Turn your bright idea into a thriving startup in just four sessions
Innovate Moreton Bay Founders Month is a series of four interactive workshops designed for founders and startup enthusiasts seeking to turn their bright ideas into reality.
Join our hands-on Innovate Moreton Bay Founders Month program to take your seedling startup idea and systematically transform it into a viable business opportunity. Over four interactive workshops, learn practical frameworks like lean canvas and value proposition canvas to evaluate, prototype, and pitch your innovative concept. Gain insights from startup experts to build your minimum viable product, learn how to attract customers and investors, and assemble a dream team.
Delivered by the team at Innovation Architects, your facilitators bring a wealth of experience across startups, corporate innovation, accelerator programs, venture capital and government. The workshop series will provide participants with valuable insights and practical tools, and most importantly in a hands-on manner.
You’ll walk away with a clear roadmap to launch your startup, whether you’re a beginner with an inspired concept or an experienced founder seeking to enhance and evaluate an early-stage idea. Our goal is to provide you with the feedback and direction needed to carry your passion from conception to reality.
We highly encourage participants to join all four sessions. However, sessions can also be joined independently.
We’re changing the way we charge trade waste permit fees
Waste from businesses (known as trade waste) contains oils, greases and chemicals that can be harmful to our sewer network.
Trade waste requires a higher level of treatment to ensure the sewer network remains free from blockages and overflows. Effective treatment of trade waste helps keep our communities and environment healthy.
It’s a big, costly job to remove trade waste contaminants from our network. But it’s important.
Currently, the existing trade waste permit pricing structure is a one size fits all approach. It does not consider the business type or the impact of the waste on the sewer.
That’s why, from July 2023, we’re introducing a new tiered pricing structure for our trade waste customers that is more closely aligned with the impact their trade waste has on the sewerage system and the cost of treating it.
It’s a significant change for our customers, so we’re taking time to talk with businesses and business representatives about the best way to introduce this new pricing.
What’s the change?
Unitywater is moving to tier-based pricing for trade waste permits. In July 2023, it will replace the single, flat-rate Category 1 annual fee of $350 that is currently charged to businesses for this 2022-23 financial year.
Under this new pricing structure, businesses will fit into a treatment tier – ranging from Very Low to Very High for food and beverage related businesses, and Very Low to High for non-food related businesses.
What this means is the higher the impact of your trade waste, the more it costs to treat, and the higher your treatment tier. The treatment tier is assigned to your business based on your business type, waste generated, and the likely impact on the sewer network and environment.
We’ll let you know your business’s tier and pricing details in February 2023, as we’ve not assigned treatment tiers yet, or finalised the prices. In the meantime, we’re letting you know about this change so you can know what’s coming and understand why it’s so important.
This new pricing structure only applies to Category 1 Trade Waste Permits and does not apply to the following business:
Businesses that are not required to have a Trade Waste Permit because they produce domestic-type waste that is similar in strength and volume to household waste – such as offices, home-based businesses and non-food retailers.
Large industrial or manufacturing businesses that have a dedicated trade waste meter installed to measure the volume of their waste, and currently pay Category 2 trade waste strength and volume charges, which already reflect the real impact and cost of treating their waste.
Why is it so important?
Since Unitywater was established in 2010, we’ve safely managed trade waste in our sewerage network in line with national guidelines and legislation to reduce environmental impacts and ensure the health and safety of our customers and the community.
To date, we’ve charged businesses that require a trade waste permit a single, flat-rate annual Category 1 fee of $350 (2022-23 financial year), regardless of the type or volume of their trade waste – whether it be a small coffee shop or a large 24/7 fast food restaurant, a large car wash or a small laundromat.
The existing trade waste permit pricing structure is a one size fits all approach. Currently, the cost of treating trade waste does not consider the business type or the impact of the waste, and is covered by all our customers, including residential customers. This one-size-fits-all approach does not reflect the diverse range of businesses in our region and the different levels of impact their waste has on our sewerage network.
A low flat-rate permit fee does not adequately cover the cost of trade waste treatment processes that are required to keep our sewerage system operating efficiently. Currently this shortfall is funded by revenue from our other customers, including our residential water and sewerage bill payers.
By shifting the real costs of trade waste treatment to the business customers who are generating the waste, we have have a fairer, more equitable pricing structure.
