State Issues
- Government Taxes & Charges: High level of Payroll Tax & Stamp Duty; High energy costs
- Under-representation of small business with Government: The State Training Board and other Government Bodies.
- Small Business Training & Education: Traineeships i.e. 15 hours; Small Business Institute to be set up; Difficulties in finding skilled and unskilled labour.
- Fuel – excise/costs: Excessive.
- Government Procurement: In-sourcing of non core activities regardless of cost; Reduction of number of suppliers and taking lowest price regardless of impact on SME’s.
- Liquor Licensing Reform: More relaxed liquor laws.
- Trading Hours Reform: More relaxed trading hours.
- Market Domination by major supermarket chains.
- Industrial Relations: High level of Pay.
- Other Issues (not in any order of priority):
- Restitution & compensation for victims of crime.
- Strong pro-union stance taken by the Government.
- Daylight Saving – should be introduced permanently.
- Tourism and events promotion.
- Small Business Awards, No applicants because no one knew about them.
- Lack of development of city.
- Uniform WorkCover legislation across all States.
- Removal of criminal charges and penalties from legislation, except for deliberately intentional cases.
Federal Issues
- Business/Taxation costs: Complicated tax laws & high cost of compliance; Insufficient tax breaks for companies attempting to develop new technologies; Depreciation should have 100% write off in year of expenditure; High levels of company & individual tax.
- Lack of support by Federal agencies: Lack of loyalty and recognition of value added services when decision is purely price driven; Calling of national contracts – excluding local businesses.
- Labour shortages: Low levels of immigration; Immigration/Labour shortages.
- Fuel excise/costs: Fuel prices.
- Superannuation: Requirements geared around big business systems; Different super funds, with different payment systems, different schedules, different procedures, etc etc. Painful and consuming for small business; Contribution Tax on Super should be abolished.
- Training: Lack of effort in getting WADET to fulfils it obligations across all industries in a non-selective way – out off line with other states e.g. traineeships.
- Red tape & compliance costs (time and money)
- Industrial Relations: WorkChoices/Fair Work far too complex for small business.
- Research and development: Shortfall funding/support.
- Other Issues (not in any order of priority):
- Bureaucracy and slowness by Customs and Quarantine agencies impeding imports; Hysteria about food safety and complication with AQIS adds considerable expense for spurious testing requirements.
- Serious concern that the new minimum wage will undermine the cost of labour – far to open to abuse.
- Immigration/Refugee numbers – excessive.
- Importation of skilled labour – far to open to abuse at the cost of Australian labour.
- Too much financial aid given abroad should be “tied” to products or services supplied from Australia.
- Reform of Export Market Development Grants Scheme, make it less onerous to access.
- Federal Government to tale over WorkCover legislation across all States.
- Removal of criminal charges and penalties from legislation, except for deliberately intentional cases.