From long-standing businesses that have stood the test of time to start-up success stories, the ACT has a vibrant business community headed by talented business people.
Take a look back at the local leaders who showed Canberra meant business in 2024.
16. Are EV batteries the next cladding issue?
by Dione David
Allinsure’s Lara Morgan says there are ways to help minimise exposure to the risks of EV battery fires. Photo: Daniella Jukic.
With the surge in EV sales, allinsure’s Lara Morgan says owners’ corporations and commercial property owners should be aware of the consequences of lithium-ion battery fires.
She expects this will be the next focus for insurers in the near future.
15. Looking to hire innate problem solvers?
by Dione David
The Aspen Medical team trains Australian soldiers in battle casualty first aid in the Middle East in 2013. Photo: Aspen Medical.
With insolvency on the rise and soaring running costs, business owners need driven, results-oriented staff members in their corner now more than ever – and Nicole Longley AM has an idea where they might be found.
According to the general manager of service delivery at Aspen Medical, businesses in a variety of industries should be looking at veterans as an under-tapped pool of talent that’s adept at solving problems.
As we approach the most popular time of year for job changes and a surge of talent enters the market, Ms Longley, an Australian Defence Force (ADF) veteran, says the cohort has the very traits employers need to navigate challenging environments.
14. Questacon, Dinosaur Museum and Jamala Wildlife Lodge among winners at Canberra Region Tourism Awards
by Oliver Jacques
Questacon has once again taken out a top prize at the Canberra Region Tourism Awards. Photo: Questacon.
What do Questacon, National Zoo & Aquarium Canberra, National Dinosaur Museum, Midnight Hotel, National Museum of Australia and The Canberra Festival of Speed have in common? They’ve all taken out awards at this year’s Canberra Region Tourism Awards.
Held at Pialligo Estate, the awards showcased the achievements of businesses and individuals who have made significant contributions to the region’s tourism sector.
The National Zoo & Aquarium was highly commended in the Major Tourist Attractions category, while its Jamala Wildlife Lodge, which allows visitors to spend the night with the animals, won the Unique Accommodation award.
13. We’re not pollen your leg – after just 18 months, HiveIQ is the ACT exporter of the year 2024
by Oliver Jacques
HiveIQ makes polystyrene (EPS) beehives that last five times longer than traditional wooden hives. Photo: Facebook.
A Canberra beekeeping business that has only been selling its product overseas for 18 months has been named ACT Exporter of the Year 2024 at the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards.
“We had only entered in the emerging exporters category because we are such a young company … I was absolutely shocked when we took out the main award,” HiveIQ general manager Zavier Croker said.
The Mitchell-based company manufactures and exports beehives using advanced materials, sensors and software to ensure thriving bee colonies year-round.
12. Revolutionising recruitment: the rise of a disruptive agency changing the hiring game
by Dione David
Guy Earnshaw has never struggled to find really awesome people – and his new recruitment firm is tapping into that uncanny ability. Photo: Jack Mohr.
As COVID triggered a spike in Australians changing jobs, and lockdowns exacerbated skills shortages, the recruitment industry came under immense pressure.
But while many scrambled to recruit talent in response to the “Great Resignation” as it became known, Guy Earnshaw – a four-time AFR Top 100 lister – was not fazed.
“We’ve never had problems finding quality people. We’ve been very fortunate in that we have those people knocking on our door,” the Really Awesome People CEO says.
11. Translating the universe with Canberra’s world-leading tech
by Morgan Kenyon
Rachel Gately and Tim McLaren of Trellis Data proudly accepted first place at Canberra’s 2024 iAwards for the company’s Universal Translator submission. Photo: Trellis Data.
Canberra is living up to its reputation as a hotbed of tech activity, thanks to world-leading developments like Trellis Data’s Universal Translator.
10. What gives this Canberra success story an edge in the cyber security and technology game?
by Dione David
Bluerydge CEO Jim Boekel presents at a Canberra Cyber Hub event. Photo: Bluerydge.
In 2019, before high-profile cyber crimes such as the Optus and Medibank breaches were regularly making headlines, a group of three experienced Canberra cyber security and technology professionals broke out on their own to operate a new Australian firm.
Jim Boekel, Adam Haskard and Thomas Kazan were on their own when they first formed Bluerydge, but as events in the ensuing years brought to light the nation’s cyber vulnerabilities, a great need for expert solutions grew. The firm, while still headquartered in Canberra, now has operations in all east coast capital cities and a staff of 45 (and counting).
9. Graduate program paves the way for the construction industry leaders of tomorrow
by Dione David
Geocon senior development manager Jack Ison started as a cadet. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
Cadet turned development manager leader Jack Ison explains why broad exposure is one of the reasons Geocon’s grads are climbing the ladder of success in the construction industry.
8. Their HQ is in Canberra, but the entire globe is watching these innovators change the world
by Dione David
“Serial entrepreneur” Marcus Dawe joined forces with corporate social responsibility PhD Sophia Hamblin Wang and a handful of fellow innovators to co-founders MCi Carbon. Photo: MCi Carbon.
