Find definitions of government, business and computing terms that you may come across when you are dealing with government over the internet.
A
ABN Lookup – an online database that contains publicly available information provided by businesses when they register for an ABN.
ABRpublic – the former name of ABN Lookup.
ACCC – Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Accessibility – the use of hardware and software on websites to help people who are physically or visually impaired.
Acrobat Reader – stand-alone program or Web browser plug-in from Adobe that lets you view a Portable Document Format (PDF) file in its original format and appearance. The Acrobat Reader is free and can be downloaded from Adobe.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) – a technology for providing high transmission speeds for video and voice to homes over ordinary copper telephone wire.
Agency – a government department or representative, either federal or state, or any other kind of government organisation.
Agent – a person you authorise to act on your behalf in your business dealings.
Area Consultative Committees (ACCs) – non-profit, community-based organisations funded by the federal government supporting small business and communities in rural, regional, remote and metropolitan Australia.
ASIC – Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
ATO – Australian Taxation Office.
AusIndustry – an area of the federal government that aims to help the Australian business and research community become more innovative and internationally competitive.
Australian Business Number (ABN) – a single identifying number used when dealing with other businesses and the Tax Office.
Australian Business Register (ABR) – a register of information provided to the ATO by businesses and other entities when they register for an ABN that can be accessed by the internet. Some of this information is available publicly from ABN Lookup.
Australian Company Number (ACN) – the number allocated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) when you register a company under Corporations Law.
Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) – an individual written agreement previously available between an employer and employee about terms and conditions of employment.
Authentication – a system whereby people gain trusted access to computer-based systems only through adequate proof of identity.
Automatic Data Capture (ADC) – a collective term for a group of technologies used for managing information. These include barcoding, magnetic stripe, Radio Frequency (RF) Tagging and Data Communication, Optical and Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (OCR, MICR), smartcards, and vision and voice recognition systems.
Award – the setting out of terms and conditions of employment, along with salary levels, through an industrial agreement between employers and employees.
B
B2B – business-to-business e-commerce. Websites designed for businesses to trade with each other over the internet.
B2C – business-to-consumer e-commerce. Websites designed to allow consumers to buy goods and services over the internet.
B2G – business-to-government e-commerce. Websites designed to allow for business to trade with government over the internet.
Bandwidth – the amount of 'stretch' in a network connection, ie its maximum carrying capacity for data traffic.
Benchmark – a set of conditions against which a product or system is measured.
Bookmark (or favourite) – most Web browsers give you an option of adding a URL to a 'HotList' or by marking it with a 'bookmark'. By doing this, you can store the linking information (the URL) to any Web pages you plan to revisit.
BPS (Bits Per Second) – refers to the speed at which a particular modem can transmit data.
Broadband – a high bandwidth network (carrying voice audio and data simultaneously) allowing for high-speed internet access.
Browser – software that makes it possible for a networked computer to visit webpages - common browsers include Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
Business Activity Statement (BAS) – a form used to report business tax entitlements and obligations including Goods and Services Tax and Pay as you go.
Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) – community-based organisations located in city and rural areas that provide assistance to foster viable local economic enterprise.
Business Entry Point (BEP) – an initiative funded by the Australian Government and coordinated by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources. It is also the former name of the business.gov.au website.
Business Incubator – office space and facilities funded by the federal government to assist new and growing businesses by providing premises, advice, services and other support.
Business Licensing Information Service (BLIS) – a state and territory government service which provides information on licensing requirements for business.
C
Cache – a small, fast, temporary memory store for regularly accessed or recently used data.
Capital Gains Tax – the tax on any gain you make when you sell an asset such as shares, units in a unit trust and property, excluding most homes and motor vehicles.
Cash flow – the measure of actual cash flowing in and out of a business.
Certification – the formal process of making certain that an individual is qualified in terms of particular knowledge or skills.
Certified Agreement (CA) – a collective agreement made directly between an employer and a group of employees, or between an employer and a union or unions representing employees.
Compliance – procedures that are undertaken at regular intervals or on an ongoing basis to ensure that the regulations and/or laws laid down by an authoritative body are kept.
Consultant – an individual, partnership or corporation engaged to provide professional independent and expert advice or services.
Content Syndication – a business.gov.au service allowing partner sites to publish a complete range of government news and information for businesses on their own website.
Contractor – someone who contracts to provide supplies or perform work at a certain price or rate.
Cookie – a coded file sent to a web server to record visits, used to identify users and customise information based on previous visits.
Copyright – a law that protects original works of art, literature, music, films, sound recording, broadcasts and computer programs from copying and certain other uses.
Corporations Law – the legal regulation of companies, securities and futures industries in Australia.
D
DBCDE – Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) – a legally endorsed entity that is entitled to receive income tax deductible gifts.
