<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/31/business-struggling-australia-insolvencies-cost-of-living-economy>
"Joe Rechichi, the chief executive at Cucina Hospitality Group, has been in
business for four decades but says nothing compares with what he has
experienced over the past few years, not least because of the immense
day-to-day uncertainty.
“I call it BC and AC – Before Covid and After Covid,” says Rechichi, who
oversees three Andiamo Trattoria restaurant venues across Sydney’s inner west.
“Whether it’s the cost of compliance, the cost of utilities, the whole world
has changed and it’s not clear what it takes now to be a successful business.”
Rechichi says his business is increasingly at the mercy of conditions that are
largely beyond his control – and often from overseas – such as war in the
Middle East, cost-of-living pressures and the fallout from the pandemic.
“I used to pride myself on my budgets. Before Covid, you just knew where you
were going and could make decisions about your business. Since Covid it has
been the worst trading conditions.”
Surging wages, rents and electricity bills are hitting profit margins across
corporate Australia. At the same time, firms are struggling to grow their
revenue amid entrenched consumer pessimism in an economy stuck in low gear.
The compliance burden grows heavier every year, business owners say, and
upcoming rule changes, from credit card surcharges to the plans to hike tax on
trusts, threaten further costs and uncertainty.
Australia is in the middle of a tidal wave of insolvencies, as firms struggle
and increasingly fail to cope with what could be described as a
cost-of-doing-business crisis.
Just as households grapple with how to make the family budget stretch for
another month, firms are also wondering if they will be able to keep their
heads above water from one quarter to the next, let alone from year to year.
Many thousands are submerging; the number of companies entering into
insolvencies has surged over the past two years to reach record levels.
Innes Willox, the CEO of the Australian Industry Group, says that there are
about 70% more insolvencies a year now than there were going into the pandemic
period."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
