THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called on the Federal Government to implement the recommendations in her Insurance Inquiry, saying too many small businesses are being forced to close their doors because they can’t get public liability insurance.

Ms Carnell said the government needs to take urgent action to ensure small businesses can access essential insurance products such as public liability.

“Throughout the course of our inquiry, hundreds of small businesses told my office they face closure if insurance remains unavailable to them,” Ms Carnell said.

“Small businesses have told us they have either been denied insurance outright or their premiums have as much as tripled in a few years, effectively pricing them out of the market.

“One heartbreaking example of this is Barra Fun Park in Townsville, which is sadly closing its doors this Sunday after 20 years of operation.

“Owner Brent Stevenson cannot find an insurer willing to renew his public liability insurance.

“In the two decades Barra Fun Park has been operating, there has only been one insurance claim against his business. The claim resulted in a $70,000 payout to a patron who sustained an injury (hyper-extended thumb) at the park. Brent subsequently saw his insurance premium nearly triple and paid the annual fee, only to be shut down for six months due to COVID restrictions," Ms Carnell said.

“This is not just one isolated incident – we know there are many small businesses, particularly those offering recreational activities such as caravan parks with splash zones and jumping pillows, that are in the same boat.

“That’s why our Insurance Inquiry has made recommendations addressing the lack of availability of public liability insurance, which is in large part attributable to the unlimited nature of injury claims and the potential for large damages to be awarded.

“Our report recommends Australia follow the lead of New Zealand, which has applied statutory caps on liability for personal injury. We need a civil liability framework that actually works," he said.

“The government should also implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to roll out a no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) to cover lifetime care for catastrophic injuries. It’s been nine years since the Productivity Commission released its Report into Disability Care and Support and yet the NIIS is still under consideration, much to the detriment of the small business sector.

“Ultimately, the risk environment for public liability litigation can only change through government intervention and the current framework of fault-based injury compensation creates uncontrollable risks for insurers and small businesses.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme will hold its first public hearing for 2021 on Friday.

The committee will hear from representatives of the Department of Social Services.

This public hearing will focus on matters associated with the operation of the National Redress Scheme and its ongoing support of survivors, as well as the Government’s recent National Redress Scheme December 31 Deadline Update.

As at January 1, 2021, the scheme has received a total of 9,117 applications, 4,530 payments have been made totalling about $377 million and a further 540 offers are awaiting an applicant’s decision.

Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith noted that the government’s recent figures were very encouraging, but more needed to be done.

“We are still faced with several survivor groups that are being blocked from, or under-utilising, the redress owed to them – these must have the Committee’s urgent attention,” Senator Smith said.

Public hearing program

Date: Friday, 22 January 2021
Time: 12 noon – 1.20pm AEDT
Location: Videoconference

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live and public hearing programs will be available at the Committee website prior to the hearing.

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ALINTA ENERGY is bringing its customer service call centre team onshore and will hire hundreds of Victorians in the Latrobe Valley for a new customer contact centre.

Alinta Energy managing director and CEO, Jeff Dimery, said the move demonstrated the organisation’s commitment to deliver even better service to its customers.

“For 20 years, Alinta Energy has been making energy fairer and more affordable for Australians," he said. "Now, we’re establishing a new customer contact centre in Victoria so we can provide even better service and support to our customers.”

The new customer contact centre will commence operations in mid-2021, and will make Alinta Energy one of the largest employers in the Latrobe Valley.

“We’ve chosen the Valley as our operational hub because we already have strong ties with the area through Loy Yang B,” Mr Dimery said.

“We’re investing in Australian jobs, and I think our customers will enjoy speaking to someone locally when they call us.”

Alinta Energy has around 600,000 customers on the east coast of Australia.

Mr Dimery said the new customer contact centre would be a multi-million-dollar investment by the company each year, but will deliver immeasurable benefits to customers and boost the local economy in the Latrobe Valley.

“We’re making this investment because it’s the right thing to do for our customers, and because we want to cement our local operations and help create jobs and investment in regional Victoria," Mr Dimery said.

The initiative is being supported by the Victorian Government through its investment attraction and Jobs Victoria programs.

“We thank the Victorian Government for their support to make this possible,” Mr Dimery said.

Alinta Energy is also investing in developing leading technology to ensure this new customer contact centre will be a centre of excellence for customer service.

“Our focus is on delivering better, more efficient service and support to our customers right across Australia. We know our customers enjoy speaking to local people; now they’ll be speaking to local people in Victoria,” Mr Dimery said.

Alinta Energy careers page has updates on employment at the centre.

About Alinta Energy

Alinta Energy has been supplying energy to Australians for over 20 years. In addition to supplying retail electricity and gas to over 1.1 million customers and employing around 800 people, Alinta has electricity generation, storage and transmission facilities across Australia and New Zealand. Alinta has a mission to make energy more affordable and is committed to its 2025 target to support development of 1,500 MW of renewable energy generation.

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WEX, a leading financial technology service provider, has announced its collaboration with online business management platform MYOB to deliver B2B payments for Australian businesses.

MYOB provides business and accounting software to 1.2 million businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

The collaboration gives WEX customers access to MYOB’s business payment platform to pay their suppliers via WEX virtual credit cards.

Utilising the MYOB solution, WEX customers can enjoy a more seamless and efficient experience when making payments to suppliers, even if suppliers do not typically accept virtual credit cards and without the need for suppliers to make any changes to how they receive payments.

MYOB general manager for financial services, Andrew Baines said, “Cashflow is absolutely critical for businesses, and this relationship with WEX provides its customers with more choice around payment options, allowing more flexibility to choose a solution which works best for their business at a particular moment in time.

"WEX’s B2B payment capability will be a strong complement with MYOB’s business payment platform, and we’re delighted to offer this experience to its Australian customers.”

WEX director of business development and partnerships for EMEA and APAC, Justin Cross said, “WEX’s corporate payments business is continuing to work with innovative brands like MYOB to support local business growth and ensure payments are not an afterthought. We are committed to growing with Australian brands by helping them build their financial infrastructure and providing a seamless customer experience through simplified payment transactions.”

About WEX 

Powered by the belief that complex payment systems can be made simple, WEX (NYSE: WEX) is a leading financial technology service provider across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, travel, and healthcare. WEX operates in more than 10 countries and in 20 currencies through about 5,000 associates around the world. WEX fleet cards offer 15 million vehicles exceptional payment security and control; purchase volume in travel and corporate solutions grew to approximately $40 billion in 2019; and the WEX Health financial technology platform helps 390,000 employers and more than 32 million consumers better manage healthcare expenses. www.wexinc.com.

About MYOB

MYOB is a leading business platform with a core purpose of helping more businesses in Australia and New Zealand start, survive and succeed. At the heart of MYOB is a customer base of 1.2 million businesses and a network of more than 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and consultants, for whom MYOB delivers end-to-end business and accounting solutions. MYOB operates across four key segments: Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), Enterprise, Financial Services and Practice. myob.com,  @MYOB.

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