THE BUSINESS CONNECTION

Welcome to Generations Personal and Professional Advice, and 

Generations Aged Care Advice. 

Conveniently located in one friendly Wodonga office, Generations will look forward to looking after you and your family.

" When comprehensively planning for your financial future, we gain a thorough understanding of your current financial position and future goals and aspirations. We then analyse the best way for you to achieve your goals, not forgetting to consider any variables which might affect your outcome. Should you require our assistance, we can assist you to put your plan into place. Lastly, we always recommend that you regularly review your position in light of your goals and make any adjustments required to ensure that you remain on track to achieving them."

Megan McGrath - Director / Adviser - CFP SSA™

Melissa Clark studied Remedial Massage & has worked at Border Hands on Health for the past 3 years until starting her own business 'Your Inner Rainbow'.

Melissa is also an Exercise Physiologist & has worked at the Australian Institute of Sport for 4 years

Wellbeing with a Difference

All of us on the border have been through so much and still have many challenges ahead of us. So how do we put some focus on our own wellbeing? BY MAKING IT FUN! 

Business Wodonga will be running a 6 week fun competition called The Wodonga Gem Awards. There will be daily, weekly prizes, scavenger hunts, snowball fights, costumes and so much more! We will be working with businesses, teams and local owners to have fun and make positive changes one small challenge at a time. 

TINY IS MIGHTY.  

Each week will have a different theme and each day will have a different game or challenge. Some are small and can be done in just a minute or two. Some have more steps but will be equally fun to complete with coworkers, friends or family. There will be an online scoreboard so you can keep track of this friendly Business Community community competition. Challenge a fellow business, share it with your friends or just see how many points you can stack up during the 6 weeks. 

The word ‘wellbeing’ gets thrown around a lot these days. In fact, from Buddha to the explosion of the self-help movement, history is paved with hundreds of suggestions on how to create and cling to this concept. It can leave you wondering just where to start.

Of course there are good reasons why a focus on wellbeing is so popular. Studies are finding people who have higher levels of wellbeing are generally more: resilient; have more energy; are more charitable; are more liked by others; are more productive; earn more money; and are healthier and happier.

But let’s be honest if maintaining our wellbeing was easy, we’d all be doing it. After all, by now we all know that we should move regularly, eat wisely and sleep deeply, but the daily demands of life, unrealistic expectations at work and even our own beliefs about our sense of worth, mean that most of us wind up making choices that undermine our wellbeing.

So how can you make improving your wellbeing easier, no matter how busy life gets?

In its simplest form, wellbeing is your ability to feel good and function effectively.  It gives you the resources to navigate the highs and lows we all experience in our work and in our lives, whilst enabling you to intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically ‘flourish’.

• Positive Emotions – such as joy and hope have been found to have a significant effect on our wellbeing. Researchers suggest that experiencing positive emotions broadens your outlook and helps you build creativity, resourcefulness, and be more resilient and successful.

• Engagement – being able to use and develop your strengths at work – those things you’re good at and enjoy doing – has been found to boost your confidence, engagement and energy at work.

• Relationships – creating genuine connections with others at work can give you satisfaction and enrichment.   Researchers suggest it can also lower your levels of stress, improve your concentration and help advance your career.

• Meaning – understanding how what you do at work makes a positive difference to others has been found to increase your wellbeing motivation, commitment and sense of satisfaction at work

• Accomplishment – cultivating grit has been found to give you the determination to pursue your goals, and having a ‘growth mindset’ can help you learn and grow from setbacks and challenges to achieve your true potential.

• Health – staying healthy by eating well, moving regularly and sleeping deeply has been found to build a solid foundation for your wellbeing.

LAUNCH EVENT will be happening at 11am Tuesday 12th July. Keep an eye out for how you can be involved. You won't want to miss out on this! 

Backing your business to find great people

As digital technologies drive the future of business, the demand for digital skills is growing rapidly.

To help meet this demand, the Victorian Government is building a new talent pool of great people with digital skills.

The Digital Jobs program helps experienced mid-career Victorians transition into digital careers. Candidates undertake 12 weeks of free digital skills training, before being placed in a digital job for 12 weeks.

Victorian businesses are invited to provide work placements for our talented career changers. Participating businesses will also gain access to the broader talent pool to find new recruits for digital jobs.

We’re backing you to build your digital capability, and providing a cost-effective way to bring new skills and new talent into your business.

Join ANZ, Microsoft, Salesforce, Siemens and other top Victorian employers by hosting an intern.

Last Weekend to Register! 

So, bring a friend, mate, business colleague that would enjoy getting to know us.

We look forward to seeing you and your friends on the 5th at Little Lane Cafe. 

Christmas in July with BWAW

Business Women Albury Wodonga invite you to join them for a Xmas in July Networking Event! 

Ugly Jumpers & Xmas Dress is encouraged!! 

