Cutting red tape to help Tasmanian small businesses get on with the job.
October 25 2023
NMBA working with the Tasmanian Government to help small businesses announcement by Nick Duigan, Minister for Small Business.
Tasmanian small businesses are the engine room of the economy and the Rockliff Liberal Government has revealed plans to slash red tape and help them to get on with the job of growing the economy.
Minister for Small Business, Nick Duigan, said small businesses across the State had expressed their strong desire for the Government to be more accountable to help them thrive.
“There are more than 41,000 small businesses in Tasmania employing over 100,000 people and part of our long-term plan for the economy is to further grow this sector by reducing red tape,” Minister Duigan said.
“Businesses need a range of permits and approvals from Government agencies to start up and grow, however, there are limited published service standard timeframes for these permits and approvals which can cause delays.“From March 2024 we plan to publish timeframes for all State Government permits and approvals for small businesses to provide accountability, transparency and predictability to the process.
“The feedback we have received indicates it would make a huge difference to businesses if they received known timeframes for permits and approvals from government regulators and agencies.
“Government agencies will set the timeframes for permits and approvals, like business licences and occupation accreditation, to ensure we protect people, places and products that make Tasmania such a great place to live and work.
“Many government permits and approvals already have statutory timeframes, and most agencies have internal service standard timeframes for delivery of outcomes to the business sector.
“This project aims to provide businesses with a clear understanding of how long a permit or approval from a State Government agency should reasonably take, while also retaining the ability to deal with applications on a case-by-case basis.
“However, as the Minister for Small Business, I regularly hear from businesses wanting assistance in finalising permits and approvals that they consider are taking too long.
“Currently, it can be difficult for a business to ascertain how long a State Government permit or approval should reasonably take.
“We will work with agencies to capture all permits and approvals issued to Tasmanian business over the coming months, which will then be listed on the Business Tasmania website to ensure transparency on them all.
“We want Tasmania to be the best place to run a small business in the country and we believe having published service standard timeframes for all business permit and approvals in one place will help significantly,” Minister Duigan said.
Nick Duigan, Minister for Small Business
25 October 2023