Work Safety Issues
There is a series of major developments occurring in the realm of work safety.
National Harmonization
See here for a summary and understanding of the proposed harmonized laws.
See here for ICA's submission to the draft National OHS laws.
Good/Bad Contracts
We're monitoring contracts in general and promoting good contracts in particular. For example:
One of the worst contracts we've seen
But a positive development from government
Ken Phillips comments
And some interesting discussions
Sham Contract Issues
ICA supports the prevention of sham contracts. We monitor what's happening with them:
Successful FWO prosecution (Dec 2009)
Info from Fair Work Ombudsman (July 2009)
First sham contract prosecution: ICA summary
Business Spectator article
Read the debate
Interesting Economic 'Think' Articles
GFC prompts rethink on economics
Can economists be trusted?
Government debt a giant ponzi scheme?
Predicting the next 100 years.
Origins of the US$
Goldman Sachs grand financial conspiracy theory
What's Happening with Super?
ICA is monitoring super developments, particularly as they affect SMSFs.
Easier Super Admin
Peter Strong submission
Govt super clearing house (through Medicare)
Is Super Safe?
Business Spectator explains attacks on SMSFs
Big super in trouble (USA) Mark I
Big super in trouble (USA) Mark II
USA super funds corruption
Australian Super Review
Profile of Australian super funds
Government review: overview
Government review: 24-page report
History Repeats
Here's an interesting quotation from the history books! Images of the USA today?
'The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be filled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome be bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance'
Cicero---55 BC
ICA Small Business Videos
During 2009, ICA made a series of videos on small business issues. The collection appears below.
Introduction
7m 45s
Click here for video
'Business in Crisis'
5m 24s
Click here for video
Managing relationships when you are in business for yourself
6m 00s
Click here for video
The early years
4m 54s
Click here for video
Basic Business Errors
10m 01s
Click here for video
Managing Debt
7m 04s
Click here for video
Rocket Science
3m 04s
Click here for video
Surviving the Hard Times
5m 17s
Click here for video
Research and Marketing
5m 35s
Click here for video
Crash Without Cash
8m 54s
Click here for video
Building Relationships
ICA Summit 2009
At our very successful Summit on 12 November, we brought together a unique group of presenters from small and big business, government, academia and the research arena. Conference Presentations are here.
... Unquote
Illegal workers/Phoenix companies
Two ICA members' tell their stories
ATO information on reporting suspect activity.
The Pessimists' Economic Views
We've brought together some pessimistic views about economics and likely economic trends in 2010:
Ken Phillips's summary
The Atlantic
Pivot Capital
New York Times
Business Spectator
Wall Street Journal
Investors Insight
Reuters
The Telegraph
New York TImes




























News Items

Urgent input for Self Managed Super Fund managers [9 February 2010]
The federal government's "Cooper Review" into superannuation is now looking at self managed super funds. Have no doubt, there are powerfully connected political and financial lobbyists who want to make life difficult for SMSF people. They want to get their hands on the $372 billion controlled by people like us who run our own SMSFs.

Do something for yourself. Put in a submission to the review. It must be in by 19 February. Go here for information and help.

ATO targeting SMSF compliance [9 February 2010]
If you are among the 770,000 people who run their own super funds, and have failed to lodge returns, watch out! The ATO is coming to get you! Better get your lodgements done. ATO information is available here.


High Court restores justice [5 February 2010]
ICA has long been campaigning for good work safety laws and we've criticised the NSW OHS. On Wednesday (3 February) the High Court released its judgment in the Kirk case, effectively striking down the NSW OHS laws as they have been applied. This is a huge development. See Ken Phillips's Business Spectator article here. Members' comments are here.

Thinking banks [5 February 2010]
We don't really understand the bank problem in Australia because our system has been sound. Michael James is a UK-based ICA member and offers his thoughts on problems facing bank regulation internationally. It's a good think article!


Really good summary of the GFC [5 February 2010]
If you've got 8 minutes to spare, this video clip from the USA Daily Show gives one of the best explanations of the GFC we've seen. It's by Elizabeth Warren, Professor of Harvard Law School and Chair of the Congressional 'Toxic Asset Relief Panel'.

