Co-living is emerging as a smart, modern alternative to traditional housing, offering safe and high-quality shared living spaces.

Unlike student accommodations focused on socializing or parties, this model is designed for mature individuals navigating Australia’s tight housing market and seeking affordable, comfortable homes.

A typical co-living property accommodates up to nine households while retaining the exterior of a standard home. Interiors are thoughtfully designed to balance privacy and community living, featuring five to nine hotel-quality suites, each with a spacious bedroom, en-suite bathroom, and kitchenette. Common areas include a main kitchen, living room, and outdoor space, creating a welcoming environment for residents to connect.

High demand

According to Yannick Ieko from The Harmony Group, co-living offers cost-effective housing solutions for tenants, with room prices averaging around $200,000 in desirable locations. Investors also benefit, as properties in prime areas tend to appreciate over time. Multiple households renting simultaneously generate strong cash flow, while the model’s low vacancy risk makes it a relatively safe investment. High demand and limited supply further enhance its appeal to property buyers.

Regulatory requirements classify co-living houses as 1B residential dwellings, ensuring safety standards are met while streamlining construction and approval processes. One of the main challenges for expanding co-living is the limited availability of specialized funding from lenders.

For more information, visit theharmonygroup

The recent closure of Sendle has cast a spotlight on the increasing pressures facing startups and small businesses in Australia’s logistics sector. As competition shrinks, delivery costs are rising and service levels are declining, leaving businesses to navigate a more challenging landscape.

For many small enterprises, reliable logistics is critical—not just for day-to-day operations, but for the growth of their ecommerce operations.

Jimmy Wu from Zappy Australia joins Ticker to explain how these changes are impacting small businesses differently from larger players. Startups often face tighter margins and fewer alternatives, meaning that even small increases in shipping costs or delays in service can have outsized effects. “For smaller businesses, every delay or extra cost compounds quickly,” Wu explains. “This can influence customer satisfaction, cash flow, and ultimately the ability to scale.”

Potential solutions

The current situation echoes earlier exits in the industry, such as Temando in 2019, which also left gaps in logistics services for smaller enterprises. Wu suggests that the future of ecommerce growth in Australia will depend heavily on innovation in logistics, from more flexible delivery options to technology-driven efficiency improvements. Potential solutions may include collaboration between smaller logistics providers, increased use of digital platforms, and alternative shipping models tailored for startups.

As the sector evolves, small businesses must remain nimble and proactive in adapting to these challenges. Understanding the shifting logistics landscape and exploring innovative solutions will be key for companies looking to thrive in Australia’s increasingly competitive market.

For more information, visit Zappy.

#SmallBusinessAustralia #SendleClosure #LogisticsChallenges #EcommerceGrowth #StartupStruggles #DeliveryCosts #FreightFiasco #TickerInsights

Promise Akwaowo, CBAP®, is a business analyst and product owner working across enterprise automation, data governance, and large-scale digital transformation.

In this discussion, Promise highlights how AI and automation are rapidly reshaping tech careers, creating entirely new roles across the global ICT landscape. According to him, AI has become a core requirement in tech hiring, with around 78% of job listings now referencing artificial intelligence.

Roles such as AI business analysts and AI engineers are growing quickly, with seven of the ten fastest-growing tech jobs linked to AI. At the same time, rising concerns around data use, privacy, and trust are driving demand for governance specialists and analysts focused on AI ethics.

Data literacy

To remain competitive, ICT professionals are expected to expand their skill sets, with data literacy, cloud fluency, cybersecurity, and automation projected to be essential by 2026. For businesses, investing in AI-ready talent is key to improving efficiency and supporting long-term growth.

Promise has also worked across sectors, including logistics, higher education, and investor relations technology, focusing on turning complex concepts into scalable digital products. His projects often apply human-centred design principles while emphasising clearly defined performance outcomes.