Ombudsman welcomes red tape busting

THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has welcomed recent announcements of decreased red tape for small business tradespeople and licensed professionals

Mr Billson said changes mean those operators are better able to meet the demand for their skills wherever they are in the nation, as more states and territories implement an Australian Government initiative remove restrictions.

South Australia and Victoria are the first states to remove the need for licenced workers to apply and pay for an additional licence to work across state borders, as part of the Australian Government’s Automatic Mutual Recognition Scheme.

“This red tape busting reform is helping small business tradespeople and other licensed professionals who want to meet the demand for their skills across the country,” he said

“The scheme offers small business employers the opportunity to secure skilled workers from interstate.”

The scheme is currently in place and applies to an expanding range of specific trades and licenced professions in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, with Western Australia working to join from 1 July this year.

Mr Billson said the Australian Government reforms, progressively enacted by states and territories, is providing thousands of small business tradespeople the flexibility to work in different areas of the country.

“It also means small business professionals such as real estate agents, teachers and lawyers have more scope and greater ease to work more seamlessly across state borders,’ he said.

“My office has advocated for these important reforms and supports the efforts of the Australian Government’s Deregulation Taskforce to reduce red tape.

“It is an excellent outcome for the projected 168,000 people, including many from small businesses, that will directly benefit from these changes each year.

“We remain committed to working towards removing unnecessary headwinds for small businesses wherever possible to help make Australia the best place to start, grow and transform a business.”

The Automatic Mutual Recognition Scheme is expected to add over $2.4 billion to the Australian economy over the next 10 years.