Motivation at work [3 February 2010]
Today we are pleased to launch a new discussion from the 'typing finger' of Dick Davies. Dick's written for us before. He's a highly experienced senior manager who's at the stage where he's reflecting deeply on management practices in organizations. He says, for example, that "...the human fabric of the workplace precedes in importance that of technology!" Read Dick's thoughts on independence and motivation here.

Economic Rap Dance [29 January 2010]
We couldn't resist this. If you're into economic concepts, this rap dance head-to-head between Hayek and Keynes explains it all! Click here for the video.



Trimming back banks [28 January 2010]
You may have noticed that President Obama has announced a trimming back of bank powers in the US. His moves seem to follow some of the recommendations of the article from The Atlantic. Business Spectator has some good analyses by Karen Maley and Robert Gottliebsen.

Fight the cons using sham contracts [21 January 2010]
Late in 2009 we reported on 'one of the worst contracts we've seen'. This involved a large company with many independent contractors. We are doing some follow up.

More recently, we were able to offer a small touch of advice where we feel we've made a difference. We received an email from a woman subjected to what sounded like a sham contract and where payments owed to her were being denied. We referred her directly to the complaints section of the Fair Work Ombudsman confirming what she thought should be her course of action. Her short story is here.

There are always con artists hanging around in society ready to rip off the vulnerable. At least in the sham contract area we now have an effective institution to chase up complaints. People should use this. Here's the link.

Banking collapse [21 January 2010]
The US inquiry into the causes if the GFC started last week (13 January). Goldman Sachs has already admitted to 'improper behaviour' by betting against mortgage securities it was promoting.

It's an interesting development in the context of the Index of Small Business Optimism produced by the USA National Federation of Small Business. They report a stalling in optimism even with a better economic outlook.

Major Tax Turnoff: Urgent notice [December 2009]
It seems that few people are aware that the ATO is planning a major computer systems upgrade in January 2010 which will affect the processing of all income tax returns. ATO computers will be 'switched off' for 6 days at the height of the one-month change over, which runs from 8 January to 8 February 2010. The outcome will be a better system and service, but taxpayers need to be aware in case they are affected. Click here for ICA information on dates and what we suspect you need to do. Click here for the ATO's own announcement.

New tax forms [4 January 2010]
We have previously advised that the tax office will undertake a major computer shut down and upgrade during January. This will affect the processing of all personal tax returns. One consequence of the upgrade will be new-look forms issued to taxpayers from February.

Have a look at two of these forms:
Taxpayer Statement of Account
Notice of Assessment

They seem to be clearer than the old ones. An ATO explanation of the new forms is here.

Government gets it wrong on small business tax review [21 December 2009]
It's hard to believe that the Rudd Government would open up a deliberate attack against small business. Yet this is what the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, has done in launching the Board of Taxation's report into the Personal Services Income tax rules. The report is a throwback to the bad days of the 1990s when the taxation system was used to serve the industrial relations agendas of labour and the unions.

Instead of recommending how to improve the current small business tax laws, the report calls for their total rewrite. This will undo the progress made over the last decade and create large-scale tax confusion for self-employed people.

ICA's preliminary analysis is here. The recommendations raise enormously complex and strange ideas about business. For the Report itself, click here. For Senator Sherry's '1990s throwback' press release, click here. For Ken Phillips' Business Spectator article on the matter, click here.

Mixed signals from small business [Update: 9 December 2009]
In Business Spectator, Ken Phillips has reported on small business stories "from the ground" about whether the business environment is good or bad. On Monday, he said that the signals are mixed. Read his article here. Today, he looks at indications from subbies in the construction sector. You can read that article here. On the same theme, The Age ran a speculative analysis. We're interested in your small business stories. Let us know and we'll see how accurate a picture we can obtain. (Indeed, we've already received one comment from a long-standing ICA member. Click here.)



Join Now!
Click here to become a member of Independent Contractors of Australia. Membership is open to all independent contractors. Two forms of membership are available to individual contractors: affiliate contractor or full contractor membership. Membership fees are $55 for one year (or $110 for three years) for affiliate members and $110 for one year (or $220 for three years) for full contractor members. Further information about the categories of membership and their benefits is available at the link above.