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Australian political parties comment on the impact of regulation on businesses in the building industry in 2010

The Housing Industry Association of Australia approached all major political parties and asked the hard questions regarding critical policy issues. Find out about Regulatory Burden On Business issues …

What is the policy position taken by each major party including the Australian Labor Party, The Liberal National Coalition and The Greens.

Regulatory Burden on Business 

How would you reduce the impact of regulation on businesses in the building industry?
Labor -

Federal Labor is committed to reducing the impact of regulatory compliance costs on small business, including those in the building industry. The introduction of a National Construction Code (NCC) is one of the Labor Government’s deregulation priorities under its National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy. The NCC will deliver, for the first time, a nationally-consistent approach to on-site building and plumbing regulation.

A number of other deregulation reforms will save small business considerable time, money and effort.

Since 1 July 2010, Standard Business Reporting (SBR) has simplified more than 80 business-to-government reporting obligations. SBR uses on-line reporting tools which pre-fill forms with information from individual businesses, via business software, saving business time and money.

From mid-2011, the ambitious national business names initiative will establish a one-stop online shop for businesses to register business names and obtain Australian Business Numbers. To register a business name nationally at present, businesses have to apply separately in each State and Territory and pay eight different fees at a total cost of over $1,000.

With the new national system, businesses will be able to apply and pay for a national business name online through a single application covering both a business name and Australian Business Number. Fees will be massively reduced to $30 for one year or $70 for three years’ registration.

The Gillard Labor Government will bring in national a national trade licensing system from 1 July 2012, initially covering seven economically significant occupations, including the building trades. This will reduce compliance burden and save costs for those businesses and tradies working in more than one State or Territory.

Federal Labor has been cutting red tape in 27 different areas. It is on track to complete 12 of those reforms by 1 July 2010, 18 months into a 5-year deregulation agenda, with another seven to be completed by the middle of next year.

Coalition -

Labor claimed they would cut the burden of red tape for business. They said a Labor government would withdraw an existing regulation for every new one imposed on business. In office, they have introduced 9997 new or amended regulations and withdrawn just 52.

In addition to a Cabinet-level Minister, an elected Coalition Government will create a new statutory office of the Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman.

The holder of this position will be empowered to work across all areas of government to ensure small business and family enterprise interests and concerns are embraced and understood across all federal government departments. He will seek to establish an on-line portal for access to relevant information and government support services. And the Ombudsman will influence policy formulation and program design and implementation to ensure that Commonwealth efforts are sensitive to small business success and vitality.

Greens -

The Greens recently announced a Small Business policy which includes initiatives to improve the fairness, competitiveness and efficiency of small business’ access to finance, including:

Legislation to require lenders to offer small business ‘fixed interest gap loans’ with an interest rate set at a negotiated margin above the lender’s cost of funds;
Cap exit fees on loans to small business at the cost to the lender of the early termination and support the introduction of portable bank accounts.

We are also on the record for supporting reasonable measures to reduce the impact of regulation on small business, including our support for the Superannuation Clearing House which assists small business with superannuation administration.

Do you support or oppose extending unfair contract laws to business to business transactions?

Labor –

In the course of the development of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the Federal Labor Government considered whether the unfair contract protections to be afforded to consumers should also extend to business-to-business contracts. Stakeholders views were sought in a May 2009 Treasury Discussion Paper entitled The Australian Consumer Law: Consultation on draft provisions on unfair contract terms. Subsequently, the Government took the view that it would not include ‘standard form’ business-to-business contracts in the ACL.

Instead, the Gillard Government has toughened the provisions of the Trade Practices Act to provide protection to small businesses against more powerful businesses, with stronger laws against predatory pricing and cartels. The new laws include criminal penalties for serious cartel or price-fixing conduct by business executives that can harm small businesses.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has also been provided with tough new powers and the courts can now impose penalties of up to $1.1 million for anyone engaging in unconscionable conduct or making false or misleading representations.

A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will pursue the issue of creeping acquisitions by allowing ACCC to examine any market – national, regional or local – in which a substantial lessening of competition may be occurring, and take action to prevent it. A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will also re-introduce a Bill into Parliament to strengthen the unconscionable conduct provisions of the Trade Practices Act and help protect small business operators from bad business behaviour by more powerful businesses. These amendments will make it clear that the unconscionable conduct law covers bad business behaviour not only before a contract is signed, but also in relation to the contents of the contract and its ongoing operation. The changes will enable the ACCC and the courts to take strong action against business operators who bully, harass or coerce others who are in a weaker position.

Coalition –

We are also going to give a ‘fair go’ to small businesses that sign unfair standard-form contracts. An elected Coalition Government will include small business as ‘consumers’ for the purposes of unfair contracts law already approved by parliament.

The Labor government promised to include small businesses within the scope of its National Unfair Contracts Terms laws, but it didn’t.

This exclusion is unrealistic, because for all intents and purposes, small business have no more resources than individuals to examine the finer details of standard-form contracts. Like consumers, they are not in a position to review, revise or secure variations to contracts presented as ‘standard’.

Certainty of contracts will not be diminished, however. Businesses that offer standard-form contracts will be able to seek ‘safe harbour’ for their contracts in advance. This option will allow companies to confirm that they are not in reach of the unfair contracts laws, and that their contracts will stand up in court.

Greens –

No response provided

Do you have plans to harmonise the definition worker, employee, contractor, and employer? If so, what are your plans?

Labor –

Federal Labor recognises that there is an important distinction between an employer-employee relationship and the nature of commercial contracting relationships. Importantly employees are covered by industrial law while independent contractors and small businesses are governed by commercial law. Federal Labor believes it is important to maintain this distinction.

To assist contractors in dealing with these distinctions under Commonwealth legislation, Federal Labor has developed a range of information materials and an on-line decision tool so contractors can be clear about their status. The on-line decision tool and copies of the ‘the essential handbook’ for independent contractors are available from http://www.business.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx. The Independent Contractors Hotline can provide information and advice on 1300 667 850.

Federal Labor is concerned about sham contracting, where employment relationships are presented as contractors and all properly enforce employment levels in such circumstances.

Coalition –

No response provided

Greens –

The Greens do not have a policy to harmonise the definition of worker, employee, contractor and employer. However we continue to be concerned about the potential for persons to be working as contractors in circumstances where they are actually in an employee/employer relationship. We would consider carefully any proposals to for COAG to consider such issues.

Source: HIA Media Release

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