This week, the extension of the Paid Parental leave scheme was passed in the Senate, allowing new parents to take half a year of paid parental leave by mid-2026.
This is a pivotal step toward enhancing gender equality and strengthening women’s engagement in the workforce and is strongly aligned with the ARA’s advocacy and gender equality position statement.
Whilst it’s beneficial for working parents, offering them the flexibility they need during the crucial early months of parenthood – it is also great for the retail sector, which stands to benefit from a more satisfied and stable workforce.
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held cash rates at 4.35%, in a welcome move for the retail sector and Australians more broadly.
Whilst this decision is no surprise given the downward inflationary trend, it provides important stability and confidence to Australians and businesses. Read our response
We’ve also released our ARA-Roy Morgan projections for travel over Easter.
Holidaymakers are set to splash out more than $9.6 billion on Easter travel this year, up $500 million on 2023 (5%), with a significant amount to be spent on overseas trips at the expense of domestic spending. Read the full breakdown
Finally, the ARA is enthusiastic about bringing the experiences of retailers – particularly small businesses – to the forefront of the retail conversation with media and government.
We often receive requests from the media looking for retail case studies on news items – from general customer trends and retail performance to supply chain issues, consumer trends and retail crime.
It’s important we bring our government advocacy to life with real world examples and can also provide an opportunity for members to gain media exposure which we are happy to coach you through.
If you’re interested in participating, please reach out to media@retail.org.au to go on our register for future inquiries.
