10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

Good morning and TGIF.

Victoria recorded 723 new coronavirus cases and 13 more deaths on Thursday – the state's highest since the start of the pandemic

Victoria recorded 723 new coronavirus cases and 13 more deaths on Thursday. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed that many of these cases are linked to aged care, but also warned that workplaces were significant sites of transmission.

The government could expand pandemic leave to more Australian workers as Victorian cases continue to spike

More Australian workers could soon find themselves with two weeks of pandemic leave. The Morrison government confirmed it is considering the usefulness of the policy as the number of confirmed cases in Victoria continues to climb.

First home buyers in NSW will be exempted from stamp duty for 12 months. Here's how it will affect the market.

New South Wales will exempt eligible homebuyers from paying stamp duty on purchases under $800,000 from 1 August. Discounted stamp duty meanwhile will be available on properties up to $1 million.

The ATO has started a 'pilot' program to claw back ineligible super withdrawals, and find out how widely the rules were broken

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has told a Senate Committee it has commenced a 'pilot' program to audit early super withdrawal applications. Acknowledging the program ran on the basis that most Australians are honest, Second Commissioner Client Engagement Jeremy Hirschhorn acknowledged the tax office had identified that there had been exceptions.

The ombudsman says Aussie telcos 'coped well' despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic

Australia's telecommunications providers have "coped well" this year despite a "perfect storm" of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has concluded in its latest analysis of consumer complaints.

This house in Victoria is suspended on a pole 40 metres above the ground and has views of both the ocean and the Great Ocean Road – take a look inside

The Pole House in Victoria is suspended on a pole 40 meters above the ground. It provides stunning views over the ocean and glimpses over the Great Ocean Road.

'The wrath of Mark': Never-before-seen messages show Instagram's cofounders felt intimidated by Mark Zuckerberg to sell their company for $1 billion

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among the powerful tech executives who testified Wednesday in front of lawmakers regarding their companies' potential antitrust violations.

The Big 4 tech companies — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, worth $5 trillion combined — just crushed their earnings reports

Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook all reported their second-quarter earnings on Thursday. These four, along with Microsoft, are the five most-valuable publicly traded companies on the S&P 500.

The 3 biggest issues people say they have with electric vehicles

According to the 2019 Nielsen report 'Caught in the Slow Lane,' only 16% of Australians believe they are adequately informed about electric vehicles. That's a lot of people in the dark when it comes to adopting a sustainable technology that can lessen their impact on the environment.

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10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

Good morning, team.

The next generation of Australian workers face a decade of pay cuts and 'psychological scarring', the government predicts

Treasury has warned young Australians face ten years of pay cuts as the economy enters a recession. With youth unemployment having spiked just shy of 5%, it says graduates can expect to "earn roughly 8% less in their first year of work and 3.5% less after five years".

Queensland will close its borders to anyone from the Greater Sydney area from Saturday

Queensland will close its borders to people from the Greater Sydney area from 1am on Saturday July 29. "From 1am Saturday, more hotspots will be declared and no one from Sydney will be allowed into Queensland," said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Telstra has accused rival Optus of misleading customers over the size and quality of its mobile network in a new court case

Telstra has accused rival Singtel Optus of misleading customers over the size and quality of its mobile network in a new court case that re-ignites a long-standing dispute between the telco carriers.

People 'haven't been as quick to restrict their movement' in the Melbourne CBD in the second round of lockdowns, according to new data

Market research company Roy Morgan has found the amount of movement in Melbourne's CBD has been higher during the second round of lockdowns as compared to the first.

Victoria has lost 7.3% of all jobs in the state since the middle of March

Victoria has experienced the most job losses in Australia, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The ABS found payroll jobs fell 7.3% in Victoria, followed by a 6.8% decline in Tasmania.

Contact tracing by some Australian businesses is as good as 'useless' and putting customer information at risk, a data expert has warned

Nearly one in three Australian businesses are failing to comply with their own state's contact tracing requirements, a new study suggests. Even those that do may prove "useless" with information unverified, as well as possibly incorrect and improperly stored.

Gyms in New South Wales will need to have a 'hygiene marshal' on-site at all times from this Saturday

Gyms in New South Wales have new guidelines to follow from Saturday August 1. From that date, they will have to register their COVID-19 Safety Plan and have a hygiene marshal on duty at all times.

A taste test of 6 stellar wines from the Penfolds 2020 collection

Right now, even the most dedicated Victorian booster is feeling the pinch. "Bleak City" seems greyer than ever with the combo of an icy winter and the purgatory that is life under lockdown 2.0.

How studying online can reduce costs and avoid assessment deadlines

There are upsides to revisiting uni when you're further along in life. For one, you'll likely have a clearer direction than you did fresh out of high school, and people who continue their studies after being in the workforce tend to have an actual goal in mind.

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