We continue to share our hand selected articles and break them up into categories including ‘Property’, ‘Government Assistance Links’ and ‘Economy’, which includes articles on the Covid-19 data, research and strategies as these directly feed into the analysis of the economy and property markets.
Property
CoreLogic monthly housing market update
It’s been a tumultuous few weeks, we’re starting to see some impact from the virus lockdown on housing market conditions, due to a drop in consumer confidence and weaker economic conditions. The second half of the month did see a weakening in the growth trend and the result for March was the lowest monthly gain since the growth cycle commenced since July last year and likely sets the tone for the coming months…
NSW, Victoria push to replace stamp duty with land tax
NSW and Victoria governments are pushing to abolish stamp duty and replace it with an annual land tax as part of broad fiscal reforms to fund the economic fallout from the COVID-19 economic shutdown. The bipartisan push to get federal-state fiscal relations back on the reform table, comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison has signalled major changes will be needed to ensure job and income growth…
Economy
Why most Covid-19 forecasts were wrong
By Christopher Joye
In March, we concluded that new infection cases would peak in Australia and the US in early-to-mid April, months ahead of what many epidemiologists were claiming. It turned out that Australia peaked on March 29, while the US reached its zenith on April 10. While almost everyone had an opinion on how the pandemic unfolded, it was surprising to us that few – if any – investors had developed formal forecasting capabilities…
Australian government plans to bring in mobile phone app to track people with coronavirus
Australia soon will adopt a sophisticated mobile phone app that tracks coronavirus victims and the people they come in contact with. The federal government wants to introduce the app, now being used in Singapore, within a fortnight and will outline the plan to premiers during the next meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday…
School shutdowns could be reviewed, Premier says
Victoria could soften its hard line stance on school closures if the state’s coronavirus infection rate remains stable, the Premier says. On Sunday the state announced there were no new cases of community transmission. Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday he believed schools would stay closed until the end of term two but “if we were continuing to see very stable numbers … then of course we would always reserve the right to look at those restrictions”…
How to make the most of a crisis
Scott Morrison is signalling that after the immediate coronavirus-induced economic crisis, tough and unpopular reform decisions are inevitable. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the local economy to shrink a huge 6.7% this year, the biggest contraction since the Great Depression in 1931. Australia faces its greatest economic crisis in generations, with coronavirus containment measures poised to lift unemployment towards 10%…
Why random testing is the road back to normal
The media is awash with data about confirmed cases of COVID-19, the number of people who have died from COVID-19-related illnesses, and how many appear to have recovered. What about the data we need to inform decision-making, but which we haven’t got – the known unknowns? There are several categories: people who haven’t had the virus, those who have the virus but are asymptomatic, those who…
New research could be key to an ‘immunity passport’
New rapid research to better identify COVID-19 infected people and groups could open the way for Australia to adopt an “immunity passport” to enable parts of the community to return to normal living earlier. The research is part of a $2 million package of nine projects to better understand how the COVID-19 virus is spreading in homes, in the community and in certain vulnerable groups…
How to navigate working-from-home tax claims
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is trying to make it easier for millions of people like tax executive Mark Molesworth to work from home for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 90 per cent of the nation’s companies are encouraging – or requiring – their employees to work from home, which creates an opportunity to claim a deduction for expenses relating to that work…
Government rules out new taxes on road to recovery
In Scott Morrison’s remarks at Thursday’s coronavirus press conference, Morrison described how the head of Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia governor had told the National Cabinet that current economic policy settings would not generate the growth necessary to haul the economy out of the pit. The two highlighted “the need to ensure that on the other side of the virus, any sense of ‘business as usual’ when it comes to the policy frameworks we had prior to the election will need to be reconsidered”…
Did summer help stem the spread of COVID-19 in Australia?
Australia has evaded the catastrophic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the jury is still out on how much is due to its aggressive policy stance and how much to the seasonal advantage of the virus arriving in summer. Respiratory viruses prefer winter and maps clearly show the pandemic has been far more severe in the northern hemisphere’s winter than the southern summer…
Government links for landlords & tenants
Relief for commercial tenants – mandatory code of conduct
The Government has announced a range of measures to help renters. This includes a temporary hold on evictions and a mandatory code of conduct for commercial tenancies to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by Coronavirus…
Legislation & directives for landlords & tenants
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
Government assistance links
JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment
Financial help if you’re between 22 and Age Pension age and looking for work. It’s also for when you’re sick or injured and can’t do your usual work or study for a short time.
You may get a payment in any of the following circumstances. These include if you’re: not able to work or don’t have work, in isolation or hospitalised or caring for children…
JobKeeper Payment
The Government has announced a $130 billion JobKeeper payment to help keep more Australians in jobs and support businesses affected by the significant economic impact caused by the Coronavirus. Around 6 million workers will receive a fortnightly payment of $1,500 (before tax) through their employer. The payment ensures eligible employers remain connected to their workforce and will help businesses restart quickly when the crisis is over…
Working from home during COVID-19 tax shortcut
As the COVID-19 situation develops, we understand you may now be working from home and may incur expenses you can claim at tax time. We will accept a temporary simplified method of calculating additional running expenses from 1 March 2020 until at least 30 June 2020 (this may be extended). You can claim a deduction of 80 cents for each hour you work from home due to COVID-19, provided you meet these conditions…
