While the Business Council of Australia has named Tasmania as the second-best place in the country to do business, there was one area that needed to be improved on: the number of licences required for one to do business in the state.
Now, the Tasmanian government has moved to correct the situation, as well as to combat red tape, by announcing that it is set to reduce the licensing requirements for small businesses
Minister for Hospitality and Small Business, Jane Howlett, said that 97 per cent of Tasmanian businesses are small businesses and the state aims to create the very best business conditions by stripping back the regulatory burden,
Howlett said. “Businesses need to operate safely, respect the community and protect the environment, but we will remove the unnecessary blockages in the licensing requirements for small businesses. We want to take the shackles off, and say yes to new opportunities.”
Under the current regulations, the state requires 37 licences for a prospective business owner to open a café, while it takes 26 licences to open a retail shop.
“It takes a lot of time and bureaucratic people power to administer up to 37 licences to every business, and that’s time much better spent helping Tasmanian entrepreneurs to forge their path, safely and properly,” Howlett said. “Over the coming months we’ll be taking a good hard look at what needs to be there, and what doesn’t, and we will strip back licensing requirements.”
The state government said that it is in constant communication with various businesses, industries, and individual Tasmanians about what they need, and what regulatory roadblocks need to be removed for Tasmania to fulfil its 2030 masterplan, which envisions its businesses growing and thriving as well as providing opportunities for its youth.
“Small enterprise is the core of who we are, and by cutting the red tape, the licensing requirements, we are letting every Tasmanian and others who belong here know that they can do it here,” Howlett said. “Working together we can foster more opportunity for high-value, growing, and profitable enterprises that enrich families, communities and the State.”
