Australia

Australia’s 3-Hour Free Power Shock: Who Wins and Who Pays?

Solar Sharer: How the Free Electricity Plan Works On Nov 4, 2025 the Albanese government announced a landmark policy – the Solar Sharer – to mandate 3 hours of free power daily. Under this scheme, energy retailers in Default Market Offer (DMO) regions (NSW, SA, south-east Qld) must offer a tariff with a zero‑cost period each day when the sun is highest minister.dcceew.gov.au pv-tech.org. The objective is to exploit Australia’s huge solar surplus: with 4+ million rooftop arrays, midday electricity can flood the grid, driving prices to rock-bottom reuters.com pv-tech.org. By giving this cheap power to customers, the government hopes

5 November 2025

Australia’s Inflation Bombshell: RBA Cuts Wiped Off Table as Markets Recoil

Shock CPI Report Upends Rate-Cut Hopes On Oct. 29, official data showed Australia’s consumer price index (CPI) surged unexpectedly in Q3 2025. Headline CPI rose 1.3% from the previous quarter – the largest jump in 2½ years – pushing the annual rate to 3.2% (vs. 2.1% in Q2) reuters.com. Underlying inflation was even more worrying: the RBA’s preferred “trimmed mean” measure jumped 1.0% in Q3 (annual 3.0%), well above the 0.8% gain analysts predicted reuters.com bloomberg.co.jp. (By contrast, trimmed mean inflation had been easing – from 6.8% in late 2022 down to 2.7% – until this quarter.) Nearly every category

29 October 2025

Australia · Central Banks · Economics · Financial Markets · Inflation

Australia’s Final Frontier: Inside the Rapid Rise of its Space & Satellite Industry

Key Facts and Figures Historical Context: A Decade of Ascent in Space Just over a decade ago, Australia’s space efforts were scattered across academia, defense, and niche industries. Unlike other nations, Australia had no central space agency until recently. In the 2010s, momentum built to coordinate and grow this sector. A 2017 expert review recommended forming a national agency to capitalize on booming global opportunities newspaceeconomy.ca. Consequently, the Australian Space Agency (ASA) was established on 1 July 2018, marking the nation’s return to space leadership after decades on the sidelines wa.gov.au. This followed high-profile moments like hosting the International Astronautical

15 September 2025

Australia · Industry · Satellites · Space · Technology

Australian Drone Laws 2025: Complete Guide to Rules, Registration & No-Fly Zones

CASA regulates drones under Part 101, applying national rules across Australia with uniform standards, while state or local bylaws can add restrictions. Recreational drone rules include a maximum altitude of 120 meters, a 30-meter minimum distance from people, no flying over crowds, daylight and visual line-of-sight operations, and the requirement to operate only one drone at a time. Drones heavier than 250 grams must stay at least 5.5 kilometers from controlled airports, while drones 250 grams or lighter may fly within 5.5 kilometers up to 45 meters but cannot use airport approach or departure paths. Recreational pilots must respect privacy

15 June 2025

Australia · Drones · Laws · No-Fly Zones · Registration

Internet Access in Australia: A Comprehensive Overview

As of mid-2023, around 12.3 million premises were ready to connect to the NBN, and by early 2025 about 8.62 million homes and businesses were actively connected to NBN-based plans. The NBN uses a multi-technology mix—FTTP, FTTN, FTTC, HFC, Fixed Wireless, and Satellite—and is legally required to offer at least 25 Mbps download speeds to all premises nationwide. NBN fixed-line speed tiers include 25 Mbps, 50 Mbps, and 100 Mbps, with higher options up to about 1 Gbps on capable FTTP and HFC connections, and in 2023 these services delivered 98.5% of advertised download speeds during peak hours. Reliability varies

15 March 2025

Australia · Broadband · Connectivity · Internet Access · Technology