ATO advice and guidance; Reserve Bank publishes discussion paper on findings of M&A activity in Australia; Total employment across the OECD at ‘all-time high’, real wage growth losing momentum: OECD
ATO advice and guidance; Consultation opens on implementation of minimum tax on discretionary trusts; ATO update: How to correctly claim expenses, GST credits
Legislation to establish External Reporting Australia receives Royal Assent; ASIC publishes report on voluntary administration, deed of company arrangement outcomes
Consumer credit in the United States (US) edged down less than 0.1 percent in May; the first decline since November 2024.
On an annual basis, consumer credit expanded 2.1 percent, the slowest pace in the last six months.
A decline in revolving credit was nearly offset by an increase in non-revolving debt.
Revolving debt, made up primarily of credit cards, fell 4.7 percent in May after reachi...
The 2026–27 state and territory budget cycle is now complete.
This year the budgets generally reflect a cautious revenue environment, with most jurisdictions avoiding broad-based tax increases and instead focusing on measures specifically targeted at housing, cost-of-living and revenue compliance.
A clear theme across the budgets is the use of state tax settings to support housing suppl...
As trade policy changes continue to evolve, accelerate, pause and more, businesses worldwide have been experiencing disruption to supply chains and financial uncertainty over the past six months.
Does this now mark the beginning of a new period of stability, enabling more longer-term planning, or merely a new stage in this evolution of global trade.
Staying ahead of these changes is critical ...
KPMG's financial reporting webinar focuses on new accounting standards effective and available for early adoption, ASIC's focus areas and important regulatory updates that impact interim and annual financial reports at 30 June 2026.
We also share our experience and learnings from helping our clients with their preparation of December 2025 sustainability reports.
We provide a refresher on two ...
KPMG International hosted an online roundtable in February 2026 as part of the Global Responsible Tax Program.
Participants from business, academia, policy and civil society discussed how tax systems might respond to the growing impact of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation on the economy and labour market and what role tax can and should play in meeting social and business goals....
At a time when the economy is experiencing labour shortages, increasing labour force participation amongst experienced older workers could boost GDP by $29 billion.
The opportunity to better utilise experienced older workers comes as Australia slips from 17th to 24th globally in workforce participation among 55–64-year-olds.
According to OECD data, Australia's labour force participation...
Global growth is expected to moderate to 3.0 percent in 2026 before rising to 3.3 percent in 2027 from 3.4 percent in 2025 on a purchasing power parity basis. The forecast has been upgraded since May on expectations of lower peak oil prices and resilience in the largest economies.
Global inflation is expected to rise more sharply than in our previous forecast, reaching 4.8 percent in 2026 and ...
>The Federal Government, on 2 July 2026, introduced legislation (the Bill) which amends Australia's capital gains tax (CGT) rules for foreign residents, including transitional relief for renewable energy assets.
The introduction of the Bill follows the release of exposure draft legislation for consultation in April 2026.
Whilst the core architecture and intention of the draft legislation have...
The conflict in Iran has created ripple effects across energy, supply chains, and global markets.
Executives should assess how these second‑ and third‑order effects impact investment timing, supply chain design, capital allocation, and risk posture — not just in theory, but in day‑to‑day operations.
In this webinar, you'll gain insight into:
the global economic and geopolitical shift...
From tightening data expectations to the spread of real time digital reporting, indirect tax is moving rapidly up the corporate agenda.
Value Added Tax (VAT) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are no longer seen only as compliance costs; they are now recognised as strategic issues that affect cash flow, risk, and the quality of financial data across the business.
The 2026 Indirect Tax Benchmark...
After months of tension, the United States (US) and Iran have reached a 14-point agreement aimed at de-escalating the conflict that has disrupted the Middle East and global markets since February.
US President Donald Trump signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the G7 Summit in France, signalling a potential turning point in the conflict.
The deal opens the door to reopening the Stra...
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen to 4.0 percent, down from 4.2 percent in the 12 months to April, while core inflation has risen to 3.6 percent from 3.4 percent.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the largest contributor to annual inflation in May was Housing, which rose by 6.5 percent, followed by the Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Transport categories, both...
You are invited to attend KPMG Australia's tax update on Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 released on 28 May 2026 containing amendments to the Australian capital gains tax (CGT) regime and negative gearing for residential property rules.
