The Australian Small Business and Family Ombudsman has called for the consolidation of registration requirements for small business.
Ombudsman Kate Carnell said the optimal outcome would be one form hosted by a single agency on a single website to update the multiple registries that exist.
Carnell made the comment in a submission to the Government’s consultation on Modernising Business Registers.
“One of the issues facing small business is the compliance burden of having to meet regulatory requirements for registering and updating information on their business structure and governance,” Carnell said. “The compliance burden relates to cost, time, and complexity. This is particularly relevant if a company evolves from one structure to another over time.”
Carnell welcomed the Government’s National Business Simplification Initiative, which seeks to streamline compliance requirements and upgrade IT infrastructure.
In addition to rationalising the registries, Carnell said important business descriptors, such as the size of an enterprise, should be included with registration.
“This would help to inform understanding of business segments and assist policy development for market participants, regulators and governments,” she said. “We also believe that fees for registrations should be kept to the minimum required by an agency to affect the change.”
