THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed the Federal Government’s extension of temporary insolvency and bankruptcy protections, to support struggling small businesses impacted by the COVID crisis.

Regulations reducing the threat of creditors taking action against a small businesses impacted by trading restrictions have now been extended to December 31, 2020.

The changes also extend the temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for trading while insolvent.

“These necessary measures give otherwise viable small businesses more time to recover, preventing a wave of unnecessary insolvencies,” Ms Carnell said.

“While we support this temporary relief for financially distressed businesses, there will also be a number of zombie businesses kept artificially afloat as a consequence.

“ASIC data shows insolvencies are tracking at close to 50 percent below 2019 levels, which goes to show the extent to which government stimulus and protection measures are keeping businesses on life support, including businesses that have not been viable for some time.   

“Deloitte Access Economics modelling estimates about 240,000 small businesses are at risk of failure, highlighting the critical need for small businesses to sit down with their trusted financial adviser for a viability assessment.

“My office continues to recommend the establishment of a small business viability voucher program, where small business owners facing financial stress can obtain a voucher valued up to $5,000 to access tailored advice on the state of their business," Ms Carnell said.

“The voucher would ensure small businesses have access to the expertise they need to judge business viability.

“Unfortunately small businesses with cash flow issues, compounded by falling revenue, may not seek out professional advice because it’s deemed to be unaffordable. This could prove to be devastating for the business owner and their family, down the line.

“We know the sooner a small business owner experiencing financial stress seeks assistance from an accredited professional, the better the outcome.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has commenced a statutory review of the operation of Part 14 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.

The review will look at Part 14 of the Act, to the extent that it was amended by the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2017—Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms.

The reforms commenced on September 18, 2018 and established a regulatory framework to manage the national security risks of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference to Australia’s telecommunications networks and facilities. Key elements of the reforms are set out on the Department of Home Affairs’ webpage.

The Committee requests submissions to the inquiry by Friday, November 27, 2020.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has received a letter from the Minister for Home Affairs referring an inquiry into foreign interference in Australia’s universities, publicly funded research agencies and competitive research grants agencies with a requested reporting date of July 2021.

The PJCIS recognises that this is a complex topic, and, in order to appropriately consider the issues before it, the Committee will seek private briefings from relevant agencies with a view to finalising the terms of reference, in consultation with the Minister for Home Affairs, and launch the inquiry later this month.

Chair, Andrew Hastie MP, said, "The Committee supports this inquiry. We will now take the opportunity to engage the relevant agencies as we refine the terms of reference. This inquiry is about transparency and accountability, so it’s important that we ask the right questions.”

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THE Queensland Futures Institute (QFI) has welcomed yesterday's announcement from the Queensland Government regarding the formation of a $500 million Backing Queensland Business Investment Fund.

In April this year, QFI presented the State Government with a set of key recommendations from 'What Makes Businesses Start, Grow and Stay in Queensland', an evidence-based study into the factors driving business investment in Queensland.

One of the primary findings recommended "the State Government establish an investment fund, with appropriate criteria, to help existing successful businesses expand in Queensland, as a relatively low-risk way of creating jobs".

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said, "The fund will support good quality Queensland businesses that need capital to create jobs."

A QFI spokesperson said the 'think-tank' encouraged the use of evidence-based research to test current thinking, boundaries and policies in order to improve economic and social outcomes for all Queenslanders.

www.qldfutures.com.au

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HUMANE SOCIETY International (HSI) has welcomed an announcement by Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley to revoke an export permit for a Queensland fishery due to "unsustainable fishing in the Great Barrier Reef".

Minister Ley has revoked the permit of the Queensland Government-managed East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery (ECIFFF) under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The Palaszczuk Government has failed to meet conditions to improve the ecological sustainability of the fishery agreed upon by both governments two years ago, according to HSI.

It means commercial fishers operating in the fishery will not be able to export products from the fishery which operates on the east coast of Queensland including within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Exports include shark fin from endangered hammerhead species and black jewfish bladders exported for traditional Chinese use.

