- Minister for Small Business
More than 1,000 businesses have been helped to develop and grow through the Andrews Labor Government's Small Business Bus in 2019.
Operated by Small Business Victoria, the information hub on wheels made 320 visits to 238 locations around Victoria, up from 281 sessions held in 218 sites last year.
Just under half of this year's visits were made to regional locations, including new stops at Tangambalanga, Mildura, Ocean Grove and Casterton, highlighting the Labor Government's commitment to helping all Victorian businesses owners, not just those in metropolitan Melbourne.
Overall, 1,176 business mentoring sessions were delivered during this year's visits, 129 more than in 2018. Mentoring sessions provide small business owners and operators the chance to work through their business challenges with an experienced adviser.
Small Business Victoria also ran 364 practical workshops in 2019, helping 4,561 business owners to develop new skills and give them better knowledge to make more informed business decisions.
Small businesses are vital to the Victorian economy. Across the state there are more than 604,000 small business operations, 26 per cent of which are in regional Victoria.
In the Victorian Budget 2019/20 the Government committed to reducing the regional payroll tax to 1.21 per cent - a quarter of the metro rate - by 2022-23, giving regional businesses more money in their pockets to invest and create jobs.
The Small Business Bus will resume touring around Victoria in February 2020. For more information, visit business.vic.gov.au.
As noted by Minister for Small Business Adem Somyurek
"The Small Business Bus is part of our commitment to support small businesses, giving them access to the right tools and information that can help them grow and prosper."
"Through services such as the Small Business Bus and cuts to red tape we are working to ensure Victoria is a great place to start, grow and operate a small business."
