LENGTHY processing times and archaic visa applicatio systems are hampering Australia’s competitive edge with India and China -- two important markets suffering significant delays affecting our desirability as a holiday destination.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has today called for both parties to commit to taking policy action on visa issues which are affecting our reputation as an accessible destination and the ongoing increases in visa costs, which in last week’s budget hit both tourism and working holiday maker visas.

“ATEC is baffled by the recent budget announcement, increasing the cost of the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa, which went up by more than 5.4 percent in last week’s budget, while at the same time funding marketing campaigns to ‘reinvigorate’ this market,” ATEC managing director, Peter Shelley said.

“Working holiday makers are one of our highest yielding visitors who travel extensively in regional Australia both spending and working in these communities.

“This is a price sensitive market and with these visas increasing by around $35, it seems we are encouraging on one hand and discouraging on the other."

Mr Shelley said the situation in India has become dire, with numerous international wholesalers now refusing to actively sell Australia due to the length of time it takes to process a visa to Australia.

“There is a failure to recognise the massive commercial knock-on effects of visa delays and it’s quite common for large groups planning a trip to Australia to collectively change their destination plans if just one traveller’s visa is held up," he said.

“ATEC has been briefed on a recent case where a group of 700 professionals from India cancelled their trip and went to Canada because Australia’s visa issues were too challenging.

“Previously, our Home Affairs department had a policy of liaising with key travel distribution partners to create visa processing efficiencies but this is no longer the case and we are now seeing bottlenecks of up to 40 days in processing.

“In China, the ADS visa has been long-lauded as a system which guaranteed speedy processing in return for compliance with a number of criteria but we now hear what was once a 48 hour ADS processing time has ballooned to more than a week.

“Even more concerning is the tourist visa (sub-class 600) for Chinese visitors is taking upwards of 4 weeks to be processed.

“Once upon a time, Australia was a global leader in visa policy and now we are seeing competing destinations not only out-performing us, but stealing market share -  this is just not good enough for an industry worth more than $44 billion in export revenue."

A recent survey undertaken by ATEC showed the annual cost to business directly attributable to visa challenges can be as high a $250,000 per Australian inbound tourism agency who arranges all travel requirements for international visitors.  This doesn’t account for knock on effects to tourism products like accommodation providers, tour operators, experiences, and the business which supply goods and services to those operators.

“The opportunity cost to Australia thanks to poor visa policy is without doubt in the millions, and there appears to be a genuine government apathy in considering reforms that could deliver short term gains," Mr Shelley said.

“ATEC is committed to working with government to activate real solutions that drive growth, minimise risk and re-establish Australia as a welcoming international destination."

All we request is that Australia’s tourism visa policy and resourcing is competitive – at the moment it’s not and this is damaging Australia’s global reputation.

“We want to see visa processing systems that are intuitive, language-enabled and interfaced with other data sources to enable a fast, seamless and user-friendly visa application experience.”

TRADERS who flout restricted retail trading hours during the Easter period risk hefty fines, the executive director of the Australian Retailers’ Association, Russell Zimmerman, said today.

Citing the example of a shopping centre seeking to compel its tenants to open on Easter Sunday, Mr Zimmerman urged landlords and retailers to check state regulations to determine whether they were permitted to trade.

“The ARA is concerned that retail businesses that open during prohibited times over Easter – whether inadvertently or deliberately – will find themselves slapped with hefty fines for their trouble,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“As legislation and regulation governing Easter trading varies from state to state, the ARA strongly urges both retail businesses and their landlords to check the law as it applies where they are based,” Mr Zimmerman added.

Mr Zimmerman said that while some exceptions to prohibited trading times during Easter were allowed, these were extremely limited, and that it was best for business owners to double-check before they risked a fine.

“We know from retailers seeking clarification, for example, of a shopping centre in Sydney that wanted to tell its customers it’d be open on Easter Sunday, and sought to compel its tenants to trade,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Easter Sunday trading is illegal under NSW law, unless an exemption is granted. Traders who complied with this directive from centre management would be liable for a fine of $11,000 per business,” he said.

Mr Zimmerman said the ARA had taken steps to inform the shopping centre involved.

“The ARA understands that Easter is a popular holiday, and that people like to go shopping," he said. "Even so, the law is the law, and where opening at certain times is illegal, we wish to ensure our members’ interests are protected.