Digital signature – an electronic signature used to authenticate the identity of the sender of a message or the signer of an electronic document.
Digital Signature Certificate – an electronic 'credit card' that establishes credentials when doing business or other transactions on the internet.
DIISR – Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
Domain name – a name that identifies an organisation's address on the internet, either a website address (the domain name follows the 'www') or an email address (the domain name follows the '@' symbol in the email address).
Download - transfer of data from a server to your computer's hard disk.
E
E-business – business conducted over the internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners.
Eco-efficiency – producing goods and services with less energy and fewer raw materials, resulting in less waste, pollution and cost.
E-commerce – the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) – exchange between businesses of computer-readable data in a standard format.
Encryption – the coding or scrambling of information in a file so that it can only be decoded and read by someone who has the correct decoding key.
Environmental Management System (EMS) – a business system implemented to manage current and future environmental impact. An EMS integrates environmental management into a business' daily operations, long term planning and other quality management systems.
E-procurement – the business-to-business purchase and sale of supplies and services over the internet.
Excise duty – an indirect tax levied on certain types of goods produced or manufactured in Australia including petrol, alcohol, tobacco and coal.
F
FAQ – frequently asked questions.
Firewall – internet security to protect a LAN (Local Area Network) against hackers.
Franchise – a business model where a franchisee purchases the right to trade in goods or services, within the terms of a franchise agreement.
Franchise agreement – a legal contract setting out the operational terms and conditions of a franchise business. This usually covers franchisor and franchisee responsibilities, lease agreements, intellectual property, marketing and payments.
Franchisee – a person or business that legally purchases the right to operate a franchise outlet.
Franchisor – a person or business that owns a franchise and agrees to sell the rights, within the terms of a franchise agreement.
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) – an agreement between two or more countries to improve the flow of goods and services between borders, and eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs and trade barriers.
Freedom of Information (FOI) – the principle that the community should have access to information in the possession of the government and big business, in order to be better informed about their operations and practices.
Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) – a tax paid by employers, on behalf of their employees, on non-salary benefits including company cars and mobile phones.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – a method for transferring files over the internet.
G
Gateway – either hardware or software that acts as a bridge between two applications or networks so that data can be transferred between a number of computers.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) – a broad-based tax of 10 per cent on the sale of most goods and services in Australia.
H
Hacker – a person who uses their computer and internet knowledge to obtain unauthorised access to other people’s or organisations’ computer networks, systems and websites.
Homepage – the opening page or entry page of a website.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – the language used to create and define a web page.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) – a method of sending web pages over the internet. These letters often appear at the start of a website address, e.g. http://www.business.gov.au.
Hyperlink – a highlighted word (or graphic) within a hyper text document (Web page). When you click a hyperlink, it will take you to another place within the same page, or to another page.
I
ICT – information and communications technology.
Independent contractor – a person who is self-employed and hired to do work for a business, but is not an employee of that business.
Information economy – an economy based on the exchange of knowledge information and services rather than physical goods and services.
Input tax credit – a credit for any GST included in the price paid for goods and services used in a business.
Instalment Activity Statement (IAS) – a form similar to the Business Activity Statement but for businesses not registered for GST and for individuals who are required to pay PAYG instalments or PAYG withholding.
Intellectual property – laws that protect the property rights in creative and inventive endeavours including art, literature, music, films, sound recording, broadcasts and computer programs.
IP address – the unique numerical address assigned to every computer connected to the internet.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) – digital telephone system that can provide high-speed (up to 128 Kbps) transmission of voice and data.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) – an organisation that allows users to dial into its computers to connect to the internet, for a fee.
J
Javascript – a set of programming commands created by Netscape for inclusion in web pages.
K
Knowledge management – the collection, classification and dissemination of information about a company, its products, and its processes.
L
LAN (Local Area Network) – a group of personal computers linked together in order to share programs and data.
Legal name – the name of the entity that appears on all official documents or legal papers. It may be different from the trading name.
Liability – a financial obligation or amount owed.
Licence – a legal document that grants a business or person with official permission to conduct a certain activity.
M
Memorandum of association – a formal document (including the company name, address, objectives, and capital) that constitute the charter of incorporation of a company.
Memorandum of understanding (MOU) – a formal agreement in principle between two parties.
META tag – a special HTML tag that contains keywords that represent web page content. These are used by search engines to build indexes.
Modem – the hardware that connects a computer to an ISP through the telephone network.
Multimedia – documents or platforms that combine different kinds of data such as plain text, video, graphics or audio.
N
National Names Index – an index of Australian corporate and registered business names and incorporated associations.
O
P
Patent – an exclusive right granted to an owner to sell their particular device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive and useful.
Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding – a legal requirement to hold back a portion of payments made to employees and other businesses, which is then paid to the Tax Office
Payroll tax – a state and territory government tax on industry, calculated on the amount of wages paid.
PDF (Portable Document Format) – a file format for presenting documents containing any combination of text, graphics, and images, to be read by the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Permit – a legal document granting usually temporary permission to carry out a planned action.
Personal Services Income (PSI) – income that is mainly a reward for an individual’s personal effort or skills.
Portal – a gateway for internet users that offers a range of services such as news, search engines and links to other sites.
Predatory pricing – when a business sets an unrealistically low price for the purpose of forcing a competitor to withdraw from the market.
Procurement – the purchase of goods and services from outside suppliers by an organisation, for use in production, sales and distribution activities.
Product liability – insurance that covers a business for damage or injury caused to another business or person, through the failure of a product sold by that business.
Professional indemnity – insurance that protects a business if their client suffers a loss as a direct result of their advice.
Protocol – an established method of exchanging data over the internet.
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) – a system to provide authentication, confidentiality and non-repudiation in online transactions, based on digital certificates and signatures.
Q
Quarantine – a term describing controls, regulations and isolation imposed on goods, animals or plants brought to or from foreign countries in order to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.
R
RAM (Random Access Memory) – the memory that can be used by applications to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on.
Rates – property taxes charged by local government on properties in their municipal area.
Reasonable Benefit Limit (RBL) – the largest benefit which superannuation fund members are allowed to receive on a concessional tax basis by the government, either on a lump sum or on a pension.
Registrations of Interest (ROI) – the canvassing of interested parties who might be available to conduct business or public work on behalf of the government.
Request For Quote (RFQ) – a process the government undertakes to obtain quotes for the provision of goods or services.
Request For Tender (RFT) – a process the government undertakes to obtain tenders for the provision of goods or services.
Retail lease – a legally binding contract between a business and a landlord that sets out the terms by which a business can occupy a landlord’s shop or premises.
S
Search engine – a computer software program which enables a user to find items on a database or the internet.
Session cookie – a cookie that exists only until you shut down your browser.
Smartcards – credit card-sized devices containing a computerchip, to be used for a variety of payment options - credit, debit and stored-value electronic cash - as well as storage of financial and personal information.
SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) – a small business has less than 20 employees, a medium business has between 20 and 199 employees and SMEs have less than 200 employees.
Spam – an unwelcome electronic mail message usually sent to a large number of recipients.
Spider – an automated program which searches the internet.
Stamp duty – a state and territory government tax paid by a buyer on the purchase price of the property or asset.
Stocktaking – a regular process involving a physical count of merchandise and supplies actually held by a business, to verify stock records and accounts.
Streaming media – a continuous broadcast of audio or video files over the internet made possible through the use of three software packages: the encoder, the server and the player.
Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) – a government policy requiring employers to pay a charge if they do not contribute a prescribed level and standard of contributions to complying superannuation funds.
Sustainability – development that takes full account of the environmental consequences of economic activity and utilises resources that can be replaced or renewed.
T
Tariff – a type of tax levied by the federal government on imported goods or services.
Tax File Number (TFN) – a number allocated to taxpayers and used by the Australian Taxation Office to monitor income and taxation details.
Tax invoice – an invoice for the supply of goods or services which must specify that it is a taxed invoice and must include an Australian Business Number. If the invoice is not in the specified format the recipient cannot claim GST Input Tax Credits.
Tender – a process a government agency or company follows to seek quotes for required goods or services.
Trade mark – the registration of a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or any combination of these, which gives the owner the legal right to use, licence or sell it within Australia.
Transaction Manager – a tool developed by business.gov.au which allow businesses to discover, manage and complete online transactions with federal, state and territory and local government agencies.
U
Unconscionable conduct – when a business takes advantage of another in a transaction in a way that offends the conscience, or acts in a way that is clearly unfair or unreasonable.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – the global address of a document and other resource on the world wide web.
V
Venture Capital – capital invested in a start-up business that is thought to have excellent growth prospects but does not have access to capital markets because it is a private company.
Virus – a malicious piece of computer code which make unauthorised changes to a computer, distributed via the internet or email.
W
Withholding tax – tax deducted at the source on interest, dividend and royalty payments made to non-residents, and certain investments or payments to residents where the recipient has not provided their Tax File Number to the payer.
Worker's compensation – a payment made to an employee affected by a work related injury or illness, to compensate for the loss of earning capacity, medical and rehabilitation expenses.
Worm – a virus that replicates itself on other computers.
X
XML (Extensible Markup Language) – a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the internet.
Y
Z
ZIP – software files compressed into .ZIP format so they take up less space.