This also mean that as our region grows and more businesses are connected to the sewer, we will have a robust and viable pricing system that allows us to cover the real costs of treatment, so we can continue to provide reliable sewerage services that are safe and sustainable for our fast-growing region, now and into the future.
We know this is a big change for many customers, but it is critical to safeguard our community and ensure our region is clean, safe, and ready for business.
What happens next and when will you get more info?
We know that businesses are under pressure constantly and there is never a good time for a pricing change. That’s why we’re committed to doing what we can to minimise the changes for businesses.
We’ve engaged customers, business and industry representatives, and other stakeholders to understand the best way to transition to the new pricing structures.
Some of things we have explored as part of our engagement includes:
Testing the logic of the treatment tier approach to ensure it seems fair and reasonable
Taking time understanding some of the challenges businesses are facing
Exploring the best way to transition to change
Getting feedback on the language used in the assessment criteria and the calculator
Early next year, we’ll send you information about your business’s specific treatment tier, new pricing details and how this will be phased once this consultation process is complete.
The University of the Sunshine Coast welcomes you to the School of Business and Creative Industries’ Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Program. The School of Business and Creative Industries (SBCI) prides itself on building, maintaining, and enhancing relationships with local, regional, and national businesses and organisations. Our WIL Program is a newly formed hub of learning specifically focussed on equipping our students with the skills and dispositions that will allow them to thrive in the 21st century workplace. Our students study many disciplines from within our Business Degrees and our Creative Industries, including Design and Communications.
Our staff combine serious scholarship with deep professional expertise, a necessary combination that provides an enriched learning experience for our students. Our WIL Program aims to link students, particularly those in their final year of their degrees, to workplace opportunities for mentorship and work experience across dozens of fields.
Our WIL Program incorporates four undergraduate courses for final year students.
For more information for both students and businesses, organisations and community groups, please read the full article on usc.edu.au.
Around the world, new business precincts and innovation zones are changing the way enterprises and residents connect with location and opportunity.
From China’s Greater Bay Area to Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District, dedicated greenfield sites – where urban planners can work on masterplans unfettered by legacy concerns – offer fresh solutions to old infrastructure problems.
But a lot of factors need to come together before these zones can walk on their own.
Getting it right involves a fine balance of effective policy, far-sighted planning and strong market backing. This all needs to be in place before lifestyle and culture form the bond that holds everything together.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery believes his region – once little more than a drive-through zone from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast – has all the elements to make it a powerhouse of Australian innovation.
“It’s the Goldilocks effect – our region is ‘just right’: not too big that you don’t know your neighbour, or are dominated by skyscrapers, and not too small that you don’t have access to world-class services and talent,” says Flannery.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery. Moreton Bay
“From hinterland to beaches and everything in between, what we offer is not only an attractive business proposition, but lifestyle as well,” Flannery says.
“People might move for business, but they stay for the region’s quality of life.”
Nation’s future engine room
In terms of business and growth, the region already has a head start. With around 29,115 businesses and more than 228,000 employed residents across the region, it is now firmly established as South-East Queensland’s engine room.
Advanced manufacturing in Moreton Bay now employs more than 10,000 people and generates around $1.1 billion in exports supported by purpose-built industrial precincts such as Brendale, Narangba and Burpengary that ensure lower operational costs.
Moreton Bay’s $1 billion food and agribusiness industry thrives with more than 300 days of sunshine each year boosting crop production.
Fundamental to any masterplan is access to global as well as local markets, and Moreton Bay’s established transport infrastructure ensures easy distribution and access to markets.
This last factor, says Flannery, has been critical in Moreton Bay’s growth story.
“Our region is located in close proximity to both the Brisbane Airport (Australia’s third-busiest) and the Port of Brisbane, within a 30-minute drive, along with key road and rail connectivity,” Flannery says.
“In fact, many of our industrial estates are closer to Brisbane Airport than Brisbane’s own industrial estates. With the potential of an alternative Bruce Highway in the pipeline, our ability to move goods and services, either interstate or internationally, is only going to strengthen our offering.”
Future projects aimed at transforming the region include University of the Sunshine Coast Moreton Bay Campus – a stage two campus development with three new buildings to cater for 10,000 students, and the Caboolture West development that will feature a town centre, three high schools, nine primary schools, a TAFE facility and a private hospital.
