Category: 3. Business

The Community Benefit Principles will guide major investments to ensure lasting benefits for communities, workers and industries.

The principles intend to ensure that the benefits of significant public investment flow to local workers, industries and communities.

The Community Benefit Principles are:

• promoting safe, secure and well-paid jobs with good conditions
• developing skilled, inclusive workforces through training and development and broadening opportunities for workforce participation
• engaging with local communities, including First Nations communities, for positive outcomes
• supporting First Nations participation in, and sharing in the benefits of the net zero transition
• strengthening domestic industries and supply chains
• promoting tax transparency and accountability.

The implementation of the Community Benefit Principles aims to:

• improve visibility of project outcomes and community benefits
• be proportionate to the scale of investment
• minimise regulatory burden while remaining effective
• align with community expectations.

Have your say

We encourage individuals, communities, industry and other stakeholders to review the draft guidance and share your views. Your feedback will help shape how we implement the Community Benefit Principles and make sure they reflect the needs and expectations of all Australians.

What does this mean for retailers?

This year’s Black Friday performance reinforces a structural shift in Australian consumer behaviour. With digital channels driving almost all incremental growth, the data underscores the need for retailers to adapt their operating models, pricing strategies and promotional planning to align with where and how customers are now choosing to shop.

Ralston said there is a widening gap between retailers who are using data to respond to changing consumer expectations and those who are not.

“Retailers that are tracking behavioural trends in real time are the ones best positioned to win during peak events like Black Friday,” Ralston said. “The shift online is accelerating, and customers are becoming more value-driven and experience-oriented. Retailers need to understand these nuances so they can refine their channel mix, tailor their promotions and deliver the convenience and relevance shoppers now expect.”

CommBank iQ’s granular spending insights give retailers visibility into these shifts, enabling more accurate forecasting and more effective investment in customer acquisition, loyalty and fulfilment. As retailers begin planning for 2026, leveraging transaction-level intelligence becomes critical to capturing demand in an increasingly compressed and competitive peak trading environment.

With more than 2 million photonic neurons integrated into a compact chip, LightGen can generate high-resolution images, including 3D scenes, and create videos.

The research, led by Professor Chen Yitong from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was published in the journal Science on Friday.

The International Network for Advanced AI Measurement, Evaluation and Science is the new name for the International Network of AI Safety Institutes. We met for the fourth time on 4 and 5 December in San Diego.

The network’s name change reflects a focus to work together on a rigorous, shared approach to AI measurement.

AI evaluation science is becoming a critical, collaborative area of focus that brings together industry, civil society, academia and governments. All these areas are working to develop reliable methods for assessing AI systems and foster shared standards. 

To support this focus on AI measurement and evaluation, the network held several workshops to discuss best principles and approaches to conducting AI evaluations.

Australia’s participation in the network convening took place a week after the Australian Government announced it would establish an Australian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI). The AISI will start to operate in early 2026 to support the government’s ongoing response to emerging risks and harms associated with AI technologies.

Australia joined network members from:

• Canada
• the European Commission
• France
• Japan
• the Republic of Korea
• Singapore
• the United Kingdom
• the United States.

The UK AI Security Institute will take on the role as Network Coordinator for the next 12 months.

The work of the network builds on the Seoul Statement of Intent toward international cooperation on AI safety science. Released following the AI Seoul Summit on 21 May 2024, it confirms a shared understanding of the opportunities and risks posed by AI.