COSBOA statement on the Productivity Commission’s Harnessing data and digital technology – Interim Report

Matthew Addison, Chair, COSBOA

Digital adoption has the potential to supercharge the small business sector, creating new efficiencies, new ways of working and driving innovation and entrepreneurship. As acknowledged by the Productivity Commission (PC), for this opportunity to be realised a light-touch regulatory approach is required. Incentivisation to drive digital uptake is also essential.

While COSBOA broadly supports the Productivity Commission’s (PC) recommendations, small business is barely mentioned within the report. These businesses must be empowered to adopt transformative technologies like AI and we need regulation that reflects their contribution to our economy and our communities. In our view, this is a missed opportunity, essentially overlooking the sector that is our nation’s largest employer and contributes $500 billion annually to Australia’s GDP.

Small businesses around Australia, from our regions to our cities, want to digitise. And in a cost-of-living crisis, with margins tight and resources stretched, they deserve a fair go. This can be delivered via incentivisation – making the instant asset write off permanent and increasing the rate to $150,000, which would help drive digital adoption.

We also reiterate our existing position that small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $3 million should not be captured by the Privacy Act. If captured, this would present a significant regulatory burden and more operational expense for small businesses. COSBOA is, however, open to working with government to provide an alternative compliance pathway that would enable small businesses to fulfil targeted criteria if the decision to remove the exemption is made.

While COSBOA supports the shift to mandatory financial reporting, we also note the burden this could place on small business, with consultation and appropriate transition timeframes necessary.

-ENDS-

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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.

For more information, visit www.cosboa.org.au