It’s great to be back after a break enjoying Regional Victoria and thank you to Chanelle, Scott and the team for doing such a fantastic job while I was away. It has already been a big week as school holidays finish and students head back to the classroom. No doubt there’s been a few tears shed by parents of those children starting school and even some tears of joy for parents of those returning!

As Acting Chief Executive, it’s exciting to see so many people getting out and about across Victoria as the summer weather provides the perfect conditions for lapping up what we love about this great state. Many Victorians are returning to work while others are taking an extended break at our tourist hot spots, enjoying the Australian Open, the Lunar New Year and a myriad of other events.

Start the new year by taking advantage of a range of government grants, funding, incentives and support services to boost your business.

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year’s with your families and friends and that at least some of you got to enjoy a break. We know this is a busy time for many businesses and we are grateful for your ongoing hard work during the holiday period.

The Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) flagged late last year that changes to Victorian landlord retail leasing obligations are now in force.

More than 80 per cent of CBD-based employees are working two or more days a week in the office, according to the latest return-to-office survey by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

What a year! As this is my last message for 2022, it seems only fitting to end the year on a positive note, with news that office occupancy in Melbourne’s CBD is climbing as Victoria continues its recovery.

Entrepreneur and founder of JSHealth, Jessica Sepel, has told the Victorian Chamber’s annual women in business luncheon how she built her wellness empire.

Well, we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted for business with Federal Parliament passing the Industrial Relations Reforms Bill last week. So, we will now be ensuring we support you and your business to understand the impact of the changes and how you can navigate them.

The 2022 Digital Lives of Australians report shows how valuable an asset the internet is for business and personal use in Australia despite ongoing cybersecurity threats.

One of the great things about Australia is that we live in a democracy. We all had the chance to vote on the weekend and we congratulate Premier Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party on what was a decisive win in the Victorian Election.

The Victorian Chamber’s new Business Voice survey has revealed high wage expectations and skills shortages are the biggest barriers to filling vacant positions for businesses seeking to hire staff.

This Saturday Victorians will go to the polls in what is shaping as a critical election for our business community after the many challenges of the past three years.

Flood-affected businesses and organisations can apply for assistance as part of a $877 million Commonwealth and Victorian Governments recovery support package.

I am delighted that the Victorian Chamber Board endorsed Adrian Kloeden as President and Jeremy Blackshaw as Deputy President at Tuesday’s Victorian Chamber AGM. Congratulations to Adrian and Jeremy and thank you to Karyn Sobels for her successful tenure as President.

I’m excited to be Acting Chief Executive of the Victorian Chamber this week while Paul Guerra is in Paris bidding on behalf of Melbourne to secure the 14th World Chambers Congress here in 2025.