Small Business Policy

Small businesses are people - not machines & not the enemy

What: All Cabinet Submissions must include a small business impact statement similar to the Commonwealth and other States. To aid this a small business cost calculator would be utilised. We should educate those who write policy and regulate small businesses. A Regulator Performance Framework will be developed. The total regulatory burden should be calculated for small businesses - sector at a time. 

Why: The economy is growing so slowly that it teeters on the edge of a recession, and we are in a recession right now if you measure it in per capita terms. If we aren't supportive more businesses will go under and more unemployment will result. 

It is important that decision makers fully appreciate the cost on small business of their decisions and appreciate the total regulatory burden. Layer upon layer of regulation adds costs and time pressures to small business owners, taking them away from working on and in their businesses. 

Not only can regulation  have a profound effect on the profitability of a business but also the mental health of the business owners who are trying to make a living whilst doing the right thing by their customers and employees. Surveys done in 2020 and 2022 indicate that small business owners continue to experience high levels of mental ill-health. The ACT should lead the way in dealing with that issue. After all, there are some 34,000 human beings running their own business in our territory and they employ over 120,000 other humans. 

A regulator performance framework would provide guidance about how regulators should deal with business. Having regulators appreciating life as a business owner would assist with their interactions, increase the effectiveness of government and the efficiency of small business people, and help reduce mental health issues.

How: Going forward all Cabinet Submissions must include a small business impact statement. The oversight for this would be by an Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) sitting in the Treasury. The statement would include the costs of the initiative/project/infrastructure on small business and any mitigation strategies. 

We need to teach public servants how to communicate with and write policy for small businesses. This is for regulators who are in direct contact with small businesses, and those who design policies that affect small businesses. Training could be delivered on line as part of induction training along with how to write a small business impact statement and use the small business cost calculator.

The Regulator Performance Framework developed by OBPR would outline regulator expectations and also include evaluation providing stakeholders an opportunity to let regulators regularly know about their performance. 

OBPR would also lead the measurement of the red tape impact on small businesses - sector at a time, and coordinate projects that streamline red tape. 

Why not: There is a cost in preparing regulatory impact statements, but this is negligible compared to the actual impact on businesses and their employees.