Tag: Ombudsman

A new report by ASBFEO exposes a govt procurement system riddled with risk aversion that’s hurting both SMEs and taxpayers.

The inquiry will make recommendations to improve education and engagement programmes to help SMEs in preparing for natural disasters.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says small businesses will play a critical role in the post COVID economic recovery, calling on the federal government to establish a small business procurement panel. The panel, proposed in ASBFEO’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, would require Government contracts with a value of up to $10 […]

The Payment Times Reporting Bill aims to address late payments and the consequential struggle with cash flow, which is an ongoing problem for Australia’s 3.4 million small businesses, with the negative impacts spreading widely across the broader economy with juggling suppliers. Paying small businesses late creates a back log effect. The Government has been prompted […]

Small businesses are pleading to be paid on time, with Ombudsman Kate Carnell urging big businesses not to use the COVID-19 economic downturn as an excuse not to pay up. The reports of big businesses using COVID-19 as an excuse to delay payments to their small business suppliers is disappointing. “Now is the time for […]

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, requesting support for Australia’s small business sector, including the nation’s 1.4 million sole traders. Read up on: COVID-19 economic plans and the government’s stimulus package. “The COVID-19 driven downturn is already taking an unprecedented toll on the Australian small business […]

Only a few big businesses, such as Telstra and Rio Tinto, have done ‘the right thing’ according to Australian Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell, in terms of addressing late payments. Late payments is a huge problem for the Australian small business community, with a Xero report last June (2019) citing a loss of $7 billion per […]

Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has spoken out on the recently approved new version of the Banking of Code of Practice – a set of enforceable standards that small businesses can expect from Australian banks. The updates come into effect in March this year and was only last updated in July last […]

Liberal Democrats Senator Duncan Spender has slammed the Australian Tax Office for its mistreatment of small businesses, as exposed by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. “Unfortunately the Ombudsman has confirmed what I already suspected: that the taxman is enforcing its debt recovery actions on small businesses, despite appeals processes still taking place,” […]

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate Carnell today welcomed the announcement of an Australian Business Growth Fund, a recommendation in the ASBFEO’s Affordable Capital for SME Growth report. “Our report identified the need to address a critical funding gap for long-term, patient capital to enable our up-and-coming, high growth potential small […]