The Bill has been referred to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry to report back by 22 June 2026 and may pass in its am...
On 18 June 2026, the Government announced its proposal in relation to the much anticipated carve-out for start-up businesses from its recent capital gains tax (CGT) reforms.
Background
The announcement and accompanying consultation paper follows the introduction of the first tranche of legislation in late May in respect of the CGT reform originally announced in the 2026-27 Federal Budget.
Th...
The 2026–27 New South Wales (NSW) Budget announces the removal of the 9 percent foreign purchaser surcharge duty for qualifying large-scale build-to-rent (BTR) developments and retirement village projects.
The exemption is intended to apply from 1 July 2026 and is directed at developments comprising more than 50 dwellings.
The NSW Government has framed the reform as a housing-supply mea...
The United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the policy setting arm of the Federal Reserve – voted unanimously to hold rates unchanged at the June meeting.
The statement that followed the decision was shorter and removed the bias to ease.
The new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh took a victory lap with a shorter statement, which dropped all forward guidance. Those are two...
To those who worked with him, Grant was more than a leading voice in tax policy - he was a thinker, a connector of ideas, and someone whose curiosity extended far beyond his profession.
Grant retired from KPMG last year after an extraordinary career spanning nearly 38 years, leaving a lasting mark on the firm and the broader tax and policy landscape in Australia and globally.
His final role a...
Australian mortgage holders will be breathing a sigh of relief, after three rate rises in a row.
However, Tuesday's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board to pause movement on rates, is likely to be short lived.
Register for an upcoming webinar: Upcoming webinar: Global Economic & Geopolitical Outlook – June 2026
With the Iran conflict seemingly winding down and ...
Key takeaways
China's economy made a strong start to 2026, supported by front-loaded policy easing and resilient external demand. Real GDP grew 5.0 percent year on-year (YoY) in Q1, accelerating by 0.5 percentage points from Q4 2025 and reaching the upper bound of the official '4.5 percent–5.0 percent' growth target range set at the annual "Two Sessions". Two structural developments st...
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Treasurer Chris Steel delivered the Territory's 2026 Budget on Wednesday 10 June 2026.
The Budget includes a package of revenue measures focused on housing affordability and housing supply, with the key changes being eliminating stamp duty for first home buyers, no further payroll tax changes, and selected changes to rates, motor vehicle duty and levies.
Alt...
The Queensland Court of Appeal, on 29 May 2026, handed down its judgement in Commissioner of State Revenue v Special Situations Investing Group III, Inc [2026] QCA 98.
This case considers the meaning of "group companies" in a Queensland corporate reconstruction context, specifically the correct interpretation of section 407(1)(a)(i) of the Duties Act 2001 (Qld) (the Act).
Background
In Novem...
Growing financial pressure is causing lower life satisfaction levels amongst Australians today than lockdowns did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KPMG analysis of ABS data.
Overall life satisfaction, based on asking people on a scale of 1-10 has fallen to 7.1 in 2025, down from 7.2 in 2020, when lockdowns and widespread restrictions were in place.
This marks a notable...
Remote working increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become a long-term feature of today's working environment.
Global workforce mobility remains a key issue for multinational groups, driven by the need to retain talent and adapt to employees' growing expectations for flexibility.
This evolution has not only reshaped expectations around where and how work can be p...
The conflict in Iran has created ripple effects across energy, supply chains, and global markets.
Executives should assess how these second‑ and third‑order effects impact investment timing, supply chain design, capital allocation, and risk posture — not just in theory, but in day‑to‑day operations.
Date: Thursday 25 June 2026
Time: 3PM AEST
Location: Webinar
Register here
In th...
Payrolls in the United States (US) rose by 172,000 in May following an upwardly revised gain of 179,000 jobs for April.
The initial report for April showed only 115,000 job gains. All of the increase came from the private sector.
Government accounted for 52,000 of the gains, largely at the local level.
That reverses what had been a streak of public sector job losses. Federal employment added...
The South Australia 2026-27 Budget was delivered by the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis on Thursday 4 June 2026.
The Budget contains no new taxes or tax increases. The Budget focuses on cost of living measures and delivering the election commitment to make public education free for primary and high school students.
A few other key funding measures include:
$2.5 billion Housing Package, which ai...
