The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, is urging all state governments to support the proposed NSW Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) program for architects, plumbers, drainers and gasfitters.
“This program will give employers a greater choice of subcontractors, many of which are sole traders, and it will give subcontractors and small businesses more job opportunities – clearly a win win both ways,” Ms Carnell said.
Travelling across borders for work has been noted as a fact of life in Australia, as people go to where the jobs are.
“In some areas, the cross border situation is town to town, for example, Queanbeyan to Canberra or Albury to Wodonga. In these circumstances it makes all the more sense to operate a cross border licence scheme,” Ms Carnell explained. “The proposed AMR program is a great example red tape reduction and will save subcontractors and small businesses hundreds of dollars in application fees each year.”
The scheme will allow tradies and small businesses to source and work with employers with best practice payment times of 30 days or less. This will also give consumers a greater choice in operators, while strict regulatory conditions attached to the licences to protect the customer will still be in place.
“We will always support common-sense initiatives that make work life for small businesses and subcontractors less onerous and bureaucratic,” Ms Carnell said.
