From tax to super to paid parental leave, here's what you should expect next financial year ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

While the government has been accused of moving too slowly on reform, there are actually a whole raft of changes about to land.

The start of a new financial year on July 1 will bring with it many more changes than usual. There are the modest income tax cuts flagged by the government last year, improvements to parental leave and tougher anti-scam measures.

Perhaps the most important new law is the start of payday super. This means employers will have to make superannuation payments at the same time as salaries, rather than quarterly – so no excuses for not paying workers their entitlements.

We’ve brought these changes together into a single reader’s guide.

Meanwhile, as Michelle Grattan reports, the bargaining in the Senate around the recent budget changes has resulted in a win for the Greens over the NDIS inquiry.

P.S. We are in the final stretch of our donations campaign, and we’re very grateful for your support and feedback. If you haven’t given yet, there is still time.

Victoria Thieberger

Business and Economics Editor

From pay to taxes, big changes are coming for Australian workers and businesses from July 1

Liz Minchin, The Conversation; Victoria Thieberger, The Conversation

Modest tax cuts, changes to the way superannuation is paid and a whole lot more – this is what’s changing from next week.

View from The Hill: Longer NDIS inquiry is bad for the government, costing ‘a few hundred million dollars’

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The government had little choice but to agree to the extension, which will take several hundred million off its projected savings.

The mistakes that sealed Keir Starmer’s fate

Rohan McWilliam, Anglia Ruskin University

And the successes he failed to communicate.

Andy Burnham: what to expect from the UK’s likely next prime minister

Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield

Burnhamism represents a political ideology founded on the need to fundamentally change British constitutional government.

Iran just outlasted the world’s most powerful military. What can Australia learn from its strategies?

David Kilcullen, UNSW Sydney

Australia needs to consider how to adapt its military tactics and preparedness to meet potential future threats.

Trump’s upgrade of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become a disaster. Why is it causing so much outrage?

Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney

The latest in the president’s long list of upgrades, renovations and new monuments has sent social media into a frenzy.

Unis are going back to in-person exams. But some students are finding new ways to cheat

Meena Jha, CQUniversity Australia

Students have always cheated in exams. But instead of handwritten notes, they might now use AI-enabled glasses.

The US is leading the new space race – but other countries are close behind

Melissa de Zwart, Adelaide University

It can be easy to lose sight of the fact that the US isn’t the only major actor in space.

What are your favourite books that deserve to be better known? 7 literary experts share theirs

James Ley, The Conversation

There is a particular pleasure in a new reading discovery, so we asked 7 literary experts to unearth some lost treasures for us.

Politics + Society

One Nation’s surge continues in polls as Andy Burnham set to become next UK PM

Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne

In polls taken partly after Pauline Hanson’s address at the National Press Club, her party’s vote has climbed further.
‘Kidfluencers’ are everywhere on social media. Should Australia consider the Netherlands’ proposed ban?

Nipa Saha, Macquarie University

The so-called ‘kidfluencer’ economy is huge and growing. Australia should consider regulating it more tightly.

Health + Medicine

The new Vegemite Kids has 50% less salt. No, that’s not ‘un-Australian’

Lauren Ball, The University of Queensland

Here’s what Vegemite Kids will mean for children’s total salt intake. Hint: not as much as you might think.
History shows quarantine can be a blip – or mark some people forever

Peter Hobbins, University of Sydney

Hantavirus cruise ship passengers have left Perth quarantine. But how might quarantine affect them? History has some answers.
COVID, flu and RSV: who should be thinking about vaccination in NZ this winter?

Peter McIntyre, University of Otago; Joan Ingram, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Nikki Turner, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Well after the COVID pandemic, NZ’s respiratory virus landscape remains unsettled. If you’re over 65, COVID and flu vaccines remain a priority.

Business + Economy
What a strong El Niño could mean for Australian communities, jobs and food prices David A. Fleming-Muñoz, La Trobe University; David Ubilava, University of Sydney Australia isn’t likely to face food shortages anytime soon. But hotter, drier weather could still take a toll on many local economies and communities.

Environment + Energy

Victoria claims to have stopped native logging. So why is it importing Tasmanian forests?

David Lindenmayer, Australian National University; Chris Taylor, Australian National University

There’s no economic or environmental case for native logging. Yet taxpayer money is still being used to support it.
Cheap, effective and dangerous: how Australian farmers came to depend on the toxic weedkiller paraquat

Sarah Rogers, The University of Melbourne; Sonia Graham, University of Wollongong; Zoe Ju-Han Wang, James Cook University

Paraquat is banned in dozens of countries – but this cheap imported herbicide is everywhere in Australia.
Ten Australians are taking the government to the UN over fossil fuel exports. What is their case?

Maria Nawaz, UNSW Sydney; Gillian Moon, UNSW Sydney

This historic case could establish a legal link between human rights and fossil fuel exports.

Science + Technology

Spy agencies say AI can help combat AI cyber risks. But don’t forget the basics

Toby Murray, The University of Melbourne

Using AI for cybersecurity without first investing in fundamentals is like deploying a robot guard dog to defend an unlocked door.
Our brains predict the world – but learn most when they get it wrong

Dominic Tran, University of Sydney; Reuben Rideaux, University of Sydney; Ziyue Hu, University of Sydney

We act fast on the basis of our predictions but learn most when we get it wrong, according to a new brain-scan study.

Arts + Culture
From the circus to the runway: how the ‘glam clown’ has seized the fashion zeitgeist Anna-Sophie Jürgens, Australian National University Clowns turned the body into spectacle. Spectacle is now integral to fashion.

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