Karen Daly (Posh Plonk) joins us as guest speaker for this evening networking event. 

Business After Hours

Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery is our city’s cultural hub, a regionally based, state-of-the-art facility located in Wodonga’s CBD will be the host for Business After Hours this July. 

Do not miss out on this exciting opportunity to see all Hyphen has to offer our community now and into the future. Surprises around every corner and constantly changing programs and displays will ensure there is always something new to see and learn. 

Changes for business coming on 1 July 2022

From 1 July 2022 there will be changes to super eligibility and increases to the super guarantee rate, national minimum wage, award minimum wage, company fees and business name fees. Find out what it means for your business.

Eligibility for super

From 1 July 2022 you will need to pay super for employees, regardless of how much you pay them. This is because the $450-per-month threshold for super guarantee (SG) eligibility is being removed.

Super guarantee rate increases

On 1 July 2022, the super guarantee (SG) rate will increase from 10% to 10.5%. The Norfolk Island transitional SG rate will increase from 6% to 7%.

National minimum wage increase

From 1 July 2022, the National Minimum Wage will increase by 5.2%, which amounts to $40 a week. The new National Minimum Wage will be $812.60 per week or $21.38 per hour.

The new National Minimum Wage will apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022. This means if you have a weekly pay period that starts on Mondays, the new rates will apply from Monday 4 July 2022.

Award minimum wage increase

The minimum award wages will increase by 4.6%, which is subject to a minimum increase for award classifications of $40 per week and based on a 38-hour week for a full-time employee.

This means minimum award wages:

• above $869.60 per week, will get a 4.6% increase
• below $869.60 per week, will get a $40 increase.

If you are covered by an award, award increases happen in 2 stages. Most awards will increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022. For some awards in the aviation, hospitality and tourism industries, the increase will happen from 1 October 2022.

Company and business name fees increase

In line with an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the March quarter, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission will increase company and business name fees from 1 July.

Registration of Interest (ROI) opportunities

ARTC has engaged McConnell Dowell to complete the first phase of designs and early delivery activities for Inland Rail, Tottenham to Albury – Stage 1.

The four sites in the first phase include the Seymour-Avenel Road bridge in Seymour, Murray Valley Highway in Barnawartha North, Wangaratta Station Precinct, Wangaratta and Beaconsfield Parade precinct in Glenrowan. McConnell Dowell are about to seek registrations of interest from local businesses for 16 scopes of work. The supply opportunities will be communicated on the projects ICN Gateway supplier portal (https://inlandrailt2a.icn.org.au).

Businesses interested in registering their interest to supply to McConnell Dowell are encouraged to:

1. Visit the ICN Gateway website and create a company profile.
2. Review the work scopes communicated by McConnell Dowell on the T2A project ICN Gateway webpage

Register interest in the work scope by selecting ‘create EOI’ and responding to the questions

Whether you are consciously aware of it or not, Cybersecurity is a massive issue for businesses and other organisations as well as individuals.  

On August 30, our partner NBN Co will be holding a workshop to help ensure that you are not only fully informed on the risks, but also how you can protect the digital assets and personal information of yourself, your business and your customers.  

Don’t think hackers aren’t trying to access your website and data – in the past month alone, the Business Wodonga website has had 2863 hacking attempts. Fortunately with the services and solutions provided by Ashlin Technology Services, we can be confident that our data and business systems have the best protection available.  

Stay tuned for when registrations for this vitally important session goes live. 

Cybercrime is on the rise; don’t let a cybercriminal take advantage of you this tax time!

As part of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) Act Now Stay Secure Email Security campaign, listen to a panel discussion on the threat of business email compromise this tax time and how to keep email accounts secure.

Hear from Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) and the Australian Banking Association (ABA), as we discuss how individuals and small businesses can improve their email security to protect themselves, their business, employees, and clients from an email security incident.

With access to email accounts, cybercriminals can steal sensitive and financial information, or commit fraud by sending emails and invoices, pretending to be businesses to scam their contacts.

You will learn about the support available, including the ACSC’s Email Security step-by-step guides and the ATO’s eInvoicing for business, as well as hear from the AFP on the significant economic disruption and loss caused by business email compromise, and ABA’s and ABFEO’s advocacy and support services.

• Date: Monday 27 June 2022
• Time: 9:30 am to 10:30 am AEST

Facilitator: Derek Bopping, First Assistant Director-General, Cyber Engagement and Access, Australian Cyber Security Centre

Panellists:

• Stephanie Crowe, Assistant Director-General Cyber and Critical Technology Intelligence Centre, Australian Cyber Security Centre
• Commander Chris Goldsmid, Commander Cybercrime Operations, Australian Federal Police
• Bruce Billson, Ombudsman, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.
• Mark Stockwell, Director, eInvoicing, Australian Taxation Office 
• Christine Cupitt, Executive Director, Policy, Australian Banking Association.