From long-standing businesses that have stood the test of time to start-up success stories, the ACT has a vibrant business community headed by talented business people. Take a look back at the local leaders who showed Canberra meant business in 2025.
16. Boss-proofing the weekend: What does the ‘right to disconnect’ do?
by John Coleman
Australia’s newest workplace right wants to bring back work-life balance. But how? Photo: File.
Australians have been given the ‘right to disconnect’. But what does that mean? An expert from MV Law puts it into plain-speaking terms.
15. Region Canberra celebrates its next growth phase
by Karyn Starmer
Region Canberra staff celebrated a significant milestone for the company at the brand launch party. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT’s fastest growing local news organisation marked the latest chapter in its growth with the official launch of Region Canberra.
Region‘s advisory board, staff, clients and supporters gathered for the event at the Canberra Southern Cross Yacht Club at Yarralumla on 14 May.
The name change from Riotact to Region Canberra aligns with the group’s growing presence in other regions, including the Illawarra and Riverina.
14. Preventing online scams – here’s what you can do
by Dione David
Back to basics – pick up the phone before you pay that invoice or you could find yourself the victim of a online scam. Photo: Wavebreakmedia.
Following a ground-breaking court decision, where both a payer and payee had not done enough to protect themselves, experts urged companies to review their systems and procedures to guard against online scams.
13. ‘Provided it’s legal, we’ll do it!’ This funeral home knows how to think outside the box
by Jodie O’Sullivan
Judy Cole says the family business of William Cole Funerals will go to almost any length to help personalise a loved one’s send-off. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
This family funeral business has traded hearses for horse-drawn carts, the back of utes and log trucks. It’s overseen services in lounge rooms, backyards and even at sea. Founder Bill Cole says it’s all about adding a personal touch at a difficult time.
12. Microsoft is changing fast. What’s new and what matters?
by Dione David
Microsoft ecosystem incremental updates are being released almost daily. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
If the latest updates to Microsoft’s suite – especially its new AI features – have you feeling confused, overwhelmed or in denial, you’re not alone.
Mojo Up director Daniel Buchanan says the speed and sheer volume of change is throwing many clients.
His Canberra-based company helps Australian Federal Government, Defence and intelligence organisations adopt and secure modern technology solutions.
11. Been asked a weird question in a job interview? It might be illegal
by Dione David
Some interview questions cross the line — and the law. Photo: Tonodiaz.
When it comes to job interviews, most employers want to find the right person for the job — someone who can do the work, fit in with the team and bring the right skills to the table. But in trying to dig deeper, some interviewers risk overstepping legal boundaries without even realising it.
BDN Lawyers solicitor Allen Guo says many workers are afraid to pursue their rights — especially when it comes to workers’ compensation — as they fear it could hurt their future job prospects.
“People worry they’ll be labelled a troublemaker, or that their claim history might be used against them in future job applications,” he says.
10. Why even great speakers get nervous — and how they beat it
by Dione David
In public speaking, some nerves can be a good thing, so long as they don’t get the better of you. Photo: Cam Sullings.
You’ve practised your slides and memorised your script, but the moment you step up, your mouth goes dry and your heart races. Glossophobia — fear of public speaking — is incredibly common. Some research suggests it’s the number one fear in the country, affecting up to 75 per cent of the population.
Yet every day, in boardrooms and on stages, people speak — and some even thrive. How?
“A good public speaker is someone who can stand in front of an audience or lens and communicate their message authentically,” Present with Impact Managing Director Cam Sullings says.
9. Founder of Canberra’s first mobile dental service for aged care wins social impact award
by Oliver Jacques
Brenda Fry was recognised for plugging a huge gap in the health care system. Photo: Canberra Women in Business/Facebook.
A woman who established Canberra’s first ever private mobile dental service for aged care residents and people with a disability has won a social impact award for her innovation.
Brenda Fry was working as a dental hygienist when she noticed a peculiar gap in the health care system that was causing distress for many elderly people and their families.
“When people put their elderly parents into aged care, they often don’t realise that oral health isn’t covered by Medicare, in the way you might get coverage for a podiatrist and physiotherapist,” she said.
