As we reach the crest of 2023, it’s an opportunity to pause and consider how to approach the coming calendar year. Economic, technological, and legislative changes stand as obstacles and opportunities in 2024, ready to be navigated by forward-thinking organisations.
Economic Growth Continues to Slow
The Australian economy is predicted to fall from 1.9% in 2023 to 1.4% in 2024, thanks to high interest rates and an equally high cost of living. The result is, as always, a brake on household and business spending (OECD, 2023).
While the economic lull continues, businesses are diversifying their B2C and B2B customer base. “If you rely on only one or a few customers, you risk losing a significant revenue source if that customer changes its buying habits or goes bankrupt.” (Houston, 2023).
Diligent companies are using the predicted lull of 2024 as a preparation year, diversifying, automating, and getting their compliance in order, ready for a more prosperous 2025. While it’s still early days, the predictions for ’25 are steadily sitting at an economic growth of 2.1% (OECD, 2023) (Read, 2023).
A Rapid Uptake of Automation Technology
Generative AI is infiltrating Australian workplaces. Chat GPT, one of the most prominent generative AI programs, feels like it’s been around for a while but was only launched in November of 2022. Uptake was slow at first, with the University of Queensland reporting in February that the majority of Australians don’t trust the use of AI in the workplace (2023). But opinions have been changing fast; by July, it was reported that 67% of Australians were using AI at work (Knowles, 2023). At this rate, it’s likely to be a staple of many workplaces in 2024.
Generative AI holds great potential; however, it’s vital to understand its capabilities as much as its limits, which include generating purely fictional material and giving over-simplified answers (University of South Carolina, 2023). It needs to be treated like any new tool, with proper staff training and usage policies in place.
Legislation Set to Require Action in ‘24
As of December 2023, there are currently 112 bills before the federal parliament. In the generative AI space, the federal government is conducting an inquiry regarding its use in the Australian education system, which is likely to influence policy in the upcoming year. In other sectors, such as retail, a disposable vape ban is primed for January 1st, and the mining industry of the Northern Territory will have to adapt to the requirements of the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Mining) Bill 2023. And that’s only a glimpse.
Anticipating legislation and pre-planning means that businesses stay ahead of the changes and aren’t left to meet urgent compliance laws.
The Benefit of Compliance Preparation
When navigating through inevitable legislation changes, organisations need a review policy to ensure compliance—a single point-in-time check isn’t enough. “Governance should involve more than just a ‘one-and-done test’. Many organisations will require continual compliance” (Usi, 2023). Even though legislation changes can be slow-moving, a robust policy review process mitigates the risk of non-compliance while allowing the embrace of new advancements; two things that will be vital in 2024.
References:
Houston, M. (2023, June 7). 5 ways business owners can manage the high cost of inflation and keep debt under control. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissahouston/2023/06/07/5-ways-business-owners-can-manage-the-high-cost-of-inflation-and-keep-debt-under-control/?sh=17a858556a26
Knowles, C. (2023, July 18). Already 67% of Australian workers using generative AI weekly. ITBrief Australia. https://itbrief.com.au/story/already-67-of-australian-workers-using-generative-ai-weekly
OECD. (2023). OECD economic outlook (Volume 2023, issue 2.). https://issuu.com/oecd.publishing/docs/australia-oecd-economic-outlook-november-2023?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
Read, M. (2023, November 29). RBA wont lift rates again: OECD. Financial Review. https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-won-t-lift-rates-again-oecd-20231129-p5enql
University of Queensland. (2023). Most Australians don’t trust A! in the workplace. UQ News. https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2023/02/most-australians-don%E2%80%99t-trust-ai-workplace
University of South Carolina. (2023). Using generative AI in research. Research Guides. https://libguides.usc.edu/generative-AI/limitations
Usi, G. (2023, October 6). The importance of navigating cybersecurity compliance for the c-suit. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/10/06/the-importance-of-navigating-cybersecurity-compliance-for-the-c-suite/?sh=330f94fbe266
