COSBOA: Productivity Commission Review a Once-in-a-Generation Chance to Back Small Business

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) has made submissions to the Productivity Commission across four key pillars – creating a more dynamic and resilient economy, building a skilled and adaptable workforce, harnessing data and digital technology, and delivering quality care more efficiently – calling on government to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver reforms that will drive national productivity and unlock the full potential of small business.

COSBOA Chair, Matthew Addison, said small business is the engine room of the Australian economy and a vital part of communities across the country.

“This is a pivotal moment for real reform; the kind that will shape Australia’s economy for the next generation. Small businesses and the self-employed are doing it tough. They are weighed down by rising costs, relentless red tape, regulatory complexity and new tax threats. If we squander this opportunity, we risk choking the very sector that sustains five million jobs and contributes $500 billion to our economy,” Mr Addison said.

COSBOA warned that right now, for many small business owners, simply surviving is a win.

Employers and the self-employed are facing:

• relentless industrial relations changes that strip flexibility;

• soaring costs and cashflow pressures, including looming payday super obligations;

• the ATO intensifying tax collection pressures while debts mount; and

• a regulatory environment that ties businesses up in compliance instead of enabling growth.

“We need a new mindset: regulate for growth, not for risk. Every new regulation should be tested against a simple question – how could a sole trader, a café owner with one employee or a small business employing ten people actually implement this? If government gets this wrong, productivity will stall before it starts,” Mr Addison said.

COSBOA’s submissions: Four pillars for reform

Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy

COSBOA has strongly backed the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to cut the small business tax rate to 20 per cent, with modelling showing this would inject $11.4 billion into GDP over five years. COSBOA has also called for the instant asset write-off to be made permanent and increased to at least $150,000, along with targeted tax incentives for start-ups, R&D, digitisation and accredited training.

“A lower tax rate means money back into the economy – to employ more staff, adopt new technology and invest in growth. But we must also be clear – the proposed cashflow tax is not acceptable, it’s more red tape. Small businesses need simplicity, not more complexity,” Mr Addison said.

Building a skilled and adaptable workforce

COSBOA supports targeted incentives for work-related training, micro-credentials, faster pathways to upskilling, and tailored advisory services to help small businesses navigate training options.

“Skills shortages are crippling small businesses. Incentives for training will make a real difference, but what we don’t need is a return to training levies – they’re outdated and just add cost and complexity,” Mr Addison said.

COSBOA has also backed national recognition of qualifications across states to break down barriers to hiring.

Harnessing data and digital technology

COSBOA supports incentives for digital adoption and calls for national rollout of proven digital adoption grant programs. It has also recommended a light-touch approach to AI regulation, supported by a national AI adoption plan.

“Small business wants to digitise – the appetite is there – but costs and complexity hold many back. Let’s make it easier, not harder, to take up new technology,” Mr Addison said.

COSBOA has reiterated its support for retaining the Privacy Act exemption for businesses under $3 million turnover, with alternative compliance pathways for those small businesses with turnover over the threshold.

Delivering quality care more efficiently

COSBOA has called for streamlining health and care regulation, aligning quality and safety standards, and allowing professional associations to accredit practitioners across all programs.

“Care providers are drowning in duplication. Cutting red tape here means more time with clients, better services, and lower costs,” Mr Addison said.

COSBOA has also urged investment in preventative healthcare and the finalisation of national digital health projects like My Health Record, Provider Connect and Sparked.

Mr Addison said the Productivity Commission process, together with the Economic Reform Roundtable, has put small business firmly on the national agenda – but now it is time to act.

“Small businesses aren’t looking for handouts. What we want is a fair, simple, and enabling system that rewards effort, encourages investment, and cuts down on the duplication and red tape that holds us back. That means simplifying tax and regulation, designing policies that reflect the realities of sole traders and small employers, backing investment in skills and technology, and putting prevention and efficiency at the heart of the care economy.

“This is a once-in-a-generation chance to reset the system. We cannot afford to squander it. COSBOA stands ready to work with government on practical solutions that will give small businesses the confidence to invest, hire and innovate. Because when small business prospers, so does the nation,” Mr Addison said.

Download COSBOA’s submissions to the Productivity Commission:

1. Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy

2. Building a skilled and adaptable workforce

3. Harnessing data and digital technology

4. Delivering quality care more efficiently

-ENDS-

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact Matthew Addison, Chair, COSBOA on chair@cosboa.org.au or call +61 (0) 421 553 613.

About COSBOA

Established in 1979, The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) is a member based not-for-profit organisation exclusively representing the interests of small businesses. The capability, representation, and reach of COSBOA are defined by a mix of over 50 national and state-based members. COSBOA's strength is its capacity to harness its members' views and advance consensus across policy areas common to many.

Our member organisations work with the COSBOA team to assist us with policy development and guide our advocacy - not just for small businesses but also for the benefit of the Australians they employ. In this capacity, COSBOA makes submissions and representations to the government, including its agencies, on issues affecting small businesses and to pursue good policy.