8. A carpenter and a brewer walk into a bar …
by Dione David
Thor Diesendorf (Thor’s Hammer) and Laurence Kain (Capital Brewing Co) have known each other since boyhood, but when their paths crossed later in life the two Canberra grassroots business owners formed a close bond. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Behind two of Canberra’s most recognised grassroots businesses is a quiet yet powerful transformation fuelled by a longstanding friendship.
Founder of Thor’s Hammer, Thor Diesendorf and Capital Brewing Co co-founder Laurence Kain met as kids – their mothers were friends. But with a 14-year age gap, it wasn’t until later in life that their paths crossed and their friendship really kicked off.
In 2011, when Laurence opened craft beer mecca Honkytonks (with its sister cocktail lounge Hippo Bar upstairs), it felt right that the timber elements of the bar should come from Thor’s Hammer.
7. New hands keeping Canberrans’ sentimental items safe inside custom frames
by Claire Sams
New owner of Civic Proframe Jo Lees has returned to the capital after years away. Photo: Claire Sams.
When a former public servant couldn’t resist the lure of Canberra, she headed home. Now her framing business is helping others preserve what’s special to them.
6. Bye-bye Amazon, Microsoft and Google: mCloud smashes the big three on every level
by Morgan Kenyon
James Braunegg was determined to make Micron21’s new cloud platform as advanced, easy to use, and affordable as possible. Photo: Andy Knight.
Australia’s first Tier IV data centre is offering premium cloud infrastructure at a fraction of the usual cost. And everything is hosted, run and secured on home soil! Here’s how Micron21 does it.
5. Canberra scale-ups have a new home base in the heart of the city
by Morgan Kenyon
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr (right) joins Canberra Innovation Network CEO Petr Adamek to celebrate the opening of a new facility late last year. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
There’s a new headquarters in town for small businesses striving to make a name for themselves and, so far, innovators from all over the nation’s capital have jumped at the opportunity.
Created to bridge the gap between fresh start-ups and established companies, Canberra Innovation Network’s (CBRIN) Level 4 ScaleUp Hub is the latest addition to the organisation’s office in Moore Street.
Co-located across 1600 purpose-built square metres, the highly collaborative hub on Level 4 is designed to support locally based scale-ups – fledgling businesses that have either raised capital or have growing revenue that allows for significant customer growth and rapid job creation.
4. There’s a new breed of business emerging – and it’s called Gen B
by Morgan Kenyon
Kira Day has spent the last five years guiding passionate companies towards a better future for all. Photo: B Lab Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand.
Imagine an economy that works for all people, communities and the planet we live on.
The ideal might be tricky to visualise, but it isn’t unreachable.
A number of organisations are working hard in Canberra, across Australia and around the world to make it happen, and they’ve been dubbed “Gen B”.
3. A Snow will no longer chair the Canberra Airport board
by Ian Bushnell
Tom Snow (right) with his late father Terry. Photo: Snow Medical.
There has been a changing of the guard at Canberra Airport, with a new board chair who, for the first time, is not a member of the Snow family, and two new directors.
The changes have led to speculation that the family may offload a stake in its ownership of the Airport, which the late Terry Snow bought in 1998 when it was privatised. But the Airport says that it is not on the table.
2. The Garden at Dickson to close after 49 years as hard times take their toll
by Ian Bushnell
Co-owner and manager of The Garden at Dickson, Ann Gottas, centre, with team members Marcia, left, and Silver. Photos: Michelle Kroll.
The Garden at Dickson survived the drought and COVID-19, but tough business conditions saw the nursery and florist close in May, just short of its half-century.
The site is also going to be redeveloped by the part-owner, The Tradies, but that has nothing to do with the decision to shutter the business, co-owner Stephen Hughes told Region.
1. Letting your employees work from home? Here’s what you’ve signed up for
by Dione David
It might seem cosy, but working from bed is not WHS compliant. Photo: pixelfit.
You might be legally responsible for that spare bedroom your employee turned into a home office – at least some of the time.
With hybrid and remote work now the norm across many industries, employers must reckon with a sometimes overlooked reality: their workplace health and safety (WHS) obligations extend to the workspaces employees rig up at home. And failing to address risks could have real legal consequences.
MV Law employment lawyer Amy Sydney says while many employers have accepted that remote work has shifted to standard practice, many haven’t caught up with evolving WHS obligations.
