Australian Business Burdens Set To Be Made Easier

The Productivity Commission has been tasked by the Australian Federal government to undertake a study that aims to make businesses easier to operate.

The study will address regulatory reform opportunities and evaluate reform outcomes.

This study will replace the commission’s fifth annual review of regulatory burdens on businesses, seek public submissions and in six months will have to report back to the government.

According to Nick Sherry, the minister assisting on deregulation, a key driver of productivity growth is the ongoing regulatory reform which is being recognized by the Gillard government.

“That is why we have embedded regulatory reform as a core government activity, with a comprehensive agenda aimed at reducing red tape for businesses of all sizes,” said Sherry.

“We are driving this reform process both at a national level through COAG (the Council of Australian Governments) and at a commonwealth level through better regulation ministerial partnerships,” he added.

Identifying regulatory reform opportunities and priorities, as well as evaluating regulation reform outcomes will be targeted by the study. Furthermore, lessons gathered from Australia and overseas will also be examined.

These lessons will be the basis for analyzing possible frameworks in order to identify those areas performing poorly.


“Good regulatory reform relies on effectively identifying reform opportunities in order to prioritize the allocation of resources to areas of the highest likely benefit,” said Sherry.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Australia was one of the front-running countries in February 2010 in terms of its regulatory reform practices.

“The Gillard government is determined to build on this impressive record, by maintaining the momentum of regulatory reform and making it easier for Australian businesses to operate,” said Sherry.

News Source: Sydney Morning Herald »

New Small Business Tribunal Created To Resolve Disputes

In an effort to speed up resolutions to small business disputes and to minimize costs incurred by small businesses involved, a new national small business tribunal has been created by the Australian government.

Nick Sherry, Federal Minister for Small Business, was the one who proposed this tribunal option in an options paper that was released.

The following key ideas are contained in the paper:

1. A National Information and Referral Service - this includes a website and a telephone line that directs small businesses to other services in their area.

2. A National Dispute Resolution Service - will provide referrals and information and offer low-cost mediation.

3. A National Small Business Tribunal - will deal with small business disputes backed by Commonwealth legislation.

4. A Small Business Advocate - would independently represent the interests of small businesses to the Australian government.

According to Sherry, the small business tribunal will serve as a “one-stop shop” for disputes and will be backed up by commonwealth legislation.

It has been found out that one in five small businesses, or about 20 per cent of Australia’s 2 million small businesses, had been involved in a dispute with another small business in the past five years according to the survey conducted by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR). Around 2/3 of these cases were payment-related while around 9 per cent were serious.

It was also further found out that many small businesses did not know where to go with the disputes. However, if they knew, they also hesitated due to financial concerns.

"My aim is to bring about a national business-to-business disputes resolution process that is accessible, prompt and as low cost as possible for small businesses," Sherry said.

He added that the aim of the tribunal is to keep disputes out of court especially those small business disputes that only require low-cost and speedy services.

News sources: Smart Company | Sydney Morning Herald | Herald Sun | Queensland Business Review