Small businesses could save time and lift productivity by using artificial intelligence in daily operations, according to a report from The Tech Council of Australia. The research estimates the average small or medium-sized business could gain $136,000 a year by adopting AI broadly to cut administrative work such as payroll and rostering. Only one in four such businesses currently use the technology, and five per cent use it broadly. Kate Cornick said a significant gap exists between what AI could deliver and what small businesses receive.
新南威尔士州地方政府部长Ron Hoenig已将克拉伦斯谷市议会（Clarence Valley Council）暂停运作三个月。他任命经验丰富的地方政府高级管理人员John Rayner为临时管理人，在暂停期间负责运营市议会。Hoenig表示，此项任命是为了恢复市议会的正常运作。该市议会此前曾要求地方政府办公室（Office of Local Government）就其运营、行政和财务管理方面持续存在的问题进行外部调查。此次暂停职权的决定，发生在上月一场市长投票处理不当后，总经理Laura Black被解职之后。
More than half of the remaining stores of womenswear chain Cue and Veronika Maine will close from Thursday, as receivers look for a buyer. Twenty-six of the 46 stores in Australia and New Zealand will shut. The Sydney-based chain entered voluntary administration in September, citing overhead costs, after nearly 60 years in business. Receivers Kate Warwick and Vaughan Strawbridge of FTI Consulting said potential buyers were not interested in a common group of stores, so those will close. Timing will vary by store and depend largely on stock levels. Team members will be redeployed to continuing stores where possible.
Edge Early Learning（澳洲儿童早教机构）将关闭其在堪培拉的最后一家托儿中心，即位于Ngunnawal的中心，关闭日期为10月14日星期三。administrators表示，他们未找到可行的收购报价，家长仅在深夜收到一封电子邮件，获得两天的通知。Ngunnawal中心的关闭是全澳将关闭的11家Edge中心之一。administrators表示，Goodstart Early Learning（澳洲儿童早教机构）已同意收购31家中心，另有22家中心正在等待六家买家的报价。提前缴纳费用的家长将于10月底前获得退款。
布里斯班多家Edge Early Learning（Edge幼儿园机构）托儿中心的家长被告知，这些中心将在两天内永久关闭。该托儿服务提供商于八月底进入自愿管理程序，管理人KordaMentha（科达门塔咨询公司）开展了紧急出售活动，但未收到Kelvin Grove中心的任何可行报价。家长被告知，工作人员可于周四取回物品，预付款的退款可能要到十月底或更晚才能到账。管理人表示，他们已联系附近的托儿中心，其中一些有空位。Goodstart Early Learning（Goodstart幼儿园机构）近期有条件同意收购Edge旗下的31家中心。
