POV: You're getting pushed out

Good morning AusCorp. The three-week PIP has become a way to show someone the door. Performance plans were never built for you to pass, so you’re better off taking the payout than treating it as a second chance.

This week we're also looking at why the inflation number that made headlines isn't the one keeping the RBA up at night, and the slow death of the petrol relief that's about to cost you $10 more a tank. Elsewhere, KPMG's chairman and two senior partners are gone as the document scandal deepens, new laws now ban Coles and Woolworths from gouging on groceries, and Qantas is axing four routes.

THE BIG CONVERSATION

Three weeks was never a chance to improve.

Most performance plans run somewhere between 6 weeks and 3 months. There's a reason for that. You get given your target, and the whole process is like a second chance that assumes you’re not capable of changing how you work in that time frame. A lot of these plans have stopped being about getting you back on track and started being about building a paper trail. Companies don't usually go to that effort for someone they're trying to keep.

For many, a performance incentive plan (PIP) is the opening move in a negotiation rather than a test. The company would rather you take a quiet exit with pay than drag everyone through the process and risk it getting messy. Once you see it that way, the PIP becomes leverage. The people who realise this early tend to walk away with a settlement and their reputation intact, while the ones who pour themselves into hitting impossible targets get the same outcome with none of the upside.

It's also worth being honest about what surviving one actually buys you. Overcoming a PIP just means you're now being watched and you’ve only just cleared the bar for a job you were already supposed to be doing. Plenty of people grind through, keep the job, and realise a few months later they've simply earned a worse version of the role they already had, with a manager that’s mentally filed you as a risk.

None of which means your manager is the villain. A lot of managers get handed the framework by HR with the outcome already decided and they aren't allowed to tell you the truth. Don’t blame them for being vague with their reasons, they’re usually someone boxed in by Legal and trying to do what they can. But if you’re ever stuck and wanting to fight through your PIP, get a straight answer on what success is meant to look like. A plan written in good faith holds up fine. Just make sure you’ve read the room.

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PICK & SCROLL BY THE AUSSIE CORPORATE | LAST WEEK’S TOP PICKS

• The government has pledged to fix a capital gains tax “widow tax” flaw affecting an estimated 680,000 jointly owned, supposedly grandfathered properties. LINK

• The emergency fuel discount introduced after the Iran war sent prices soaring in February is being phased out. From July 1, the excise cut drops from 32 cents per litre to 16 cents - about $10 more for a 65-litre fill. LINK

• KPMG is facing pressure from a parliamentary committee to publicly release confidential whistleblower investigation documents as chair Martin Sheppard and 2 senior partners resign over misuse of client information. LINK

• Australia has introduced a new law from July 1 2026 that bans Coles and Woolworths from charging significantly excessive grocery prices above supply cost plus reasonable margin, enforced by the ACCC. LINK

• Qantas and Jetstar have scrapped 4 underperforming trans-Tasman and domestic routes from October due to falling demand, higher fuel, wage and tax costs. LINK

• Bankwest, the digital challenger brand of CBA, has removed LMI for select professional borrowers with 10% deposits as it targets low-risk high-income customers to rival Macquarie. LINK

Flat White lands every week. The news doesn't. Every weekday morning at 8:00am, we send you everything that happened across Australian business and corporate news in a 2-minute read. Same team. Same voice. Just daily.

THE INSIDE TRACK

TOGETHER WITH SPACESHIP

Been a minute since you thought about your super? We’re not surprised. Most super seems stuck in the past. But if you want to be more thoughtful about where you put your hard-earned money - Spaceship Super is built for people like you.

Manage it from your phone, check it on the go, and use it to help you take on life’s moments like saving for a house (they’ve got a First Home Super Saver feature) or figuring out insurance (now offered to eligible members). If you feel like your current fund just sees you as a member number - it might be worth a look.

THREAD OF THE WEEK - r/AUSCORP

How do I positively encourage a junior to try actually solving challenges themselves by doing literally any-f*cking-thing before asking me for the solution?

Oh my god I am losing my mind with a jnr on my team.

They’ve been here for two years and do pretty good work but whenever a challenge crops up they’re asking me for the solution before they try and do ANYTHING about it.

They just show zero initiative to investigate and find a solution. It’s becoming exhausting.

Read the thread →

THE BRAINS TRUST

Headline inflation eased to 4% in May, largely because petrol prices fell after the government temporarily halved the fuel excise. While that pushed inflation below forecasts, the measure the RBA watches most closely continued to rise. Underlying inflation reached 3.6% over the year, its highest level since late 2024, and has picked up each month since February.

Many everyday expenses are still becoming more expensive. Rents rose 3.6% over the year, new home construction costs increased 5.6%, and restaurant meals were up 3.9%. Petrol prices may also rise again as the fuel excise discount is phased out from July, while the 4.75% award wage increase from 1 July could add to costs for labour-intensive industries such as hospitality and other services.

The RBA focuses on underlying inflation when deciding interest rates because it removes volatile items such as fuel prices. While headline inflation has eased, persistent price growth across services means inflationary pressure remains. With the cash rate currently at 4.35%, economists still see another rate rise in August as a possibility.

AUSCORP STRESS INDEX

Rate cuts on the horizon, inflation still sticky, geopolitical noise keeping currency markets on edge. Job posting stress dropped meaningfully, which means advertised vacancies are actually improving despite the noise, and layoff volume, while ticking up, remains well below crisis territory. The headline layoff stories are real - Oracle cutting 21,000 roles is not nothing, but those cuts are concentrated in large global corporates while smaller employers and growth sectors are still posting. The local market is not contracting uniformly. It is bifurcating, and which side of that line your firm sits on will determine whether the next 6 months feel like opportunity or attrition.

OFF THE CLOCK

EATING
Indonesian food that isn't just satay

Three Melbourne restaurants making the case that Indonesian cuisine has been underselling itself for years. LINK

WATCHING
July on Prime: fine, not unmissable

Something to put on when you've already exhausted everything you actually wanted to watch. LINK

READING
The economic data optimists have been waiting for

The Conversation runs the numbers on why things may not be as grim as the group chat suggests. LINK

GOING
Greek-Australian art worth the weekend detour

Antipodean Palette in Melbourne is the kind of exhibition you can mention at dinner without having to explain why you went. LINK

AUSCORP EVENTS

JULY

• AusCorp Runs | 👀 Coming Soon

• AusCorp Pilates | 👀 Coming Soon

AUGUST

• AusCorp Singles Event | 👀 Coming Soon

ODD PICKS FROM LAST WEEK

• Meta has launched its first own-brand smart glasses starting at US$299, including a Kylie Jenner edition, timed neatly to beat Apple to market in 2027. LINK

• The best time of day to eat a high-protein meal, according to a dietitian. LINK

• France just banned alcohol at its biggest national music festival because the heatwave is so severe that hospitals can't afford the extra admissions. LINK

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