Media Releases

"Employers will understand the Government’s decision to introduce a Bill into Parliament to extend casual conversion rights to all employees who have worked on a regular basis for 12 months or more, given the Fair Work Commission's recent decision to extend casual conversion rights across the award system," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today.

Ai Group added its voice to a global business initiative to urge reform of the WTO and the rebuilding of trust in globalisation at the Annual meeting of the Global Business Coalition, held in New Delhi this week.

"The Government should listen to the unanimous recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Economics, and the widespread warnings from industry, and rethink its proposed cuts to the Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&DTI)," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said today.

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), which represents construction products and materials manufacturers and suppliers, today congratulated the NSW Government for announcing a major shake-up of compliance responsibilities in the building and construction industry.

"The Federal Government should go easy on the brakes in the coming Federal Budget. It should balance its ambition to return to surplus against the risk of slowing an already softening economy," Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today in releasing the peak industry association's Pre-Budget submission.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) remained in negative territory in January, recording only a marginal easing in the rate of decline in rising 0.5 points to 43.1 (readings below 50 indicate contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease).

The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI®) tumbled by 7.8 points to 44.3 in January, indicating a sharp contraction across the sector. This was the first contraction across the services sector since February 2017, and the lowest result in the Australian PSI® since October 2014 (results below 50 points indicate contraction, with the distance from 50 points indicating the strength of the decrease).

"The Financial Services Royal Commission has shone a welcome light on the financial services sector and its regulators," Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said today.

Ai Group today released a wide-ranging report into Australia's tertiary education system which identifies the formidable challenges that need to be addressed to deliver better outcomes for our community and economy.

The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®) recovered by 2.5 points to 52.5 in January 2019. This indicates that manufacturing conditions turned mildly positive again in January, after a flat result in December 2018 ended 26 months of continuous expansion (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase).