As of July 1 2023, the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold increased for fuel-efficient vehicles. LCT is a tax of 33 per cent paid on every dollar above the threshold on the retail price of imported vehicles.

The threshold has now been raised for the 2022/23 financial year from $84,916 to $89,332 for fuel-efficient vehicles, including EVs and plug-in hybrids.

Increasing the LCT threshold by $4416 might not seem like a lot compared to the price tag on many EVs, but this change is great news for anyone looking to take advantage of the Federal Government’s EV discount.

LCT, FBT and novated leases

In 2022, Parliament introduced the Federal Government EV discount. This discount removed any Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) payable on electric vehicles that have a retail value under the LCT threshold. The only way for individual drivers to access the EV discount is through a novated lease.

Now that the LCT threshold has increased for the 2022/23 financial year, more EVs have become eligible for the discount. If you’ve been eyeing off an EV in the $80,000–90,000 range (below $89,332), you’ll be glad you waited until now as you may be able to maximise your savings.

The threshold change also means there’s the opportunity to make more modifications to vehicles while keeping the total cost below the LCT threshold.

Read about the existing eligible EVs in Maxxia’s other article here.

Speak to novated lease EV experts

As one of Australia’s largest novated leasing providers, Maxxia is leading the charge when it comes to electric vehicles on novated lease. The company has partnered with electric vehicle suppliers to deliver EV expertise and to assist you with sourcing your dream EV at a potentially great price.

Contact Maxxia today to join the rEVolution or view Maxxia’s car offers to learn more.

Australian Mining.

“It’s been an incredible two years since we launched the foundation, with nearly $1 million contributed over that time to worthy causes across the country and in the communities in which we live and work,” Coates executive general manager for people and safety Elise Manns said.

“But it’s more than just providing much-needed financial support to these communities.

“It’s been amazing to see how readily our team members across the country are donating their time as volunteers – we’re anticipating we’ll reach 600 hours volunteering across 2023, up from 516 hours in 2022.

“It goes to show just how much our people care about these causes and their communities, with all willing to help however and whenever they can.”

In addition to Coates’ existing partnership with the Clontarf Foundation, the Foundation’s national charity partners are the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, TIACS, and Mission Australia. Nationally, the Foundation supports R U OK?, while at a regional Business Unit (BU) level, it supports the Humpty Dumpty Foundation (East BU), Seven Telethon (West BU), TradeMutt (North BU) and Foodbank (South BU).

Making a difference

In 2023, the Foundation supported the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Balmoral Burn, with Coates’ team members and their families taking part in a variety of different race categories over the 420m stretch up one of Sydney’s steepest hills. Some of them even doing it twice, showing their support for a charity that raises money for children in hospitals across Australia.

In addition, Coates not only supports Humpty with equipment hire donations, but also through acquiring and donating vital equipment for sick and injured children.

In the last year this included five items worth $19,870 for health units: Rottnest Island Nursing Post in Western Australia, Royal Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory, Cohuna District Hospital in Victoria, Mount Isa Hospital in Queensland and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in New South Wales.

“Coates’ support towards purchasing paediatric medical equipment through Humpty’s Wish List allows us to create life changing outcomes for children in hospital right across Australia,” Humpty Dumpty Foundation chief executive officer and managing director Claire Reaney said.

Providing pathways

In 2021, Coates launched a three-year partnership with Coates and the Clontarf Foundation, supporting 148 Clontarf Academies located where Coates co-exists.

More than 11,000 students are enrolled in the Clontarf program, which is designed to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment opportunities of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.

As part of its support, Coates is developing employment pathways within its business for Clontarf graduates, assisting them with functional skills such as resume writing and interviewing, as well as hosting visits to Coates’ work sites and hands-on work experience. Coates has employed 14 Clontarf graduates since commencing support.

“Through the Coates Foundation we seek to build on this work to enhance our communities and leave legacies that last for generations to come,” Manns said. “Clontarf is undertaking amazing work across the nation and our team is happy to assist where it can with volunteering hours and even with the provision of equipment.”

In 2023, Coates donated 52 laptops to Clontarf students in NSW and the NT. Coates employees attended more than 200 community engagements with local Clontarf Academies, participating in a range of informal, unstructured and social activities aimed at building long-term relationships with the students and their culture, as part of the company’s RAP commitment.

Coates also volunteered manpower and machinery to support the recreation of a Yarning Circle at Cecil Andrews College, in Western Australia, an area where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students gather at the school to share stories.

Volunteering to deliver meaningful impact

Meanwhile, 46 Coates team members volunteered more than 240 hours with Foodbank in 2023 helping the charity pack and distribute 41,151kg of food; the equivalent of 82,302 meals.

With the financial and in-kind investment the Foundation has provided, the impact equates to 215,670 meals.

In addition, 15 team members from the East Business Unit, Legal and People and Safety rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into a storage facility makeover for Common Ground as part of the Foundation’s work with Mission Australia.

“The basement of Common Ground, a building that houses those at risk of homelessness, had accumulated years of clutter among other necessities and equipment staff require to support residents,” Manns said.

“With the help of a Coates ute, rubbish and detritus were distributed into a street skip and two storage rooms that were initially crammed, emptied and reordered to make life easier for the Mission Australia team.”

Starting conversations around mental health

Coates has been on the front foot with raising mental health awareness, with the Foundation partnering with the team from TIACS (This Is A Conversation Starter), which provides a free text/call mental health counselling support service for those seeking help.

Started by the co-founders of social impact workwear brand TradeMutt, many Coates people have embraced the TIACS mission, starting ‘Funky Shirt Fridays’ when they wear bright TradeMutt shirts on Fridays to help encourage conversations around mental health with customers and colleagues.

“They can see the impact simply having a conversation can having in boosting mental health,” Manns said. “The Trade Mutt initiative is the perfect way to start conversations and it’s led to an incredible impact for TIACS.”

Since November 2021, the impact the Foundation has made on TIACS has been immense, with TIACS reporting that 605 clients have been supported and more than 473 hours of conversations held since the Foundation began its support.

For R U OK? Day, the company held nationwide morning teas for staff to further raise awareness, with TIACS co-chief executive officer Jason Banks delivering a lunchtime webinar with all of Coates’ employees.

“As an industry, we need to make sure that our doors are open to people struggling with mental health,” Manns said. “That conversation can be the first step to helping people find the support they need.”

Click here for more information on the Coates Foundation and its charity partners.

Australian Mining.

And with 12 awards presented last night, there was a lot to celebrate.

Indigenous and Community Engagement Award – proudly sponsored by Sandvik

Recognising collaboration between Aboriginal-owned businesses and/or community organisations and mining and minerals processing companies operating within Australia.

The Indigenous Community Engagement category at this year’s Prospect Awards went to BHP’s Banjima land rehabilitation partnership with the Banjima people in WA.

The partnership is an “informal but highly valued” collaboration between Banjima Traditional Owner members, organisations and businesses in land conservation and the re-vegetation of native plants on BHP mining areas located on Banjima traditional lands in the Pilbara.

Excellence in Environmental Management & Sustainability – proudly sponsored by Bonfiglioli

Recognising a mine, company, or project that has developed or carried out an innovative, environmentally-focused sustainable program to protect, preserve and/or rehabilitate the natural environment, contributing to decarbonisation and/or reducing waste and/or waste emissions.

Maven Greentech’s AirX Initiative took out the category at this year’s Prospect Awards.

The company pioneered AirX to be a robot-driven air filter cleaning system tailored for mine sites and workshops.

“The war on cost reduction will be won through the innovation of technology,” Maven Greentech said of its AirX Robot system. “The future of the planet will be saved by the very same technology.”

Excellence in Mine Safety, OH&S – proudly sponsored by Geographe

Recognising a mine, company, or project that has developed or carried out a program that increased safety, removes risk, or cuts worker issues on a project or mine.

The 2023 Excellence in Mine Safety award was taken home by Engentus for its TopTorque precision reactionless bolting system.

Developed in WA, the system is designed to eliminate some of the biggest hazards from tightening industrial bolted joints with powered torque wrenches.

Excellence in IIOT Application – proudly sponsored by ifm

Recognising an outstanding implementation of IIoT that enhances mining and minerals processing operations. 

Hexagon took home the top spot at this year’s Prospect Awards with its HxGN MineProtect Operator Alertness System, or OAS, which keeps heavy and light vehicle operators alert and attentive throughout long working hours.

The OAS operates by using computer artificial intelligence (AI) to provide real-time alerts and notifications to drivers and supervisors, empowering them to act to keep sites safe from the hazards of fatigue.

The solution employs state-of-the-art sensor technology and advanced algorithms to continuously monitor operators’ alertness levels in real-time.

Project Lead of the Year – proudly sponsored by Regal Rexnord Australia

Recognising an individual who has led a project or mine site to a successful outcome. This could be an internal project at a mine, or a project lead by a contract miner or supplier. 

The Project Lead of the Year category at this year’s Prospect awards celebrated Craig Hagan, Yancoal head of training and safety culture.

Hagan’s most recent project saw him implement a culture and change strategy that has reduced total injuries at Yancoal by 60 per cent and lost time due to injuries by 50 per cent over the past three years.

Safety Advocate of the Year – proudly sponsored by Flexco

Recognising an individual that is committed to ensuring safety – either for an individual site or company, or for the mining industry as a whole.

Alongside taking home the Project Lead of the Year award, Craig Hagan was also recognised as the Safety Advocate of the Year.

As head of training and safety culture at Yancoal Australia, Hagan swept up the award for his compelling 30-year history developing, coordinating and implementing continuous safety systems across the industry.

“Craig has been working in high-risk industries for over 30 years, and he’s seen firsthand how critical it is to slow down and focus on what matters,” Yancoal Australia said.

Innovative Mining Solution – proudly sponsored by Austmine

Recognising a mine, company, or project that has developed a unique mining solution. 

As champions of innovation, Roy Hill has always planned to undergo a transition to autonomous haulage.

After three and a half years of collaborating with two mining technology specialists, 2023 was the year in which the Pilbara-located iron ore mine made it happen, developing the world’s first OEM agnostic and autonomous haulage systems (AHS) solution.

Mine Project Success of the Year – proudly sponsored by Epiroc

Recognising a significant engineering and/or contract mining project that has been undertaken on a mine site.

Having already taken out the Excellence in IIoT Application category, Hexagon’s HxGN MineProtect Operator Alertness System (OAS) was again celebrated for its successful implementation at MMG’s Rosebery mine in Tasmania.

Outstanding Mine Performance – proudly sponsored by SEW Eurodrive

Recognising a rock mine that is performing well and has carried out an innovative project, partnership, initiative or program.

This year saw Anglo American honoured for its Aquila coal mine in central Queensland.

The mine was reopened with an expansion in 2022 and is expected to surpass a five million tonnes in production in 2023.

The crowning jewel of the mine’s resurrection is its longwall shear, which was completed last year on time and within budget and has seen a reduction in operational exposure of 15,000 hours annually.

Discovery of the Year – proudly sponsored by Atlas Iron

Celebrating a significant discovery at either a greenfields or brownfields site. The discovery must have been made or recognised as significant for the broader Australian industry.

International Graphite (IG6) was victorious in the category this year for its Springdale graphite project near Collie in Western Australia.

Having grown from an unknown asset into the second biggest graphite deposit in the country in under 18 months, the discovery puts IG6 on track to become one of the largest producers of battery anode graphite for the global lithium-ion battery market in the world.

Lifetime Achievement Award – proudly sponsored by Roy Hill

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual who has contributed to the Australian mining and minerals processing industries throughout their life. They are a dedicated individual and leader within the industry and have been committed to improving and advancing the sector.

The Lifetime Achievement Prospect Award honoured late Lincom Pacific Equipment chief executive officer Roy Watterson.

Watterson dedicated his life to the business he founded and watched grow and develop for 25 years.

Under his leadership, Lincom expanded across Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands to become one of the most successful equipment manufacturing suppliers to the Australian mining industry.

Watterson’s legacy is one of dedication and commitment to the Australian mining industry.

Australian Mine of the Year – proudly sponsored by National Group

The Australian Mine of the Year recognises a well-performing mine.

Roy Hill, a Hancock Prospecting subsidiary and a jewel of the WA mining scene, was awarded the top prize this year for its plans to become the world’s largest autonomous mine.

Located 1200km north of Perth in the Pilbara, Roy Hill is one of Australia’s largest iron ore mines, employing more than 3000 people across its Perth, Port Hedland, and Newman operations.

The company’s Autonomous Haulage Systems saw it also take out the Innovative Mining Solution category at this year’s Prospect Awards, bestowed for Roy Hill’s initiative in setting out to achieve its mission for a fully driverless fleet.

Congratulations to all nominees, finalists and winners of the 2023 Australian Mining Prospect Awards.

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James Marsh and Tim Anderson, whose roles encompass sales and marketing and chief commercial officer respectively, will depart Andromeda on November 17 2023.

Both roles will be lead by chief executive officer and managing director Bob Katsiouleris until a candidate is found in early 2024 to perform both functions.

“These changes streamline the business and create a solid and sustainable foundation for long-term success,” Katsiouleris said.

“We continue making progress in advancing the Great White project, through refining our development and funding plans ahead of an anticipated final investment decision being made.”

The Great White project is Andromeda’s halloysite-kaolin project, located in South Australia.

Andromeda was granted the mining lease for the South Australian mine in December 2021, after signing an offtake agreement for 70,000tpa in June of the same year.

Great White currently has a mine life of 28 years, and the environment protection and rehabilitation program enabled Andromeda to begin staged development of the site in March of this year.

Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.

Australian Mining.

Senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock led the charge to split the Bill into four separate bills relating to family and domestic violence leave, PTSD, silica management, and small business redundancy exemptions.

The split will still need to pass the lower house to come into effect.

Senator Lambie welcomed the outcome of the vote, expressing relief that the four elements were removed from the Bill.

“We have got the four bills through that we wanted split from the enormous monster bill of the IR which should never have been put in there in the first place,” she said.

Senator Pocock said the original bill was too big and that there is “a long way to run” before further changes could be voted on.

“[There are] 20 different schedules, four of them weren’t contentious… what we have done is split out the four things that have unanimous support,” he said.

“Yes, there is consensus forming around certain elements, but there are so many details that need to be nutted out and we have got to get them right.”

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the government will continue to pursue its own legislation to protect workers and lift wages.

“The government remains committed to delivering on our election promise to close the loopholes that are undermining wages,” he said.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting became the latest major to express concern over the proposed industrial relations reforms on Tuesday.

“If increased regulatory burdens cause new mining projects to be delayed or cancelled, Australia will be unable to satisfy the rising iron ore demand created by net zero targets,” Hancock Prospecting chief executive of group operations Gerhard Veldsman told the West Australian.

The four major elements of the Closing Loopholes Bill are:

• criminalising wage theft
• introducing minimum standards for workers in the gig economy
• closing the forced permanent casual worker loophole
• closing the labour hire loophole.

Australian Mining.