AI Adoption Gap: An AI educator says the Albanese government’s national AI framework risks leaving regional businesses behind, calling for explicit funding and training support so communities can build trust and capability from the start. Telstra Outage Fallout: Telstra executives, including CEO Vicki Brady, face a parliamentary inquiry after a nationwide outage disrupted triple zero calls, EFTPOS payments for about 80,000 businesses, and public transport in NSW and Victoria; Telstra is taking compensation claims. SME Cashflow & Tax Pressure: Insolvency specialists warn small business owners to tackle tax debts early, noting director penalty notices and personal guarantees can quickly expose personal assets. Regional Connectivity Boost: Tasmania’s west and far north west coast will get $9.8m under the Mobile Black Spot Program to expand mobile capacity and improve access to emergency services for local tourism and small business. Business Formation Surge: New ASIC data shows 43,393 new businesses registered in June—more than 40,000 in a month for the first time—highlighting continued SME churn even as insolvencies remain a concern. Australia Post for eCommerce SMEs: Australia Post launches “Big Boss Energy” to help micro and small eCommerce businesses grow via in-store activations, digital campaigns and events like a Melbourne Making Moves Market. Night-Time Economy Jobs: A report finds Melbourne’s night-time economy is adding jobs and venues fast, with food driving most new businesses—good news for hospitality and retail operators. Mobile Payments Disruption: Milkrun temporarily suspended new orders across Australia and New Zealand while fixing a payments outage, with some transactions reversed. Industry Shock for Workers: Tasmania’s Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter has shut after an acquisition deal failed, leaving 200+ workers redundant and raising supply-chain questions for steel and battery inputs.