Automation and AI - Half of Australia remains unconvinced

Clarke McEwan Accountants



Many businesses are now embracing automation and artificial intelligence, but the benefits of these technologies are getting lost on many customers and staff.

The research, conducted by Nature on behalf of SEEK, found that less than half of Australians view automation and artificial intelligence (AI) as being "probably a good thing" (48 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively).

Of those that do, the main benefits were identified as increased efficiencies (47 per cent), less repetitiveness (46 per cent) and freeing up people's time (35 per cent).

Surprisingly, it was not just younger adults who are more receptive to these technologies and more positive about their impacts: Baby Boomers (those aged 55 to 64 years), combined with Generation Z (those aged 18 to 24) were more receptive than any other age groups.

Attitudes towards AI and automation were also split by gender, with males much more accepting of the technologies and the belief they deliver greater free time for individuals as well as broader efficiencies for the overall economy than females.

According to the research, a major barrier to even greater uptake of these technologies in business is simply education: people are aware that the technologies exist, but they know little about how they work and what they can be used for. And it is this lack of awareness that is driving a reluctance to accept them.

While 93 per cent of those polled had heard of both AI and automation, three in 10 said they are not welcoming of AI into the workplace. In fact, a quarter of respondents (26 per cent) believe that AI will actually do more harm than good and can't understand the hype about it. That was more than double the 11 per cent who said they love it and think it should be embraced as much as possible.

Job security fears drive concerns about tech

Aside from education, the research found that fears around job security are a major factor in distrust or apprehension of automation and AI.

Despite being among the greatest believers in these technologies, members of Generation Z are also most concerned about their impacts on the availability of future employment opportunities.

That was despite just 6 per cent of respondents having been made redundant or forced to change jobs as a direct result of either AI or automation. These fears are seeing many people turning to training and education, with 41 per cent believing they will need to learn new skills as a direct result of technological advancements.

Fears 'understandable'

Commenting on the findings, Inna Wahlberg, general manager at payroll software provider Ascender Asia Services, said that "it's understandable employees are nervous about advancements when it comes to AI".

"The technology will introduce incredible technical efficiency and get smarter over time, with many suggesting it will replace humans," Ms Wahlberg told My Business.

"However, it could not possibly replace humans completely. For example, while AI may give you the data and analytics to justify a pay increase, would you want to negotiate salary with a robot? When employees have sensitive inquiries, such as queries around payroll, they want to talk to a real person. We are emotional beings and require support from other humans. No matter how sophisticated a chatbot is, we will never truly relate to them."

According to Ms Wahlberg, businesses looking to embrace AI and automation need to understand their core function, which is to "make independent decisions to achieve a goal without continued human input".

"This will put them in a good position to use AI software (when it does become available) to further streamline mundane tasks, and to ensure problems within the organisation that will always require a human touch are identified as soon as possible," the GM said.

Ms Wahlberg agreed that education about the technologies, as well as their benefits and limitations, is the key to driving uptake and usage.

"It is a case of being informed but not alarmed. Businesses will inevitably become more automated and AI will enhance the technological capabilities of software. But it is still a long way off from replacing humans," the GM said.

"For managers and businesses looking to take advantage of AI, it is crucial to build it up gradually. That means learning what tasks AI could help us to achieve in the future and understanding where we can add further value to the business."

The SEEK-Nature research was conducted by interviewing 400 Australian adults aged 18 to 64 currently in the workforce, whether employed or looking for work.