“Most states publish details of Easter trading hours on their websites. The five minutes it takes to check could quite literally save many retail businesses thousands of dollars,” Mr Zimmerman said.

About the Australian Retailers Association

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $320 billion-dollar sector, which employs more than 1.3 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,800 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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BY DECLARING tax deductions for accounting fees as a rort, Labor has not only attacked the accounting profession, it has attacked millions of hard working taxpayers who are doing the right thing in paying their fair share of taxation, said the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“When the Opposition proposed to cap deductibility of tax agents’ fees to $3,000 (May 2017), it assumed a one-size-fits-all approach works, which is simply not the case,” IPA chief executive officer Andrew Conway said.

“The Prime Minister and Treasurer have issued a letter to accountants expressing concerns over this measure, which we will disseminate to our members.  If the Opposition provides a response to these concerns we will also distribute the correspondence to members.

“To be clear, we support the fact that all Australians should pay their due share of tax but they should also be able to access the appropriate tax deductions available to them to ensure they are not overpaying.

“Labor’s views on this matter shows a lack of understanding about, and respect for, what it takes for an accountant to appropriately manage an individual’s tax affairs.  It is not always a matter of a simple tax return; there may be many other factors associated with our highly complex tax system," Mr Conway said.

“For some, there can be considerable time spent in areas of tax audit, litigation, disputes and other interactions with the Australian Tax Office.

“Further complexities exist with the formation of partnerships, trusts, property acquisitions and disposals. 

“These are all factors of a change in someone’s life circumstances which may also include ordinary taxpayers involved in situations like restructuring, divorce and sale of a business, to name a few.

“To bundle all of this under the heading of ‘managing tax affairs’ does not reflect a genuine picture of a person’s life circumstances and undermines the value of the work performed by accountants.

“Simply put, genuine taxpayers are not rorters.  They should be seeking the right tax advice from their trusted adviser, the accountant, to make sure they continue to claim their rights and pay the correct amount of tax. 

“Labor’s proposed measure is genuinely and obviously a revenue grab. If you cap it at $3,000 the likelihood of a person engaging appropriate tax advice is reduced.  This could have disastrous impacts on the community.

“If you look at the people who are generally deserving of a tax deduction, based on this proposal, they would be unable to access it. This is not affecting the top end of town, it’s really affecting individuals including small business owners,” Mr Conway said.

www.publicaccountants.org.au

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WITH EASTER only a week away, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) believes retailers across the nation will be packing their shelves with an assortment of Easter treats and delights.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said that while many retailers stock their shelves with Easter products just after New Year, the majority of Easter sales do not occur until the week before Good Friday.

"Although the Easter trading period is shorter than the Christmas period, this holiday is still recognised as a busy trading event for retailers,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“We predict that sales of traditional Easter items including hot cross, buns, seafood, fresh produce, liquor and of course chocolate to increase during throughout this time, which is a welcome fillip for specialist retailers who sell these products.”

Sydney Fish Market general manager Bryan Skepper said he expected 50,000 people would visit the iconic market on Good Friday and estimates over 650 tonnes of seafood would be sold during the day.

“As Easter is celebrated widely, many Australians will be heading to retail outlets to buy fresh produce to cater for Easter lunches and feed their friends and families,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Fresh food markets won’t be the only ones to experience big crowds of shoppers over the coming week, as several bakeries and chocolatiers will also be crafting tantalising indulgences for the Easter holiday.

With hot cross buns recognised as an Easter staple, the CEO of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, Steve Plarre, said that while 60 percent of hot cross bun sales were generated from traditional fruit buns, sales of new flavours and Easter Chocolate Waffles continue to grow each year.

“Hot cross buns are still a top seller by volume. However, over the last few years, we have noticed a rise in the sale of our raspberry and white chocolate and our apple and cinnamon varieties,” Mr Plarre said.

With Easter arriving later in 2019 than last year, Mr Zimmerman said he expects retailers to experience higher sales during this time, as customers will be visiting retail stores to purchase new and innovative Easter creations.

“Each year we see many of our retailers taking traditional Easter products and transforming them into exciting new products that tantalise their customer’s tastebuds,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Just like Christmas, Easter is a key trading period for retailers. With the colder season upon us, many retailers will be busy preparing their stores with new season fashion for winter.”

About the Australian Retailers Association

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $320 billion sector, which employs more than 1.3 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak body industry, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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