Add to this the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme, ensuring critical water supplies into the region, a new marina at North Harbour and the South-East Queensland Northern Freight Terminal for transport and distribution infrastructure and some 200,000 new residents over the next 20 years and the Moreton Bay region is primed to be one of the most dynamic growth stories on the eastern seaboard.
Its most ambitious development, however, is The Mill at Moreton Bay: positioned on a 460-hectare greenfield site, it The Mill at Moreton Bay is a priority development area delivering sustainable, mixed-use developable land.
With investment opportunities that span health, education, tourism, entertainment and sport, as well as high-tech advanced manufacturing, education and smart city infrastructure, The Mill at Moreton Bay is projected to boost the regional economy by $813 million annually and generate 8600 jobs.
“The Mill at Moreton Bay is set to become an innovation hub twice the size of Brisbane’s CBD,” says Flannery. “It is already home to a new university campus with 3,300 students which will ultimately cater for 10,000 plus students and offers the region’s industry a pipeline of talent into the future at a time when worker shortages are being faced all around Australia.”
Innovators make the move
Elexon Electronics is a Brendale-based team of innovators involved in the design, development and manufacture of high-tech, bespoke electronics for clients across Australia and around the world.
Based for more than 20 years in Brendale and with a team of more than 80 staff and five divisions operating under one parent company, Elexon is typical of the knowledge-based industries making the move to Moreton Bay.
The company says that Moreton Bay’s skilled workforce, and its ability to attract the world’s finest talents through enviable lifestyle assets, has been instrumental to Elexon’s international success.
Elexon Electronics managing director Pieter Kuiper. Elexon Electronics
“Queensland is becoming an important technology hub with many electronics companies says Elexon Electronics managing director Pieter Kuiper.
“Being in Moreton Bay is a huge benefit because we’re close to Queensland’s newest university campus and the developing technology hub, where we have access to students, start-ups and other innovative technology companies. It’s also a great place to live.”
For those planning to come to Moreton Bay, Flannery says there’s a lot of help on offer.
“More opportunities are emerging for businesses across Moreton Bay and council’s dedicated Investment Attraction Team are available to help investors every step of the way,” he says.
There’s more to Moreton Bay for businesses to grow, including dedicated business precincts, more access to skilled workers, more savings than other locations and a more liveable location with more affordable housing and an idyllic South-East Queensland lifestyle.
Contact Moreton Bay Council’s Investment Attraction Team today. invest@moretonbay.qld.gov.au 1800 314 730 or visit www.investmoretonbay.com.au
10 August 2022
Source: Professor Karen Becker, Head of Campus UniSC Moreton Bay
“We are bringing the MBA (and shorter programs contained within it) to the Moreton Bay campus. I think that an MBA offering in our region will give up and coming leaders a chance to build skills and insights for successful businesses, and those already in leadership roles with the opportunity to cement and grow their knowledge. They can start by completing a Graduate Certificate (only 4 courses) and if they have had relevant work experience, don’t require an undergraduate qualification to enrol. We will be running evening classes to enable those in fulltime work to participate.”
In this one-hour online webinar Thursday 18th August 6-7pm via Zoom, we will open with Paul Martins, Chief Economic Development Officer, Moreton Bay Regional Council discussing the future of Moreton Bay and the importance of strong leadership in shaping its growth.
Participants will also:
Gain an overview of our MBA program
Hear about the courses covered, how they are delivered, and pathway options
Hear from a current student about their experience studying UniSC’s MBA
Find out how to apply, recognition for prior learning or work experience, and how to reach out for more information
Have the opportunity to ask questions from program staff.
More information and registrations (which are essential) can be gained via this link . If there are questions about the program, or if you can’t make the event, feel free to reach out to the program coordinator directly.
Senator David Pocock calls for change as more small business owners find they don’t have proper home insurance
25 Jul 2022
Source: ABC News
Featured Image: Senator David Pocock
ACT independent senator David Pocock has taken up the cause of small and micro business owners who have found their pursuits can void their home and contents insurance.
Senator David Pocock wants change so Australians don’t find their small business or side hustle voids their home insurance
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says he’ll talk to regulators and the Insurance Council of Australia, to see if a “pragmatic workaround” can be found
A Canberra filmmaker had his home insurance policy cancelled because he was operating his small business from his residence
Senator Pocock said the emerging issue had the potential to impact thousands of small and micro businesses across the country, and he wanted to help find a solution.