Australia's headline consumer inflation has surged to 4.6 percent in March – up from February's elevated 3.7 percent – its fastest pace since September 2023.
While it is below the market expectations of 4.8 percent, it only captures some early impact of the conflict in Iran, which is disrupting global energy markets, sharply lifting fuel prices, and pushing headline inflation highe...
The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data reveal an economy that has virtually stood still during the first quarter of this year, recording real growth of only 0.3 percent over the quarter, well down from the 0.9 percent quarterly growth achieved in the final three months of 2025.
On an annualised basis Australia's GDP grew by 2.5 percent over the 12 months to the end of March 2026, while s...
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on 1 June 2026, released proposed 'Revisions to Chapter VII of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines' (Revisions to Chapter VII), covering special considerations for intragroup services.
The Revisions to Chapter VII are extensive but leave the conceptual framework for assessing and pricing intragroup services largely unchanged.
...
Foreign investment fund rules
Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) tax changes are expected to cost NZ$84.6 million over the forecast period.
For unlisted shares, making the new revenue account method available to all New Zealand taxpayers, ensuring tax is paid only on realised gains and actual dividends.
Lifting the FIF de minimis threshold from NZ$50,000 to NZ$100,000, reducing the number of sm...
Legislation has been introduced to Parliament on 28 May 2026 which implements the following Budget night announcements:
capital gains tax (CGT) changes;
negative gearing changes;
working Australians tax offset; and
standard deduction for work-related expenses.
As previously flagged by the Government, this bill represents the first tranche of legislation in respect of the CGT changes, w...
KPMG has prepared a submission in response to the Board of Taxation's (BoT) 'Statutory review of Australia's thin capitalisation reforms'.
The new thin capitalisation rules are relevant to a large and diverse segment of the taxpayer community.
As such, this review is essential to independently determining whether the rules operate and produce outcomes in line with their intended policy object...
With the capital gains tax changes to be introduced to Parliament shortly, in a series of short articles we set out what we will be looking out for in terms of how Treasury has implemented the principles set out in the Budget night 'Tax Explainers'.
See previous articles in this series:
What to look for when the capital gains tax changes are introduced to Parliament
Capital gains tax chang...
With the capital gains tax changes to be introduced to Parliament shortly, in a series of short articles we set out what we will be looking out for in terms of how Treasury has implemented the principles set out in the Budget night 'Tax Explainers'.
See previous articles in this series:
What to look for when the capital gains tax changes are introduced to Parliament
Capital gains tax chang...
Following the insights shared at the Microsoft AI Tour Sydney, we're turning those ideas into action through a series of upcoming webinars.
We're delighted to invite you to the first of two sessions, focused on leveraging Microsoft's latest innovations to support responsible agentic AI at scale.
Our AI specialists will share how KPMG's industry-leading collaboration with Microsoft can help yo...
With the capital gains tax changes to be introduced to Parliament shortly, in a series of short articles we set out what we will be looking out for in terms of how Treasury has implemented the principles set out on the Budget night Tax Explainers.
See related articles in this series:
Capital gains tax changes – what to look out for: Part II
Capital gains tax changes – what to l...
Australia's unemployment has risen to 4.5 percent in April, the highest level since November 2021, according to the latest Labour Force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
According to the ABS, the number of employed people fell by 19,000 in the month with the number of unemployed rising 33,000.
Compared to what it usually sees in April, the ABS says that more peopl...
The Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) sector in Asia Pacific (APAC) faces escalating transfer pricing (TP) controversy due to complex supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and industry shifts toward sustainability and technology.
As a result, tax authorities are intensifying audits and scrutinising the internal prices of commodities, intercompany services, financing, and use of intangibles.
...
After another period of strong returns, Australians now have more than $4.5 trillion invested in superannuation, reinforcing its scale and significance to the economy and retirement outcomes.
At the same time, super funds are under increasing regulatory and member pressure. As market volatility, cyber threats and AI adoption challenge current models, many are looking to reshape how they operat...
The 2026 Federal Budget has brought important changes for individuals, family groups and privately held businesses.
Some measures will take effect quickly; others may reshape planning decisions well beyond 30 June.
Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Time: 1:00pm to 2:00pm AEST
Location: Webinar
Register here
Join us for a focused, practical webinar where KPMG specialists will cut through the ...
