Dr Jodie Trembath leads policy and advocacy on small business, skills, employment, and tourism at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Government released their National Small Business Strategy a few weeks ago, calling it “a collective vision for the small business sector.”
But reading it, you’d be forgiven for asking, “a vision of what?”
It’s not a bad document. As noted in this publication, it’s good to see the small-business ministers acknowledge the complexity that small-business owners face – not just in accessing support to help them grow or become more productive, but even in meeting basic compliance requirements.
However, it doesn’t take that necessary next step to make the principles actionable. And unfortunately, nothing from the recent Federal Budget suggests that this will change any time soon.
Taking the three focus areas identified in the National Small Business Strategy, here are five practical ideas that would help turn this vision into a roadmap for action.
Easing the pressure on small businesses
The National Strategy understands that governments can “help ease pressure on small businesses by streamlining processes to minimise administrative burden and help small businesses bounce back from challenges”. To do this, they could:
- Create greater alignment of small business definitions across government portfolios to simplify compliance and ensure programs are accessible to all small businesses. There are currently at least 12 different definitions just across the ATO, ABS, ASIC, the Small Business Ombudsman (ASBFEO), the Fair Work Commission (FWC), Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and the Fair Work Act (FWA) – which has three different definitions in that single Act. With so many definitions, how are businesses even supposed to know whether they’re small or not, let alone which supports or regulations apply to them?
- At the very least, the FWA thresholds should be streamlined to cover businesses with fewer than 25 employees, giving more small businesses access to exemptions that ease their compliance burden while the National Strategy works on streamlining processes and minimising administrative burdens.
- Introduce Small Business Impact Analyses for all new regulations so that small business needs are prioritised in policymaking. Currently, small businesses appear to be an afterthought whenever new regulations are imposed, yet they’re the most likely to be impacted.
Supporting small businesses to grow
Not every small business wants to grow. But as the National Small Business Strategy explains, the growth of our businesses is good for the economy, encouraging innovation and greater productivity. To help, the Federal Government could:
- Increase the Instant Asset Write-off (IAW) to $50,000 and make it permanent. Increasing the threshold for purchases to $50,000 to allow for more significant investment will encourage growth, and permanently legislating the measure will allow for longer term planning. The Government has recently extended the IAW at the $20,000 threshold till June 30 2026.
- Reinstate the Small Business Technology Investment Boost (SBTIB) to help small businesses adopt digital tools and remain competitive in a changing economy. The SBTIB was announced in the October 2022 budget, but unfortunately the legislation to activate it was not passed before it was scheduled to close in June 2023. This was a valuable but missed opportunity with a blueprint ready to go.
Levelling the playing field for small businesses
The Strategy wants to enable competition and ensure small businesses get a fair go. Governments could:
- Help small businesses attract, retain and train apprentices and trainees by providing targeted employer incentives. 97 per cent of Australian businesses are small businesses, yet only 42 per cent of apprentices train with a small business. Apprentices are costly, high-risk, and paperwork-intensive – problematic for businesses without HR. But they’re also valuable, freeing up experienced workers to do the tasks that only they can do. Providing targeted financial and logistical support to small businesses that train apprentices and trainees will help those businesses grow and will in turn help bolster industries with critical skill shortages.
