THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to appoint a temporary Small Business Commissioner.

The new role, to be taken up by the current Queensland Small Business Champion Maree Adshead, will give small businesses a single point of contact for commercial leasing disputes, many of which have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Maree has done fantastic work as the Queensland Small Business Champion and she’s certainly the right person for this important job,” Ms Carnell said.

“Many small businesses are reaching out for assistance with disputes over commercial lease arrangements because of the financial hardship they are experiencing during this difficult time.

“By creating this role, small businesses in Queensland will have the support they need to negotiate a fair outcome with their landlord, under the guidance of the Mandatory Commercial Tenancy Code of Conduct.

“It’s vital, especially in this time of crisis, there is a full-time small business commissioner with the necessary powers to meet the needs of small businesses.

“Alternative dispute resolution is far more cost-effective, time and resource-saving for small businesses than the court system, so I would encourage Queensland small businesses to access these free services if they need to," Ms Carnell said.

“While this Small Business Commissioner role is only temporarily in place for the remainder of the year, my office believes there is good reason to make this an ongoing service to the small business community in Queensland.

“In the meantime, we congratulate Maree Adshead on taking this role in the interim.” 

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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TENANTS Queensland (TQ) has welcomed the release of regulations governing COVID affected tenancies, bringing clarity and relief to many but says it was a ‘missed opportunity’ at the same time.

TQ CEO Penny Carr said protecting renters in rent arrears from eviction is a very positive step and the clear process for resolving rent disputes will help landlords and tenants alike navigate the challenges.

The inclusion of rooming accommodation residents in protections is also well received. However, the organisation believes the Queensland Government missed an opportunity to fully protect tenants from rogue agents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In instances where negotiation fails, rent disputes may be drawn out while rent debts mount, and ending tenancies for hardship will become more difficult," Ms Carr said.

“The new criteria set for tenants to immediately end tenancies is so stringent that few, if any, will be able to use it, while the usual process of pleading an early end to the tenancy for hardship has been extended,” she said.

“In contrast, landlords’ hardship applications will still proceed straight to QCAT and landlords will have a range of new grounds with which to evict renters. These include telling a tenant to leave during a fixed-term agreement because the landlord wants to prepare the place for sale.

“For the lessor to simply say end an agreement to prepare the place for sale, despite the tenant having a fixed-term agreement, is unreasonable and brings greater instability to people’s tenancies.

“This is disappointing. The legislation was meant to protect tenants from rogue agents but now has the potential to create more movement during a public health crisis.”

Ms Carr, who heads the state’s leading tenant advisory service, said her organisation was receiving hundreds of calls from renters seeking clarification about whether they will get a rent reductions or if they can leave quickly so they don’t’ rack up a rent debt.

Ms Carr said she welcomed the opportunity to have oversight of the new laws as part of the Ministerial Housing Council’s Housing Security Sub-committee and looks forward to working with the government to monitor the situation.

About Tenants Queensland

Tenants Queensland (TQ) is a specialist community legal centre that provides a free advice and referral service for residential tenants in Queensland through its flagship QSTARS program. TQ aims to protect and improve the rights of residential tenants in Queensland, particularly those who are economically or socially disadvantaged.   www.tenantsqld.gov.au.

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MASTER BUILDERS Australia has warned that recent building industry job losses show government stimulus is needed.

“The 5.3 percent fall in the number of building and construction industry jobs revealed in the last six weeks shown in data released by the ABS is alarming and reinforces the need for immediate government stimulus measures,” Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said. 

“Stimulus can’t wait because jobs are being lost now and we need to protect the livelihoods of the 1.2 million people employed by the industry around the country and the viability of the nearly 400,000 building and construction businesses that pay their wages.

“Results of a new Master Builders survey of its members shows that 73 percent have seen a substantial fall in forward work on their books of 40 percent on average,” Ms Wawn said. 

“Governments must act now because while many builders and tradies are getting by on work that commenced prior to the onset of COVID-19 that work is fast running out and new orders have fallen off a cliff.

“This is a dangerous situation not only for the industry and the people we employ but for the country. The Treasurer and the Governor of the Reserve Bank have spoken of building a bridge to economic recovery, but no bridge will be built literally or figuratively if the building and construction industry is on its knees,” Ms Wawn said. 

“The housing sector was vital in helping Australia to recover from the last major economic shock of the GFC but the impact of COVID-19 is hitting particularly hard right now. We want to see measures such as the expansion of the numbers and eligibility of the Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to include anyone wanting to build a new home to help home builders keep their doors open and tackle the nation’s under-supply of housing,” she said. 

“Our clear message to governments is that while we commend current measures to support business and jobs more is immediately needed. Construction contractors need federal, state and territory governments to accelerate the construction of social, defence and transport infrastructure.

“State and Territory governments must provide their infrastructure planning agencies with more resources so that actual construction work can commence, and Federal Government payments can be made, and money enter the economy.

“As the nation continues to be successful in tackling the health emergency posed by COVID-19 with measures to suppress its spread in the community, the focus of governments is increasingly on the measures needed to meet the resulting economic emergency. However, governments must recognise that stimulus measures cannot be deferred until social restrictions are eased, nor can they only be future focused,” Ms Wawn said. 

“They must be put in place now so that the industry is in a position to drive the future economic growth necessary for a recovery in our economy and living standards."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will scrutinise the insurance sector over two days of hearings by videoconference on 28 and 29 April 2020, as part of its ongoing review of the four major banks and other financial institutions.

The chair of the committee, Tim Wilson MP, said, "These hearings are an important mechanism for the Parliament to publicly scrutinise and hold Australia’s insurance sector to account.

"Insurance is an essential way that Australians and Australian businesses manage risk and protect themselves from financial loss after disaster strikes. Australians must be able to rely on the insurance sector to provide high-quality policies and respond quickly when claims are made.

"Given the widespread misconduct in the insurance sector identified by the Hayne Royal Commission, it is important that insurers and those in the industry are held accountable to ensure that they are making the crucial improvements needed to restore trust in the sector.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has also raised a number of relevant issues relating to policy coverage ranging from travel insurance, landlord insurance and income protection that also need to be explored."

Public hearing details

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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