How good was it seeing our state roar back to life over the weekend? It was so exciting to see crowds at events and smiles on the faces of so many as they celebrated Victoria’s reopening over the past few days.

The Victorian Chamber is delighted to extend an invitation to our members and clients to participate in a design workshop to help identify innovative and practical education approaches to improve equality in the workplace.

Over the last 20 months, Victorian Chamber members and the business community have been vocal in their desire to be part of the solution to managing the health and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grab your family, grab your friends, and grab your workmates - it’s time to celebrate and enjoy our state again! The Victorian Chamber was delighted by today’s State Government announcement that it will lift the majority of restrictions across the state which will give all our businesses the best chance to roar back.

The Victorian Government is undertaking reform to improve its waste and recycling process and adopt circular economy policies and principles. Announced last year, 'Recycling Victoria: A new economy' is the 10-year policy and action plan that will reduce waste, increase recycling and create more value from our resources. The Victorian Chamber encourages members in the manufacturing and hospitality industries to have their say on the reform by completing a short survey.

Hindsight is a funny thing. Had we known the COVID-19 wrecking ball was coming for us, we would have ducked for cover. We can’t use that excuse anymore.

Just when we thought it was smooth sailing, we’ve hit a slight bump with the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. I know many of you may be experiencing familiar feelings of anxiousness this week with the news of Omicron emerging across the world and here in Australia.

The Victorian Chamber is seeking to secure better business conditions for our members in the tourism, accommodation and events sectors. Have your say by completing our quick, 10-minute survey and help us develop a viable vision for Victoria's visitor economy.

The Victorian Chamber is engaging with members to develop a business-first agenda for the 2022 Federal and State Elections.

Well, we made it through, and Christmas is now on our doorstep.

The Small Business Energy Saver Program is supporting Victorian small business owners to save on energy-efficient equipment. It will deliver $5 million in discounts to small businesses across Victoria that invest in upgrading their systems.

The Victorian Chamber is pleased to extend an invitation to our members and clients to participate in a design workshop to help identify innovative and practical education approaches to improve equality in the workplace.

Welcome to our first edition of Victorian Chamber News for 2022. We know that staff shortages, supply chain issues, isolation requirements, density limits and lack of accessibility to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) continue to cause difficulty and stress and the Victorian Chamber team is working hard to ensure your voices are heard and practical solutions can be found.

If you were lucky enough to get in a break over the school holidays, you would have noticed the crippling effect that Covid-19 is having on our small businesses across the state.

Did you know that starting a business in Victoria requires operators to navigate more permits and licences than any other state? The time it takes to jump through these regulatory hoops is just one of the costs of doing business in Victoria. The Chamber has listened to our members’ concerns about how these barriers are impacting them and has responded with this comprehensive report that provides the first benchmarking exercise of its kind in Australia.

It’s the report that you helped us create, and one that might well sharpen the focus on what Victoria needs to do to be the best state to operate a business in. I’m very proud of to release the Cost and Ease of Doing Business in Victoria Taskforce Report.