Retail sales plunge in April as full force of COVID-19 hits

Retail sales plunged by a staggering 17.9 per cent in April according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)...

Retail sales plunged by a staggering 17.9 per cent in April according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) preliminary figures for the month. National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Dominique Lamb said the sobering figures show that April saw the full force of COVID-19 hit the economy. “April was the first...

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Retailers welcome QLD Govt. COVID-19 small business grants

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the announcement by the Queensland State Government to provide $100 million worth...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the announcement by the Queensland State Government to provide $100 million worth of grants to struggling small businesses suffering from the impact of COVID-19. The program will see eligible small businesses apply for grants valued up to $10,000 to mitigate the economic impact...

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Easing of restrictions welcomed, but restaurants measure needs consultation

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the lifting of several restrictions today, but has expressed concern over the...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the lifting of several restrictions today, but has expressed concern over the new measure allowing only a maximum of 10 patrons to dine at restaurants. NRA CEO Dominque Lamb said that for many venues the 10-patron maximum rule will prove to not be...

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State and territory adoption of 3 step framework for COVIDSafe economy

Today's National Cabinet meeting saw the announcement a three step framework for the road map to a COVIDSafe economy....

Today's National Cabinet meeting saw the announcement a three step framework for the road map to a COVIDSafe economy. We are pleased to note that the roadmap aims for a shift from crisis to recovery by July 2020. The goal is to restore 850,000 jobs in the months ahead....

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$1 billion COVID March hit means retail can’t absorb further costs

The National Retail Association (NRA) has stated that due to a $1 billion March hit to retail the Fair...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has stated that due to a $1 billion March hit to retail the Fair Work Commission (FWC) should not impose further costs on the sector and maintain the current minimum wage level. In its Annual Wage Review Submission in reply the NRA cited the devastating...

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March retail figures paint an ominous sign of COVID-19 impact

The National Retail Association (NRA) has said that while today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has said that while today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for March represent a giant jump in turnover, there are some incredibly ominous signs of the impact COVID-19 will have on the sector. The figures show an 8.5 per cent overall rise...

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Message from the CEO: 5 May 2020

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia...

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia has done an incredible job, relative to other countries, in containing the spread of COVID-19, the economic hit has been substantial. Indeed, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has forecast a $4 billion...

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Retail industry releases COVID-19 Retail Recovery Protocol

Australia’s key retail industry groups have united to release a Retail Recovery Protocol for COVID-19 to assure the community,...

Australia’s key retail industry groups have united to release a Retail Recovery Protocol for COVID-19 to assure the community, including retail employees and customers, that they can have confidence that retailers and shopping centres will continue to follow stringent public health guidelines, particularly as the community access essential services...

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Message from the CEO: 28 April 2020

We are almost at the end of the first full month of lockdown restrictions. The impact that COVID-19 has...

We are almost at the end of the first full month of lockdown restrictions. The impact that COVID-19 has had on the retail sector cannot be overstated, even businesses that have been able to stay open have suffered the ripple effects to the economy. Last week the Australian Bureau of...

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February retail figures a false dawn

The National Retail Association (NRA) has said that while today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has said that while today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for February 2020 are good, they represent a false dawn considering the economic turmoil that has occurred since March. Retail turnover for the second month of 2020 rose by 0.5 per cent,...

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Payroll tax a good start, but more required to support small business

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today acknowledged payroll tax relief as a good start, but urged the state...

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today acknowledged payroll tax relief as a good start, but urged the state government to provide further assistance to help struggling small business. NRA CEO Dominque Lamb said that the package contained some worthwhile measures, but any second-round stimulus package from the state government...

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Stimulus responses targeted, measured and scalable for small business

Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business Senator for Western Australia   $17.6 billion stimulus package -...

Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business Senator for Western Australia   $17.6 billion stimulus package - assistance available to small businesses COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the Australian economy. The Government has moved quickly to put in place health measures to protect the Australian community from...

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Message from the CEO: 10 March 2020

Australia has been subjected to a summer of disasters. Large-scale bushfires that ravaged numerous regional communities, a longstanding drought,...

Australia has been subjected to a summer of disasters. Large-scale bushfires that ravaged numerous regional communities, a longstanding drought, and now the Coronavirus outbreak have all left an impact that now extends beyond those directly affected. This was demonstrated in last week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail report...

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Novel Coronavirus | Member Alert

[button size="large" text="Information for Employers...

  Current status The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that COVID-19 is a pandemic.   126 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, including 3...

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Australia’s catastrophic events disrupt the retail sector

Retailers have felt the brunt of Australia’s summer of disaster, with sales figures taking a major hit in January...

Retailers have felt the brunt of Australia’s summer of disaster, with sales figures taking a major hit in January due to the devastating bushfires, the National Retail Association said today.   According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), retail turnover fell 0.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.  This follows...

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Retailers welcome Coronavirus payroll tax relief

The National Retail Association has today welcomed the announcement by the Queensland State Government to provide payroll tax relief...

The National Retail Association has today welcomed the announcement by the Queensland State Government to provide payroll tax relief to businesses impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak. Under the measure, small and medium businesses throughout Queensland with a wage bill up to $6.5 million may be eligible to defer their payroll...

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