Safe Harbour Protections May Help Australian Startups & Scaleups Ride Out The Current Storm

With a tightening market for capital, the 'safe harbour' protections may be critical for Australian startups and scaleups who are unsure if they can raise more capital within their current cash runway or who need to raise through debt securities like convertible notes. Relying on 'safe harbour' shouldn't be seen as an admission of failure or a point of no return, but as a means to better ride out the storm.

'A ship in harbour is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.' For entrepreneurs, it's a maxim to live by. Caution keeps you safe but static; embracing risk and uncertainty is what drives innovation and business creation.

With few exceptions, startups and scaleups are always fundraising, particularly once they take on venture capital investment. Many are pre-profit for substantial periods of time (and may be encouraged to be so by investors to fuel growth). Some are pre-revenue, particularly in high tech sectors where substantial investment in R&D is