The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) has launched a blueprint for a revamped IR system, and it takes aim at everything from union delegate rights to the definition of a small business itself.
According to COSBOA, the blueprint responds to recent changes to the Fair Work Act, which the peak body believes fail to take SME interests into account.
“Recent tranches of IR change have imposed unprecedented cost and complexity onto millions of small business employers,” said COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat.
Among the changes that COSBOA has challenged are the 15-factor test for casual employment, legislation around unions, and the ‘right to disconnect’. The peak body also criticised the lack of explicit mentions of small businesses in the legislation.
“Take for example Division 2 of the Fair Work Act itself, which sets out the objectives of our workplace relations system,” said Achterstraat. “Small business only receives a passing reference in paragraph ‘g’ – the final element on the page – despite small business being the largest private sector employer in Australia. This sends the message that small business is an afterthought.”
Blueprint calls for mandatory SME impact statements, definition changes
COSBOA’s blueprint calls for mandatory small-business impact statements on all new legislation, ensuring that the needs and challenges of SMEs are considered from the outset, rather than being treated as an afterthought.
It would also have the Fair Work Act’s definition of a small business widened to include businesses with up to 50 employees. The change would enable more businesses to benefit from lower taxes and less stringent regulation. The peak body is also campaigning for the removal of union delegates rights, which it calls “expansive and disruptive”. Both calls were immediately slammed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which has branded the agenda “extreme”.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt has previously ruled out the expansion of the small business definition.
“So many Australians are doing it tough and the last thing we should be doing is making it easier for businesses to sack people,” said Watt in an interview on the Nine morning program Today. “This is a time that people need to hang on to their jobs, not be at risk of losing them, and we don’t want to do anything that’s going to jeopardise this.”
Also on COSBOA’s agenda is removing complexity from the hiring of casuals, ensuring freedom of association for small businesses not wishing to be caught up in multi-employer bargaining, and a small business triage service within the Fair Work Commission to help SMEs navigate workplace complaints.
Complex legislation failing SMEs
The main problem with IR legislation, says Achterstraat, is that it is too complex.
“It says a lot about our workplace relations system that the Department of Employment itself – that drafts the very rulebook – was found to be non-compliant,” said Achterstraat. “By expanding funding for advisory services and co-developing simplified compliance codes with small business representatives, we can help businesses navigate their obligations while fostering a more supportive environment.”
A pertinent example of this is the correct payment of workers, which small-business owners often have trouble with due to the complexity of the system. Underpayment that is found to be “intentional” by the Fair Work Ombudsman will become a criminal offense for small business owners from January 1, 2025.
“To boost productivity growth, competition and living standards, we need to create confidence and certainty for small businesses and the people they employ,” Achterstraat concluded.
