At the Rules, Regulations and Red Tape session at the COSBOA National Small Business Summit, four of Australia’s top regulators made a surprising pledge: they want to make life easier, not harder, for small business owners.

On stage with Victorian Small Business Commissioner Linda McAlary-Smith were Anna Booth (Fair Work Ombudsman), Rob Heferen (ATO), Kate O’Rourke (ASIC) and Peter Crone (ACCC). Between them, they cover almost every headache small business owners face, from wages to tax, corporate compliance to scams.

Fair Work: look before you leap

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth kicked things off with five rapid-fire points. She flagged recent workplace changes, from the new casual employee definition to the “right to disconnect” that takes effect for small business employees next week.

Booth urged employers to “look before you leap” when taking on staff. “We’re focusing particularly at the Fair Work Ombudsman on first employment,” she said. “That’s the moment to get it right.” She encouraged owners to use resources like the Fair Work Employer Advisory Service, online hiring courses and Business.gov.au.

Importantly, Booth stressed that her office isn’t out to punish honest mistakes.

“It only refers to intentional wage underpayments,” she said of the new small business wage compliance code linked to criminal penalties. “If there is no intention, there is no offence.”

Her bigger goal? Building trust.

“We need to be a trusted regulator,” Booth said. “That means remaining independent and impartial … and putting enormous effort into helping.”

ATO: keeping it simple

ATO Commissioner Rob Heferen acknowledged tax is a sore spot, but he was upbeat about most small businesses.

“Most people, most of the time, do the right thing,” he said.

The ATO’s focus is on preventing debt blowouts by helping businesses stay on track from the start. “Preventing debt is the best way for businesses to stay on track. Payment discipline is key,” Heferen explained. He warned against using unpaid PAYG withholding or super as “ongoing cash flow,” saying it’s very hard for a business to recover once it falls into that trap.

To ease the load, the ATO has launched digital pilots that make it easier for businesses to vary instalments and manage activity statements.

“We want to make tax as simple and straightforward as possible… Something that doesn’t take hours, but minutes,” Heferen said.

ASIC: less jargon, more clarity

Kate O’Rourke, Commissioner at ASIC, admitted the obvious: “Complexity is a problem, and simplification is a virtue.”

ASIC has been on a clean-up, scrapping 9,000 web pages and trying to make company director duties and regulatory guidance easier to find.

“We’ve removed 9,000 pages and brought relevant information together,” O’Rourke said.

On climate reporting, O’Rourke noted that while small businesses might not have to lodge reports themselves, many will be asked for supply chain data.

“We’ve described it as the biggest reporting change in a generation – and it’s hard,” she said, adding that ASIC is developing dedicated small business materials and roadshows to help.

She also flagged new faces at ASIC with small business backgrounds, including former SA Small Business Commissioner Nerissa Kilvert.

“We are refreshing our small business strategy … informed by feedback and roundtables right around the country,” O’Rourke said.

ACCC: scams, fairness and competition

Peter Crone, Commissioner of the ACCC, stressed the watchdog isn’t just chasing big corporates, it’s looking out for small businesses too. He pointed to the agency’s work on scams:

“We know that small businesses tend to report more scams and higher losses when it comes to false billing and payment redirection scams.”

He also raised competition concerns, highlighting new merger laws kicking in from January.

“Even an incremental change in market power can still amount to a substantial lessening of competition,” Crone said. “That’s going to be very important for us.”

On franchising, Crone said progress has been made since the 7-Eleven wage scandals, but it remains “a work in progress,” with new disclosure rules and protections coming in November.

Crone summed up the ACCC’s posture this way:

“Our focus overall for small business is typically around education, compliance, engagement rather than enforcement.”

The shared message from all four regulators was to encourage business owners to engage early. Don’t bury your head in the sand and wait until you’re in trouble to speak to the ATO, Fair Work, ASIC or the ACCC.

Although the ATO’s Rob Heferen stressed prevention was the best cure:  “Preventing debt is  probably the best way to stay on track.” While O’Rourke and Crone both suggested, simplification, fairness and protection are the North stars guiding their work, so don’t be afraid to contact authorities.

Finally, Booth’s parting words were for businesses to take a proactive approach. “Look before you leap,” she concluded.

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