To tell or not to tell

Good morning AusCorp. Your company's mental health resources are there to help, but they can be built to serve the business. How important is it to know when those two things line up and where they don't?

This week we get into how to handle a mental health issue at work, especially if you’re deciding if the employer's own programs are worth using and why disclosing a diagnosis to your manager can be a double edged sword.

We're also unpacking the housing slide that the May budget kicked off, with home loan applications down 25% and prices now falling in every major city. Elsewhere, Jetstar is halving your carry-on allowance and charging for overhead bin space, NAPLAN results have gone backwards across nearly every year level, and Canva has become the world's second most-visited AI platform behind ChatGPT.

THE BIG CONVERSATION

A wellbeing program is not support.

If you're dealing with a mental health issue at work, your own GP or psychologist is often more valuable than any program offered by your employer. They're independent from your workplace and accountable to you. There’s still value in employer-run programs, just not for every situation. If the real issue is an unmanageable workload, another wellbeing initiative isn't going to fix it. Sometimes the team simply needs another person.

The same goes for EAP counselling. It can be helpful when you're going through a rough patch, and plenty of people are glad it's there. The catch is that your employer arranges and pays for it, and you're usually limited to a handful of sessions. For something more complex or ongoing, EAP may only get you so far. Having your own GP or psychologist gives you support that sits completely outside your workplace.

Disclosing a mental health diagnosis at work is a hard call, so there’s never a blanket solution. Telling your employer means they can actually make adjustments, and it can also give you some protection if your performance starts to suffer. Of course, once you've told them, you can't take it back. And the sad reality is that it may change how some managers see you, even if it shouldn't. Think about how much you trust your workplace and the people above you before deciding how much you want them to know.

In the end, your experience at work often comes down to your manager more than the company itself. They're the person deciding whether you get a warm welcome back or end up on a performance plan. Sometimes all it takes is one manager choosing to back you, and that can make all the difference. You can't guarantee you'll get that though, so having support outside of work is the part you can actually count on.

2026 AUSCORP SALARY SURVEY

We’re still collecting anonymous salary data for our biggest survey yet and the more people who contribute, the harder it gets for anyone to be underpaid without knowing it. Anonymous, takes 2 minutes and the results go straight back to the community.

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

• Jetstar will halve the number of carry-on items economy-class passengers can take onto its flights and start charging fees for guaranteed space in overhead bins. LINK 

• Reading and writing scores have dropped across almost every year level in the 2025 NAPLAN tests. 33% of students - roughly 1.1M children - fell below the national minimum standard across all domains tested. LINK 

• The Australian Taxation Office is using artificial intelligence to review large volumes of data, spot patterns and flag unusual claims, under-reporting and potential fraud. LINK 

• Canva has become the world’s second most-visited AI platform after ChatGPT, as a OneLittleWeb report shows it attracted 10.5B visits versus ChatGPT’s 64.7B. 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

THREAD OF THE WEEK - r/AUSCORP

How do parents do it?

Lets say Hypothetically, you and you’re partner both work full-time (9-5) with kids.

How do you get shit done like cooking after work, clean and still take time out for yourself (if at all). Do you cook at home or order takeout? Do you get any help from grandparents? Like school pick up etc.

I’m single and nowhere close to having kids. I to go into the office 3 times a week and cherish my WFH days so much.

Just curious to see how everyone deals with it cause by the time weekend rolls around I’m exhausted and don’t have energy to socialise 🥴

Read the thread →

THE BRAINS TRUST

Since the May budget changed the rules on negative gearing and capital gains tax, the number of people applying for home loans has fallen 25%. House prices in the big cities are now dropping, and nationally they fell 0.9% in July, the biggest one-month fall since 2022.

This isn't the usual dip that bounces back the moment the RBA cuts rates. It's a shift caused by the tax changes themselves, and the lending figures show it. The amount banks are lending for mortgages has slowed since March, and they expect it to keep slowing.

For a while the smaller cities were holding up while Sydney and Melbourne fell. That's over. Sydney is now down about 13% and Melbourne 12% on an annual pace, with far fewer homes selling at auction. Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide were still rising through 2025 but have now turned down too, so nowhere is really bucking the trend.

The RBA can't easily fix it either. It raised rates three times earlier this year, unemployment has crept up to 4.4%, and inflation is still too high to start cutting. Most economists don't expect any rate relief until 2027.

The big banks report their results in August, and what they say about how much they're lending will be the clearest sign yet of how bad the slowdown gets. If you own a place, are trying to buy, or have super sitting in the big banks, that's the next thing to keep an eye on.

OFF THE CLOCK

GOING
The North Sydney Olympic pool

Sydney’s iconic Olympic pool reopens after years of delays and $122M price tag. LINK

EATING
The Little Food Market

Explore over 180 of Australia's top tastemakers, all under one roof. From artisan cheese and small-batch spirits to next-level street food. LINK

WATCHING
Ryan Murphy's 1981 thriller is really about now

The Shards adapts Bret Easton Ellis's novel into a prestige LA thriller set in 1981 that's doing a lot of work about the present, which is either clever or exhausting depending on your tolerance for Ryan Murphy. LINK

READING
Paying for friends is a real industry now

Paid social clubs are booming and this piece asks whether they actually solve loneliness or just give it a membership fee and a Slack channel. LINK

WEARING
The Tabi shoe question nobody wants to answer

Fashion Journal asks whether the Maison Margiela Tabi is still cool in 2026, which is the kind of question that reveals more about the person answering it than the shoe. LINK

AUSCORP EVENTS

• AusCorp Puppy Yoga x Doga Sydney | Fri 21 August 2026 | Tickets here

• AusCorp Pilates x One Playground | Sydney | August 2026 | SOLD OUT

• AusCorp Runs | Sydney | Coming Soon 👀 

• AusCorp Singles Event | Sydney | Coming Soon 👀 

ODD PICKS FROM LAST WEEK

• Loneliness harms health more than isolation. LINK 

• Tattoo artists say a growing share of customers are turning up with AI-generated designs, and at some studios it's as many as 3 in 4 enquiries. LINK 

• Football player killed by lightning strike in southern Thailand. LINK 

• Bumble teases a swipe-free future as it doubles down on IRL meetups. LINK 

FEEDBACK LOOP | SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

If you have want to provide more detailed feedback or have any topics that you want to hear more about, you can let us know HERE.

MISSED LAST WEEK’S NEWSLETTER?