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Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Friday that the federal government will fund the cost of credit card surcharges so the Australian Taxation Office can delay its ban on card payments for tax bills. The ATO had said last week it would stop accepting cards from December, in response to the Reserve Bank’s surcharge ban. Mr Chalmers said the delay gives the tax office more time to consult with businesses and “get it right.”

The ATO had argued absorbing the fees would cost about $200 million a year, and that only 5 per cent of small businesses pay their tax bill by credit card. The plan drew backlash from business groups, crossbench MPs and several government ministers. The cost of the extension will be finalised in the mid-year budget update, due in December..

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Firmus Technologies has withdrawn its application to list on the ASX, scrapping what was set to be Australia’s biggest float in decades after a poor reception from investors, the company said Friday. The AI data centre operator had been heading for a valuation of about A$44 billion, which would have made it the biggest ASX listing since Telstra in 1997.

In a statement, Firmus said its board concluded the terms on which the offer could proceed would not reflect the strength of the business, citing recent market volatility. The company said going ahead was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. It will now pursue capital from private markets, consider other public and private options, and update shareholders as those progress.

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has announced a plan to cut net overseas migration to 100,000 in each of the first two years, rising to 160,000 by year four. The package would abolish temporary graduate visas, cut 650,000 temporary visas overall and halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000. Taylor says it is budget neutral, based on analysis with the Parliamentary Budget Office.

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Larissa Waters has stepped down as leader of the Australian Greens. In a Facebook post, she said a downturn in the chronic kidney disease she has been quietly managing means her doctors have advised a slower pace of life than leading a political party allows. She will take medical leave and return to the Senate as one of the Greens’ two senators for Queensland.

Waters pointed to the party’s wins under her leadership, including the November 2025 overhaul of Australia’s 25-year-old environment laws and the push to split gun safety measures from hate speech laws after the Bondi Beach terror attack. The Greens have also used their Senate balance of power to stall National Disability Insurance Scheme reforms. We look at what her exit means for the party and who holds the numbers in the Senate now.

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