Aussies pay x4 more super fees than Canada, ‘rip off’ street revealed, and more top news

The news Australian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation in the comments below.

Australian superannuation companies charged $700bn more fees than global counterparts over a two decade period. A University of NSW study found Australian super company fees were four times higher than similar companies in Canada, Europe and the US. The study also showed Australian retirement income replacement rates were about 40% of income, compared with an average of 63% across OECD countries. Economist Nicholas Morris said it showed a “policy failure”.

A single street has 29 businesses underpaying cafe and restaurant workers. A compliance blitz on ‘cheap eats’ location Glebe Point Road in Sydney by the Fair Work Ombudsman revealed 176 employees were being underpaid. Ombudsman Natalie James said: "This is an industry-wide problem… There are over 50,000 cafes, restaurants and takeaway outlets in Australia and the FWO cannot fix this one cafe at a time." Similar blitzes also happened in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and Melbourne’s Victoria Street.

One of the biggest outback stations in the world is for sale. It backs onto the Simpson Desert and hits 50°C in summer but sellers expect Clifton Hills cattle station could get offers of $50m. New foreign investment rules mean the station could not be advertised on foreign markets until 30 days after it was first advertised in Australia, but the owners said there had been a lot of interest, local and otherwise.

There were 12,468 fewer skilled migrants entering Australia last financial year. The drop is part of a broader crackdown that resulted in a 10% reduction in all migrant visas to Australia – the lowest level for more than a decade. The skilled visas were designed to fill employment gaps and the government list of skills shortages currently includes everything from accountants to zookeepers. The Australian reports an increase would be expected as “migration levels are linked to economic growth”.

The a2 Milk Company posted a 68% jump in sales in 2018 and the boss is already advising of further revenue growth as it begins selling in the US. As former Jetstar chief Jayne Hrdlicka takes over as chief executive this week, the dual listed Australia-New Zealand company is preparing a marketing push in China and further reach in the US launch. The milk is made from particular cows that produce a different type of milk protein, which the company claims is easier to digest.

Idea of the Day: Trying something new but worried about how customers or clients will react? You’re likely overthinking it, says social media strategist Linda Coles.

“A saying I use often is ‘new doughnuts are baked every day,’ which in short means new customers come into the marketplace daily, looking for what you and I have to offer. They don’t know or care about our background; they only want their fresh doughnut. We need to let them know of our 'bakery'.”

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories in the comments.

—  Cayla Dengate