Planet Earth could be on the cusp of a world-changing technology that could lock away 10 per cent of its carbon emissions into saleable materials, and it all began in a modest co-working space near ANU.
Canberra-based scale-up MCi Carbon, based at the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN), has received millions in funding to catapult its carbon capture innovation out of the lab and into a pilot plant in Newcastle.
The climate change remediation solution, which is based on transforming carbon dioxide from a waste product into valuable construction materials, was founded in 2013 by prominent Canberra entrepreneur Marcus Dawe, his half-sister Sophia Hamblin Wang and a handful of fellow innovators.
7. Epic IT migration for local not-for-profit goes off without a glitch
by Dione David
OPC staff met multiple times a week with Vinnies staff and volunteers in the months leading up to an epic IT migration. Photo: Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn.
Success presents in many different ways, but in the world of IT migrations to the end user, success looks like nothing and sounds like silence.
When staff and volunteers from Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn went to work across more than 40 sites and one head office one Monday this year, this was the outcome OPC staff waited for with bated breath.
They had spent Friday evening, one long Saturday and one long Sunday implementing a plan many months in the making to emancipate Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn’s entire suite of IT from the greater Vinnies NSW system.
6. World-first Canberra business Boombox Industries snares export gong after US sales
by Oliver Jacques
Dan Rawson was told nobody would want his product at a wedding but proved the doubters wrong. Photo: Facebook.
When longtime Canberra DJ Dan Rawson created his boombox – an all-in-one DJ entertainment unit – he was told there was one type of event in which it would never be used.
“People said ‘it’s a cool idea Dan, but you won’t see people use them at weddings’. That just motivated me to make a white one. It soon became our most popular boombox,” he said.
The 36-year-old marketing and events specialist grew up in Chisholm and has been pushing boundaries all his life. Last year, he starting selling his world-first product in the United States. This week, his company snared a major exporting award.
5. The app your electricity providers hate
by Dione David
“Your Energy mate” is the catchphrase for Huglo, a company with an app that will continue to look after clients’ interests long after they’ve installed energy infrastructure. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
An unbiased and locally created electricity plan comparison app could divert hundreds of dollars a year from your electricity provider back into your pocket.
Canberra-based one-stop energy shop Huglo Solar has rounded off its service offering of solar, battery, EV charger and hot water heat pump installations with a free app that helps clients get the best value electricity plan on an ongoing basis.
Users can either fill in a brief form or upload a recent electricity bill, leaving it to the technology to auto parse the data.
4. See you on the flipside: Canberra’s biggest skateboard store looking for new owners
by James Coleman
David and Irene Donoghoe founded Trilogy Skateboards in Queanbeyan in 2006. Photo: Trilogy Skateboards, Facebook.
They’ve been personalities of the Canberra region for the past 17 years, but the owners of Trilogy Skateboards have decided now is the time to roll on to other things.
David and Irene Donoghoe are looking for “someone to take over … Canberra’s longest-running skateboard store” on Lonsdale Street, Braddon.
“Being a part of the skate community has defined our lives,” the couple posted to social media last week.
3. For 88,000 Canberra premises, this NBN alternative can deliver faster, better, cheaper internet
by Dione David
G.fast is a speedy, cheap NBN alternative available to tens of thousands of Canberra premises right now. Photo: Infinite Networks.
Occupants of around 88,000 premises in about 70 Canberra suburbs can access a fast, cheap alternative to the National Broadband Network (NBN), although many of them don’t know it.
G.fast is a technology that boosts internet over existing phone lines to fibre-like speeds without the need for new infrastructure.
The technology delivers up to 1000/100 Mbps, significantly faster than the NBN’s top fibre-to-the-node speed of 100/40 Mbps, according to Infinite Networks Managing Director Anthony Bortolotto.
2. Giving while living: The benefits of sharing your wealth with the kids now
by Katrina Condie
RSM Financial Services Australia’s Canberra financial adviser Chris Oates. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
Should you lock your inheritance away in a bank or investment, or give it to the kids now so they can start a business, pay off debt or buy a home? RSM finance expert Chris Oates delves into the issue often faced by wealthy parents and grandparents.
1. Canberra businesses blindsided as ACT payroll tax surcharge arrives early
by Dione David
Whizdom CEO John McCluskey says sudden changes to the new payroll tax surcharge rollout can have unintended consequences. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
An unexpected change to the rollout of the ACT’s new payroll tax surcharges had far-reaching implications for local businesses and contractors.
Whizdom managing director John McCluskey said payroll tax had until recently been 6.85 per cent applied to all ACT taxable wages above the payroll tax threshold. It was originally earmarked for a 0.25 per cent surcharge applied to businesses with Australia-wide wages above $50 million per annum in the 25/26 financial year and a 0.5 per cent surcharge for businesses with Australia-wide wages above $100 million per annum in the following year.
Instead, those surcharges were brought forward by 12 months with “only a few days’ notice” – a sudden acceleration that required a business with wages of $100 million to cough up an extra $500,000.
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