Business sector urges Canberra to tackle red-tape cuts
A major business lobby says the federal government should push to harmonize regulations so businesses such as retailers, airports and farmers can avoid costly red tape.
The Alliance of Industrial Associations, which represents 30 groups including banks, business, builders, farmers, transport, tourism and retail, made the call after the federal budget was distributed on Tuesday night.
It is claimed that different regulations and other “unfriendly” laws in different states and territories cost the economy approximately $160 billion each year.
While the alliance welcomes the productivity improvements announced in the budget, it now wants the government to go further and emulate the US and UK by cutting red tape by 25 per cent by 2030.
“This is undoubtedly the next step and we urge the government to continue its good work by working with us to achieve this outcome,” Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said in Canberra on Wednesday. he said.
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said the 2026/27 budget would reduce the regulatory burden on business by $10.2 billion a year across a range of measures across various government portfolios.
These include harmonizing payroll tax, reducing paperwork, promoting electronic record keeping, and working with states and territories to harmonize state retail tenancy regulations and other laws to encourage business enterprise.
“For decades productivity growth in our economy has underperformed,” Dr Chalmers told ABC radio on Wednesday.
“The productivity package is very broad and very important and will change the direction of productivity in the medium term.”
At the top of the Australian Airports Association’s list is the scrapping of international arrival passes, which have been left out of budget and are causing a growing number of travelers to form long queues at the border.
“The importance of removing the card and having a funding program and timeline around that is the trigger to deliver border modernization ahead of the 2032 Olympics,” chief executive Simon Westaway told reporters.
Key issues for farmers include supply inefficiencies and farm management regulations, which can involve multiple levels of government and take years to resolve.
“About 40 percent of the cost you pay for food at the supermarket comes from red tape and supply chain inefficiencies between the farm and the supermarket,” said Mike Guerin, president of the National Farmers Federation.
“As we continue to tackle this cost of living crisis, imagine if we could halve that cost and reduce the cost of groceries and supermarkets for ordinary Australians.”
Chris Rodwell, president of the Australian Retailers Association, wants the government to match US success in cutting red tape.
“There’s a productivity miracle happening in the US right now, and we need the same miracle to come to Australia,” he said.
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