The Abbott government is soon to release new guidelines to streamline interaction between government regulators and small businesses as part of its drive to further reduce compliance costs and red tape.
In a response to a Productivity Commission report on regulator engagement, the government will detail a set of new “engagement principles” to apply to dealings between commonwealth agencies and small businesses.
The response will form part of a new national and competitiveness agenda to be unveiled in coming weeks and is being touted by Small Business Minister Bruce Billson as a win for smaller operators.
“We want to ensure the commonwealth organises itself to be more responsive and client-focus to small business rather than expecting bureaucratic administrative convenience to trump a more sensitive and deregulatory principle of engagement with the sector,” Mr Billson told The Australian newspaper.
According to The Australian, the new engagement principles will mean regulators and bureaucrats must consider the manner of their consultation with small businesses and the appropriateness of any regulatory burdens.
They would also be required to consider whether they were imposing “unreasonable burdens and restraints on a small businesses’ ability to thrive and prosper”.
Chief executive of the Council of Small Business of Australia, Peter Strong, said the move was “very positive”. He said the changes would make dealings with bodies like the Australian Taxation Office, Australian Securities and Investment Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman and various safety regulators much easier.
“It’s about keeping us all involved and talking to each other where we’re on a level playing field,” he told Dynamic Business. “They’re not wasting our time, we’re not wasting their time.”
The Productivity Commission report released last year made a total of 18 recommendations and highlighted the regulatory burdens imposed on some operators by revealing that one small winery required 45 federal, 25 to 86 state and five to ten local licences depending on the type of its operations.
