As small businesses continue to face tough conditions, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Lynda McAlary-Smith, shares how the ombudsman’s office can help.

Small businesses continue to battle tough trading conditions exacerbated by the global fuel crisis. In addition to recent Government measures to ease the cost of fuel impacting small businesses, the Road Transport Contractual Chain Order was introduced last month to help ensure that increases in fuel costs are shared across the supply chain.

Prepare now for upcoming changes

In the next few months, there are several regulatory changes coming into effect. One of the most important is Payday Super, which comes into effect on 1 July. From this date, small businesses must pay Super Guarantee contributions for their staff at the same time as wages, and contributions must arrive in super funds within seven business days of payday. Small businesses will need to allow time for payment processing and any corrections to be made. The following steps can help you prepare:

• review your payroll and internal processes
• check that super fund details for all eligible employees are accurate and up to date
• build in extra time for payments to clear processing times
• if your business uses the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH), transition now to an alternative provider as the SBSCH closes permanently on 1 July.

Recent legislative changes to super fund stapling are intended to improve employee choice while keeping employer onboarding obligations the same. An important step now required of small business owners onboarding any new hires, is to check their stapled fund with the ATO before paying super. Paying into your default fund without doing this can mean paying super twice and facing penalties. Build the stapled fund check into your standard onboarding process now, especially as you prepare for Payday Super. The ATO website has resources to help prepare, including Payday Super checklist for employers and tips to Manage your business cash flow.

In preparation for the upcoming changes to merchant card payment costs and surcharging that begin to come into effect from 1 October, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) will be developing material to support small businesses to understand and apply these changes. Subscribing to our newsletters is a great way to stay informed.

Another resource is the business.gov.au website and newsletter which provides useful and practical information for small business, such as this recent article outlining the support available for businesses impacted by global events.

Our advocacy and assistance

In our formal submissions and other engagements with Government, we continue to advocate for proportionate, risk-based regulation that is designed for the small businesses who make up 97 per cent of Australian businesses.

Insurance plays an important role in business continuity and resilience, and we have advocated for improved insurance accessibility and affordability in several recent submissions. We also called for reforms that ensure insurance requirements are proportionate to risk and that make it easier for small businesses to understand their insurance options, and for insurers to recognise the risk-mitigation actions undertaken by individual small businesses.

Our office continues to receive calls for help with payment disputes. Encouragingly, we’re seeing many businesses reaching out for support at earlier stages of financial distress which means they have more options available to them to resolve issues.

We are also seeing more franchising disputes. If you are operating as a franchise or considering entering into a franchise business, our franchising guidance provides useful information about franchising done well, things to consider before entering a franchise agreement, managing change and how to exit.

ASBFEO supports alternative dispute resolution pathways that are accessible, efficient and flexible for small businesses. Our office continues to offer small businesses access to help with identifying and clarifying issues and preparing for alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Under the program, small businesses can access up to two hours with a lawyer. This provides help to better understand your case from a legal perspective, to unpack options around viable ADR options to resolve the dispute. Small businesses pay $100 and the remainder of the lawyer’s fees are subsidised by ASBFEO.

We are here to serve

Running your own business can be demanding of your time and energy, mental bandwidth and emotional capacity, especially when dealing with tough trading conditions or challenging circumstances with business partners, suppliers or customers.

We are here to provide support and guidance and help if you find yourself in a dispute. In our experience, there are practical steps you can take to try and resolve issues and strengthen and maintain respectful and constructive business relationships. Clear communication, addressing issues early and engaging in good faith help create a business environment that supports long-term success. Read more tips with our new guidance, Healthy business relationships and dispute resolution.

You can contact the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman for further information, help and support at asbfeo.gov.au or 1300 650 460.

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