“Ninety-seven per cent of Australian businesses are small businesses, so this is affecting a huge number of people, it’s something that we really need to look at,” he said.
“It makes no sense to me that even if you do have home and contents and small business insurance, that you’re not covered because of this.”
Insurance is regulated federally, and Senator Pocock is calling on the Albanese government to address the issue as a matter of urgency.
He said he had already scheduled meetings with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman and was writing to Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, the Insurance Ombudsman, and the Insurance Council of Australia.
“Insurance is so crucial, you don’t need it until you need it. We really have to be looking at what are the solutions here,” he said.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has responded, saying he wants to talk to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Insurance Council of Australia “to see if we can get a very pragmatic workaround on this.”
“I think what’s been extraordinary, is that over the last two-and-a-half years we’ve had – at some points in time – the majority of Australians working from home who could,” he said.
“I’d hate people who, through no misleading behaviour of their own, found themselves uninsured when they’ve done everything in good faith.”
The Queensland Government has outlined its commitment to ensure Queenslanders have the skills they need and to support small businesses to thrive in the 2022-23 State Budget.
$1.2 billion will be invested in skills to support the delivery of high quality training and to create exciting career pathways for Queenslanders.
While an investment of over $39 million will supercharge the small business sector through: • relief for small-and-medium-sized businesses through payroll tax cuts • permanent ongoing funding for a range of small business grants • ongoing funding for the Mentoring for Growth program • roll out of the $6.75 million Small Business Wellness and Support package to help those businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and the recent floods.
Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce’s next quarterly breakfast meeting will be a chance for people to learn more about The Mill at Moreton Bay and Council’s vision for the region to become a city.
The event will be held at USC Moreton Bay on July 5 from 7-8.30am.
The CEO of Council-owned Millovate, which is planning, delivering and activating The Mill at Moreton Bay, Stuart Pickering will present the project’s benefits, opportunities and masterplan update, and explain its significant contribution to the region’s economic transformation as a region-building project.
The staged master planned development is being delivered as a sustainable, bustling business, industry-integrated landmark destination for future residents, businesses, industries, academics, researchers and visitors.
Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Peter Flannery will present the “coastal polycentric approach with a green focus” city vision for the region, and the benefits and opportunities it would provide to harness the region’s unique centres and distinct communities.
Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce President Geri Davie says the chamber formed a partnership with The Mill at Moreton Bay (Millovate) and has hosted its business forums at USC Moreton Bay since last year.
Geri says partnering with The Mill at Moreton Bay made perfect sense because the project is within the Pine Rivers area and is key to shaping its future.
She’s hoping the broader community will come along to the breakfast meeting and take the chance to learn more about the vision and plans for The Mill at Moreton Bay and the Moreton Bay City vision.
“There’s so much happening that people aren’t aware of and opportunities for local business,” Geri says.
“It’s not limited to businesspeople. It should be open to people who are passionate about the region in which they live and work. Everyone will take something away from it.”
Book your seat
Tickets are $20 members or $25 non-members. To book your seat at the breakfast, visit the Eventbrite website
Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce also hosts a quarterly Women in Business Round Table event which is facilitated by SRJ Walker Wayland Director Karen Mortimore at the company’s Brendale base.
The next Women in Business event is on August 3 from 9.30-11.30am. The topic for discussion will be “Presenting your authentic self on Social Media” and why it is important to keep your social media presence real while also still positively representing your brand in an interesting and engaging way. Seats are limited to 12. Visit the Facebook page for details.
Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce has a new website and logo, created using a Moreton Bay Regional Council Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS) grant.
Geri says membership is rising again after taking a hit in 2020 due to COVID-19.
To find out more about Pine Rivers Chamber of Commerce, visit the website. Membership is open to the broader community, not just businesspeople.
Demystifying Business Awards – A guide for nominees is now available
31 MAY 2022 Source: Linkedin
This resource presents top tips for businesses and individuals to support their submission in the 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards, as well as other state and national awards programs.
Through nominee and judge feedback, insight from an awards expert, this free resource seeks to present information as a guide; a helping hand to understand the awards program and how to make it a smoother, easier and valuable experience for you.
Unitywater is moving to tier-based pricing for trade waste permits. In July 2023, it will replace the single, flat-rate Category 1 annual fee of $350 that is currently charged to businesses for this 2022-23 financial year.
