The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says tonight's 2025-26 Federal Budget was 'the sequel' to last year's, offering modest targeted measures to help small and family business deal with specific current pain points and headwinds.
The Ombudsman said that struggling small businesses will have to look to and hope for election commitments that present a decisive positive action plan to 'put some wind in their sails', lift their prospects for success and to turn around a post-COVID period of tough trading conditions.
"Small and family businesses facing punishing input costs that are squeezing margins will welcome the continuation of modest energy bill relief," Mr Billson said.
"Cost-of living increases are also cost-of-doing-business increases, and we need to make sure small businesses can keep their heads above water and can continue to support their employees and their communities. Every saving helps the small businesses who are doing it tough and struggling to keep the lights on, as they hang on hoping to feel the benefits of forecast economic improvement.
"The Budget's reiteration of earlier announced measures to introduce unfair trading protections for small business, expanding unfair contract terms protections and more resources to the ACCC to enforce industry codes, including for franchising, to support fairer conduct between parties with profound power imbalances, are welcome and important steps.
"The additional mentoring and coaching support for First Nations entrepreneurship and participation in Government procurement are also helpful, along with continuing skills support, efforts to improve trades mobility and additional resources for ASIC to crack down on illegal phoenixing.
"These kinds of measures reflect a number of the elements in ASBFEO's 14 steps to energise enterprise at this time of a surge in insolvencies, a reduction in the economic and employment contribution of small businesses, an ageing small business community and a record low percentage of non-employing small businesses taking on their first employee.
"Small business needs to be front of mind for our policy makers and regulators. We need to do all we can to shift the mindset from minimising headwinds to maximising the 'wind in the sails' of our hard-working small and family businesses. That's why we have proposed 14 steps designed to give more support to the nation's 2.6 million small businesses," Mr Billson said.
"Broad consultation with small businesses will be important to ensure that the proposed banning of non-compete clauses does not result in business value, intellectual property and client-lists walking out the door with a former employee. With the vast majority of small businesses already doing the right thing in meeting their tax obligations, it will be necessary for the additional $155.5 million to the ATO to tackle under-reporting and 'cashies' is properly targeted so that it does level the playing field and not needlessly terrify tax compliant businesses.
Particular Budget measures of interest to small and family business will include:
- The Government will provide $722.8 million over four years from 2025–26 to deliver increased support for apprentices.
- $7.1 million over two years from 2025–26 for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to strengthen regulatory oversight of the Franchising Code of Conduct.
- $0.8 million in 2025–26 for Treasury to develop and consult on options to extend protections against unfair trading practices to small businesses and protect businesses regulated by the Franchising Code of Conduct from unfair contract terms and unfair trading practices.
- $23.9 million over five years from 2024–25 to strengthen the Indigenous Procurement Policy to boost opportunities for First Nations businesses to grow and create jobs.
- $3.4 million over three years from 2025–26 to increase the participation rate of First Nations women in business through a place-based business mentoring and coaching program, codesigned and delivered by First Nations businesses and organisations.
- $2.9 million over three years from 2025–26 to assist fresh produce suppliers to understand and enforce their rights under the Food and Grocery Code to achieve more favourable commercial outcomes when negotiating with large grocery businesses.
"These are useful steps in the right direction, but there's still a lot to do," Mr Billson said.
"We need to get small businesses beyond surviving and into thriving. This means they need to have the confidence that they have a level playing field, dependable incentives and supportive conditions to grow and invest.
"Small business is the engine room of the economy. We must ensure that small and family business can fire on all cylinders. We welcome Budget announcements that help put the small and family business economy back on the right trajectory". Mr Billson added.
The Government's small business statement can be found at https://budget.gov.au/