Should you buy or lease your business assets?
By Clarke McEwan August 26, 2025
Should you buy or lease your new equipment? Here are some pros and cons of each. We also can review your financial position, cashflow and cost base to decide whether buying or leasing is the right thing for your business. #businessadvice #SmallBusiness
By Clarke McEwan August 14, 2025
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By Clarke McEwan August 14, 2025
Let’s take a look at the key features of the tax system dealing with luxury cars and the practical impact they can have on your tax position. Depreciation deductions and GST credits Normally when someone purchases a motor vehicle which will be used in their business or other income producing activities there will be an opportunity to claim depreciation deductions over the effective life of the vehicle. Rather than claiming an immediate deduction for the cost of the vehicle, you will typically be claiming a deduction for the cost of the vehicle gradually over a number of years. Likewise, a taxpayer who is registered for GST might be able to claim back GST credits on the cost of purchasing a motor vehicle that will be used in their business activities. However, when you are dealing with a luxury car the tax rules will sometimes limit your ability to claim depreciation deductions and GST credits, impacting on the after-tax cost of acquiring the car. How does it work? Each year the ATO publishes a luxury car limit which is $69,674 for the 2025-26 income year. If the total cost of the car exceeds this limit, then this can impact the GST credits or depreciation deductions that can be claimed. Let’s assume that Alice buys a new car for $88,000 (including GST) in July 2025. To keep things simple, let’s say Alice uses the car solely in her business activities and is registered for GST. The first issue for Alice is that rather than claiming GST credits of $8,000, her GST credit claim will be limited to $6,334 (ie, 11th x $69,674). We then subtract the GST credits that can be claimed from the total cost, leaving $81,666. As this still exceeds the luxury car limit, Alice’s depreciation deductions will be capped as well. While she actually spent $89,000 on the car, she can only claim depreciation deductions based on a deemed cost of $69,674. The end result is that Alice has missed out on some GST credits and depreciation deductions because she bought a luxury car. Exceptions to the rules There are some important exceptions to these rules. The rules only apply to vehicles which are classified as ‘cars’ under the tax system. That is, the car limit doesn’t apply if the vehicle is designed to carry a load of at least one tonne or it is designed to carry at least 9 passengers. The rules only apply if the vehicle was designed mainly for carrying passengers. The way we determine this depends on the nature of the vehicle and whether we are dealing with a dual cab ute or not. For example, let’s assume Steve buys a ute which is designed to carry a load of at least one tonne. This isn’t classified as a car for tax purposes so Steve won’t miss out on GST credits or depreciation deductions. However, let’s assume Jenny has bought a dual cab ute which is designed to carry a load of less than one tonne and fewer than 9 passengers. 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However, if the value of the car exceeds the luxury car limit then the tax rules apply differently. Basically, what happens is that the taxpayer is deemed to have purchased the car using borrowed money. Rather than claiming a deduction for the actual lease payments, instead we will be claiming deductions for notional interest charges and depreciation, subject to the luxury car limit referred to above. Luxury car tax Cars with a luxury car tax (LCT) value which is over the LCT threshold for that year are subject to LCT, which is calculated as 33% of the amount above the LCT threshold. The LCT thresholds for the 2025-26 income year are: $91,387 for fuel-efficient vehicles $80,567 for all other vehicles that fall within the scope of the LCT rules From 1 July 2025 the definition of a fuel-efficient vehicle has changed, meaning that a car will only qualify for the higher LCT threshold if it has a fuel consumption that does not exceed 3.5 litres per 100km (this was 7 litres per 100km before 1 July 2025). Buying a car or other motor vehicle can be a complex process and there will be a range of factors to consider. If you need assistance with the tax side of things please let us know before you jump in and sign any agreements.
By Clarke McEwan August 14, 2025
The purpose of the loan The most important thing when looking at the tax treatment of interest expenses is to identify what the borrowed money has been used for. That is, why did you borrow the money? For interest expenses to be deductible you generally need to show that the borrowed funds have been used for business or other income producing purposes. The security used for the loan isn’t relevant in determining the tax treatment. Let’s take a very simple scenario where Harry borrows money to buy a new private residence. The loan is secured against an existing rental property. As the borrowed money is used to acquire a private asset the interest won’t be deductible, even though the loan is secured against an income producing asset. Redraw v offset accounts While the economic impact of these arrangements might seem somewhat similar, they are treated very differently under the tax system. This is an area to be especially careful with. If you have an existing loan account arrangement, you’ve paid off some of the loan balance and you then use a redraw facility to access those funds again, this is treated as a new borrowing. We then follow the golden rule to determine the tax treatment. That is, what have the redrawn funds been used for? An offset account is different because money sitting in an offset account is basically treated much like your personal savings. If you withdraw money from an offset account you aren’t borrowing money, even if this leads to a higher interest charge on a linked loan account. As a result, you need to look back at what the original loan was used for. Let’s compare two scenarios that might seem similar from an economic perspective: Example 1: Lara’s redraw facility Lara borrowed some money five years ago to acquire her main residence. She has made some additional repayments against the loan balance. Lara redraws some of the funds and uses them to acquire some listed shares. Lara now has a mixed purpose loan. Part of the loan balance relates to the main residence and the interest accruing on this portion of the loan isn’t deductible. However, interest accruing on the redrawn amount should typically be deductible where the funds have been used to acquire income producing investments. Example 2: Peter’s offset account Peter also borrowed money to acquire a main residence. Rather than making additional repayments against the loan balance, Peter has deposited the funds into an offset account, which reduces the interest accruing on the home loan. Peter subsequently withdraws some of the money from the offset account to acquire listed shares. This increases the amount of interest accruing on the home loan. However, Peter can’t claim any of the interest as a deduction because the loan was used solely to acquire a private residence. Peter simply used his own savings to acquire the shares. Parking borrowed money in an offset account We have seen an increase in clients establishing a loan facility with the intention of using the funds for business or investment purposes in the near future. Sometimes clients will withdraw funds from the facility and then leave them sitting in an existing offset account while waiting to acquire an income producing asset. This can cause problems when it comes to claiming interest deductions. First, even if the offset account is linked to a loan account that has been used for income producing purposes, this won’t normally be sufficient to enable interest expenses incurred on the new loan from being deductible while the funds are sitting in the offset account. For example, let’s say Duncan has an existing rental property loan which has an offset account attached to it. Duncan takes out a new loan, expecting to use the funds to acquire some shares. While waiting to purchase the shares, he deposits the funds into the offset account, which reduces the interest accruing on the rental property loan. It is unlikely that Duncan will be able to claim a deduction for interest accruing on the new loan because the borrowed funds are not being used to produce income, they are simply being applied to reduce some interest expenses on a different loan. To make things worse, there is also a risk that parking the funds in an offset account for a period of time might taint the interest on the new loan account into the future, even if money is subsequently withdrawn from the offset account and used to acquire an income producing asset. For example, even if Duncan subsequently withdraws the funds from the offset account to acquire some listed shares, there is a risk that the ATO won’t allow interest accruing on the second loan from being deductible. The risk would be higher if there were already funds in the offset account when the borrowed funds were deposited into that account or if Duncan had deposited any other funds into the account before the withdrawal was made. This is because we now can’t really trace through and determine the ultimate source of the funds that have been used to acquire the shares. To do It’s worth reaching out to us before entering into any new loan arrangements. In this area, mistakes are often difficult to fix after the fact, which can lead to poor tax outcomes. That’s why getting advice from a tax professional before committing to a loan is essential. We can work alongside you to ensure your loan is structured in a way that makes financial sense and protects your tax position. Talk to us about the benefits of forecasting If you want to get in control of the destiny and results of your company, come and talk to us. 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