appears to be stabilising, but firms are still becoming insolvent at record-high numbers.
Restaurants and construction firms remain hardest hit in CreditorWatch's monthly Business Risk Index, which found more than 14,000 businesses went bust in the 2024-25 financial year.
But income tax cuts and government cost of living measures have helped the rate of insolvencies plateau, CreditorWatch said.
And with defaulted payments falling 6.5 per cent in June, there is some hope the overall health of businesses is on the up.
"It's a promising signal business cash flow pressures may be easing, but with insolvencies still running 33 per cent above 2024/25 levels, and particularly elevated in hospitality and construction, I'm not getting too excited just yet," CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan said.
"We'll continue to monitor for early signs of sustained recovery, but the next six months will be critical for determining whether insolvency rates begin to fall or remain stubbornly high."
Businesses were struggling to stay afloat in typically stable sectors such as health care and education, showing the breadth of the economic strain, Mr Coghlan said.
Hospitality businesses remain under the pump, with one in 10 closing in the year to June 2025.
While insolvencies have plateaued generally, they remain trending higher among the food and beverage sector.
Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert said it was no longer a case of if a hospitality business would close, but rather which one would shut it doors.
"It's a real threat for many businesses in the hospitality industry, especially those in CBDs with work-from-home now fully enshrined into employment culture, and with tourism remaining at levels not seen since 2016," he told AAP.
"Demand is low while wages, rents, utilities, insurance and other expenses are between 30 and 50 per cent higher than they were before COVID-19."
Mr Lambert said Australia needed to attract more tourists, and needed genuine discussion about the cost pressures on industries such as hospitality.
A quarter of all business that became insolvent in 2024/25 were in the construction sector.
But given the large overall number of construction businesses, less than one per cent of all of them became insolvent.
CreditorWatch labelled a rise in education and healthcare insolvencies "somewhat unusual" given both sectors are largely underpinned by government funding.
Education was hit by immigration and foreign student policies, they found.
The 14,716 business insolvencies recorded in 2024/25 was a massive 33 per cent jump year-on-year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
YouTube to be captured by social media ban
YouTube will be captured by Labor's world-leading social media ban for under 16s, the Albanese government has confirmed. The videostreaming giant was initially set to be exempt, with the Albanese government arguing it could be educational. But the online safety watchdog has since advised YouTube should be included, warning it causes the most harm to kids. 'Our government is making it clear – we stand on the side of families,' Anthony Albanese said in a joint statement with Communications Minister Anika Wells. 'Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it. 'Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs.' Echoing the Prime Minister, Ms Wells said it would give 'kids a reprieve from the persuasive and pervasive pull of social media while giving parents peace of mind'. 'We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are,' she said. 'There is no one perfect solution when it comes to keeping young Australians safer online – but the social media minimum age will make a significantly positive difference to their wellbeing. 'The rules are not a set and forget, they are a set and support.' Last month, the brains tasked with finding a way to enforce the ban said it is possible but that there is no 'silver bullet' and firms would need to use a range of measures. One option, according to the project's chief, is successive validation – a series of tests designed to firm up a user's age. With the advice saying enforcement is possible, Ms Wells noted in the joint statement that there are 'heavy penalties for companies who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services'. Those penalties include a fine of up to $49.5m. 'There's a place for social media, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children,' Ms Wells said. The decision to include YouTube in the ban comes after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant warned kids were using YouTube more than any other social media platform. 'It's almost ubiquitous that kids are on social media,' she said last month, speaking to the ABC. 'By far the most prevalent social media site they're on is YouTube. 'And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent. 'This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.' The decision to include YouTube in the ban comes after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant warned kids were using YouTube more than any other social media platform. 'It's almost ubiquitous that kids are on social media,' she said last month, speaking to the ABC. 'By far the most prevalent social media site they're on is YouTube. 'And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent. 'This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.' The Coalition also called for YouTube's inclusion, with opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh saying it is 'a logical thing to do'. The social media ban is set to come into force in December. While other countries have mulled similar actions, Australia is the first to make the leap, receiving both praise and criticism.
