Australian startups ‘punch above their weight’ - and why tax changes are a blow to the head

Startup 360 hit the road for episode 63, recording in front of a studio audience for the first time from Growth Summit Sydney. Simon and Majella’s guest was Ben Grabiner from Side Stage Ventures, taking them through the findings of the Australia Venture & Startup Report 2026 , which looked at the past decade of the local VC-backed ecosystem. It’s now grown 13.7 times faster than any other major global hub, creating more $10 billion companies per dollar invested than anywhere else in the world. But amid the success there are still challenges, and the conversation took place just as the federal government released its startups consultation paper in response to concerns about the impact of capital gains tax changes to the ecosystem. Ben talked about tackling Australia’s productivity slump, the flywheel of successful exits and the policy settings the country needs to encourage innovation. “You should be encouraging young people to start businesses,” he said. "If you want to discourage speculative investment in property, then you should change the tax settings of property relative to other asset classes." Tax settings drive incentives, Ben explained and the danger in the current plan is that the government is “going to make this a less attractive place to start a business." There’s plenty to unpack in the macro view of Australia’s start sector and Ben brings some clear thoughts to the conversation. Startup 360 is a SmartCo. Media production, produced and edited by Matt Jackson, and supported by Deel. Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and read StartupDaily.net for all the ANZ tech news for free!