Coalition taskforce to seek $1 billion in cuts through scrapping regulation, compliance burdens

A coalition taskforce designed to investigate how it can reduce red tape for businesses has been given the goal of finding $1 billion in cost savings by slashing regulations and burdens for SMEs.

Opposition small business spokesman Bruce Billson, who is a member of the taskforce, told SmartCompany this morning the group intends to find as many savings as possible without reducing requirements for quality and standards.

“We’ve a commitment to take a billion dollars of red tape and compliance costs out of the economy, and we’ve identified a number of areas where we think we can do that,” he says.

The taskforce will be chaired by former John Howard advisor Arthur Sinodinos, while Kelly O’Dwyer and senator David Bushby have also been appointed. It is set to report by July 1 next year, with Billson saying there are already a few areas the taskforce can begin looking for savings.

“We’ve identified a number of areas such as paid parental leave where there is excessive reporting that seems to be in place for no good reason.”

“This is a classic example, where the Commonwealth public service is processing payments anyway to just send them on to employers who would have to process them again. A more streamlined approached would relieve those transaction costs.”

Billson says the other aspect of the committee will be to look at areas where regulations have been unfairly imposed on small businesses, when in fact they were designed for much larger businesses and corporates.

“Our job is to look at regulatory impost through the prism of small business, and to see if these regulations are justified for their size.”

“The bigger corporates have the resources and the ability to adapt to regulation more than an SME, but often regulatory designs are done in consultant with big business, and for big businesses, and don’t take SMEs into account.”

Billson also references work for childcare providers, saying there is an “enormous amount of paperwork” that could be avoided.

“What we hear operators in the field telling us is that you can achieve quality standards without having to drown in red tape and paperwork.”

“There’s this sense of an increasing burden on SMEs to do work the Government requires of them, rather than getting on with their job and investing time in their business.”

But Small Business Minister Nick Sherry says the Coalition has “no credibility” when it comes to cutting red tape on small business, noting that Senator Sinodinos was working for former prime minister John Howard when the GST and choice of funds superannuation were introduced.

“The Coalition has form when it comes to announcing taskforces and reviews, and this is just another empty announcement by Tony Abbott – but when it comes to real reform, they fail to deliver and small business knows this,” Sherry says.

Sherry adds that if Abbott wants to lift productivity, he would tell Coalition Governments in Victoria and Western Australia to sign up to harmonised occupational health and safety laws.