7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
YouTube to be included in government's new under-16s social media legislation
The Albanese Government will include YouTube in its world-first under-16 social media laws that come into effect at the end of the year. Proposed age-restricted social media platforms originally included Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, but not YouTube as the Government believed it had educational benefits. But eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant intervened following a survey of adolescents, finding YouTube can be just as harmful as other sites. Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules will be tabled in Federal Parliament on Wednesday to specify which types of online services will not be captured by the social media legislation, including online gaming, messaging apps, health and education services. The government said these types of online services have been excluded from the new minimum age obligations because they pose less of a risk to under 16s, or are regulated under different laws. From December 10, 2025, all services that meet the definition of 'age-restricted social media platform' in the Act, and are not excluded in the rules, will be subject to the social media minimum age law including fines up to $49.5 million. 'We have parents' backs' The prime minister says his government is making it clear that it stands on the side of families. 'Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it,' Albanese said. 'Social media is doing social harm to our children and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs.' Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government 'is giving kids a reprieve from the persuasive and pervasive pull of social media while giving parents peace of mind'. 'We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are,' Wells said. 'There is no one perfect solution when it comes to keeping young Australians safer online – but the social media minimum age will make a significantly positive difference to their wellbeing. 'The rules are not a set and forget, they are a set and support. 'There are heavy penalties for companies who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services of up to $49.5 million. 'There's a place for social media, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children.' 'Voices against the cod cannot be ignored' The Opposition is now questioning the advice and authority of the eSafety Commissioner. Shadow communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh said 'the remit of the eSafety Commission without adequate safeguards is now in question.' 'Requiring adults to log in to an account to browse the internet is taking the eSafety Commissioner's power to a new level which needs to be scrutinised,' McIntosh said. 'The voices against the code cannot be ignored and whilst the intent is to protect young people from harms it is essential that this is balanced with a person's right to privacy and protection of their personal freedoms.'
9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
YouTube will not be exempt from under-16 social media ban
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here The Google-owned platform lobbied for the government to make it exempt from the ban, claiming it is a "video streaming platform" and not a social media platform. However Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced YouTube will be captured in the landmark legislation alongside other age-restricted platforms Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and X. The Google-owned video streaming platform lobbied for the government to make it exempt from the landmark ban. (Getty) Other online services which don't fall under the ban will include online gaming, messaging apps, health and education services. These services are excluded in the ban because the government said they pose fewer harms to children under 16 or are subject to different laws. Social media platforms listed in the legislation will be subject to the ban from December 10 this year. The social media giants face fines of up to $49.5 million if they "fail to take responsible steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services". "Our government is making it clear – we stand on the side of families," Albanese said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the list of platforms captured in the legislation. (Alex Ellinghausen) "Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it. "Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs." Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant recommended to Communications Minister Anika Wells that YouTube be included in the ban after the draft rules were released in June. Wells said there is "no one perfect solution" for ensuring kids are safe online but said today's announcement would make a positive difference. "The rules are not a set and forget, they are a set and support," she said. "There are heavy penalties for companies who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services of up to $49.5 million. "There's a place for social media, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children." The social media giants face fines $49.5 million if they "fail to take responsible steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services". (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett) YouTube has argued it should be exempt from the ban as it would restrict political freedom and prevent people under 16 from contributing to political discourse by posting videos and making comments. It has also argued that by allowing children to log in to the platform, it enables safety guardrails specifically designed for younger people. "The government was firm in its decision that YouTube would be excluded because it is different and because of its value to younger Australians. This intention was repeatedly made clear in its public statements, including to the Australian Parliament," a spokesperson for YouTube told earlier today. "However, signals that the government is contemplating an abrupt policy reversal have prompted us to seek further clarity on this matter. "Our position has always been clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform, not a social media service, that offers benefit and value to younger Australians. "We have written directly to the government, urging them to uphold the integrity of the legislative process and protect the age-appropriate experiences and safeguards we provide for young Australians." CONTACT US
