SMALL BUSINESS – AUSTRALIA

Small business in recession as public service thrives

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Original article by Millie Muroi
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 18-Feb-25

Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley says the number of small businesses that employ people in Australia has fallen from around 953,000 to 922,000 since Labor won the federal election in May 2022. Ley adds that the nation appears to experiencing a small business recession, while the federal government has hired about one permanent public servant for every small business that is collapsing. The Coalition has flagged public service cutbacks if it wins the upcoming election, with Labor having hired an additional 36,000 public servants during its first term in office.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ALP delays small business IR review beyond election

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 30-Oct-24

The federal government agreed to review small business exemptions from the Fair Work Act in return for the support of crossbench senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie for its second tranche of industrial relations reforms. Amongst other things, the proposed review will consider the definition of a small business, which is currently set at fewer than 15 employees. However, the government has advised that the review may be delayed until mid-2025. Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Luke Achterstraat says the current definition of a small business is not ‘fit for purpose’, and the government needs to provide the sector with as much certainty and confidence as possible.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ALP under fire over small business review

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Oct-24

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar has defended its call for the federal government to change the legal definition of a small business. He contends that the push to change this from 15 employees to 25 is not aimed at undermining the rights of workers. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia supports the ACCI’s push, says CEO Luke Achterstraat. He adds that the government’s refusal to consider the proposal has undermined the Fair Work Ombudsman’s own review of the definition of a small business; Labor had commissioned this to secure the support of independent senator David Pocock for its workplace reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

New information from Roy Morgan Small Business Research indicates that higher NPS is achieved for small business owners when their bank looks after their total business and consumer banking needs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Aug-24

New financial data from Roy Morgan’s Single Source focused on small business suggests that the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is higher among small business owners who have both a business banking and consumer banking relationship with their bank than those who only have a business banking relationship. This suggests that the deeper banking relationship created by caring for both the small business owners’ business and consumer banking needs contributes to better outcomes for the customer and enhances the prospect of a positive NPS. While banking industry NPS improved in 2020 as banks provided deferrals on loan payments to households and businesses affected by COVID, NPS has declined since early 2022 coinciding with the cost-of-living crisis, and for close to two years has been in ‘negative territory’. NPS across the banking industry overall declined from 0.9 in June 2022 to -3.8 in June 2024, a 4.7-points fall. These latest banking NPS ratings come from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year, of whom over 16,000 are small business owners and decision-makers.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Business disconnected from IR law changes

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 7 : 17-Jul-24

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Luke Achterstraat says all small business owners need to be informed about the federal government’s industrial relations reforms which come into effect next month. COSBOA has launched a new initiative called Small Business Peak, which aims to inform the small enterprise sector about the upcoming IR changes. Achterstraat notes that many small business owners are ‘time-poor’ and do not have an in-house legal team to keep them informed of legislative changes. A survey has found that just 21 per cent of small business owners are aware of the IR reforms.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

PM signals budget help for families, small business

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Original article by James Massola
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 4-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech on Thursday to state that small businesses and families will be ‘front and centre’ again in the federal government’s budget on 14 May. He will note that assisting families and small businesses with their energy bills was a key priority of the 2023 budget. Albanese’s comments in his Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia speech will heighten expectations that the government is set to extend its Energy Bill Relief fund, which is slated to end on 30 June. He will also emphasise the importance of small businesses to Australia’s future prosperity, noting that they are job creators, innovators and early adopters of technology such as clean energy.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Cap rise in wages: small business

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Apr-24

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has used its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review to call for the minimum wage increase to be restricted no more than three per cent. COSBOA has argued that the minimum wage and award rates should be increased in line with the Reserve Bank’s inflation target of 2-3 per cent. The group notes that labour costs represent at least 40 per cent of some small businesses’ overall operating costs, while the sector is also facing increased energy, rent, insurance and supply-chain costs.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Burke flags more IR exemptions

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says 97.5 per cent of businesses will now be exempt from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill’s single-interest multi-employer bargaining stream. This follows the federal government’s decision to increase the employee threshold for small businesses from 15 to 20, in line with a Senate committee’s recommendation. However, the Opposition has called for the threshold to be increased to 200, while business groups want it to be set at 100 employees. The government’s compromise means that an additional 500,000 businesses will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining. The government is still in negotiations with independent senator David Pocock.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers and businesses

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Original article by Chris F Wright
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 24-Nov-22

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers’ groups. However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining. The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements. The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers. Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

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More exemptions to salvage IR bill

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Senate inquiry into the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill has recommended increasing the threshold for small businesses to be exempted from multi-employer bargaining to 20 employees, compared with 15 under the existing provisions of the bill. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the government is willing to negotiate a higher threshold in order to secure the bill’s passage before parliament rises for the year. However, Burke notes that lifting the threshold too much would undo the central aim of the bill, which is to increase the wages of low-paid workers. Independent senator David Pocock has continued to push for a vote on the multi-employer bargaining provisions of the bill to be delayed until next year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS