Small business owners get the chance to give verdict on regulators

Small business owners have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell regulators how to better do their jobs, and hopefully contribute to changing the way regulators interact with their business.

The Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA), with the support of the Productivity Commission, has opened an online questionnaire that allows small businesses to let their opinion be heard about how regulators impact or enhance their business, to be fed into a Productivity Commission review.

The commission has been asked by the government to examine how the interaction between regulators and small business can be improved and will report its findings later this year.

“Normally small business complaints about the way regulators treat them is about as useful as yelling at the TV news,” COSBOA executive director Peter Strong said.

“But this questionnaire will inform an official government review of the issue, which means we can guarantee our voices will be heard.”

The type of regulation a small business might face includes: The Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Australia, Local Government health and safety inspectors, liquor licensing, development approval agencies, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, transport regulators and specific industry regulators.

“Having been a small business owner myself, I understand how significant a few changes to the rules would be to my business and my life. I am relieved to have the opportunity to let the government know what I think, and help others do the same.

95% of the businesses are small-medium businesses in Australia, that’s a large part of the economy.

“It is too easy for regulators to dismiss complaints from individual small businesses as ‘whinging’,” Strong said.

“This time, we can unite to present considered responses to serious questions and demand to be taken seriously.”

The survey is open to anyone and will be anonymous http://survey.cosboa.org.au/.