Poor practices in the ECIFFF have led to the deaths of thousands of endangered sharks, sawfish, dugongs, dolphins and turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, HSI said.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), on behalf of HSI and partner organisation Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), wrote to Minister Ley alleging the Queensland Government had failed to meet Condition 9 of the Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation - Queensland East Coast inshore Fin Fish Fishery, December 2018. The Queensland Government failed to address these concerns.

"Minister Sussan Ley has made the right decision," HSI Head of Campaigns, Nicola Beynon said. "An Australian fishery cannot be allowed to continue operating at such a poor standard, particularly when it is happening in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

"The fishery fails to have basic management measures for oversight of the catch. A catch which includes the dumping of thousands of endangered hammerhead sharks, and the bycatch of dugongs and snubfin dolphins in indiscriminate gillnets,” Ms Beynon said.

"This is a very welcome example of the Federal Environment Minister using the powers in the EPBC Act as they were intended to ensure a state government meets the criteria set for environmentally sustainable fisheries in Australia.

"The Palaszczuk Government only have themselves to blame for this issue. They have had plenty of time to comply with the conditions - well before the COVID restrictions came in.”

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CPA AUSTRALIA  has written to the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, recommending additional support for Victorian businesses significantly impacted by restrictions on their operations.

A CPA spokesperson said the extension of Stage Four restrictions in Melbourne until at least September 28, 2020, and the conditional timeline set out in the ‘roadmap to reopening’, would have disastrous consequences for businesses, many of which have already faced at least six months of severe trading restrictions. The result of this has been a significant impact on cash flow, profitability and jobs.

"The viability of many businesses is under serious threat, and with it the jobs of many Victorians. While current business support measures such as the JobKeeper Payment and the Business Support Fund-Expansion grant may limit job cuts and business closures in the short term, their effectiveness will be severely tested over the coming months.

"Tax professionals and business advisers have been working tirelessly at the coalface for several months, providing critical support to business to ensure that government stimulus is effectively implemented. Many of these professionals and advisers work in accounting firms that are themselves small businesses and are seeing firsthand the shocking impacts the ongoing lockdown is having on business, and the personal toll, including significant mental health issues.

"CPA Australia believes that more temporary federal and state government support is needed to assist businesses until the proposed ‘COVID Normal’ stage is reached. Further, a clear and less restrictive plan for economic and business recovery is needed to accompany the roadmap period and beyond."

CPA Australia has recommended the State Government extend the following supports to businesses facing an uncertain future:

• Increase the Business Support Fund-Expansion grant from $10,000 to $15,000 for all businesses in metropolitan Melbourne, and from $5000 to $7500 for all businesses in regional Victoria
• Extend the closing date for applications for the Business Support Fund-Expansion grant until two weeks following the commencement of the Third Step of the roadmap to allow those businesses who need assistance to complete the application, the additional time they need to physically meet their accountant to apply for such assistance
• Extend the Business Support Fund-Expansion to include non-employing sole traders
• Extend the payroll tax waiver for businesses with annual taxable wages up to $3 million until December 31, 2020
• Introduce a small business concessional loan for businesses significantly impacted by COVID-19 along similar lines to the bushfire concessional loans for small business
• Establish an economic recovery advisory panel of external experts from business and academia to advise the Government of how best to facilitate business recovery and create jobs
• Incentivise small business to seek professional advice from their existing trusted adviser
• Working in conjunction with professional business advisers, increase the assistance available to support the mental health of small business owners.

The CPA spokesperson said, "In a crisis of this magnitude, an effective recovery requires the government to engage with and act on the advice of business experts outside of government as well as within, just as it is acting on the advice of medical and scientific experts in informing its response to COVID-19. The ongoing lockdown restrictions are unnecessarily limiting the ability of professional service providers, such as tax professionals and business advisers, from providing the services and advice that business so desperately needs.

"CPA Australia urges the government to consult frequently with business and professional organisations to better understand the impact the crisis is having on small businesses and those who advise them."

About CPA Australia

CPA Australia is one of the world's largest accounting bodies, with more than 166,000 members working in 100 countries and regions and supported by 19 offices globally. Core services to members include education, training, technical support and advocacy. Employees and members work together with local and international bodies to represent the views and concerns of the profession to governments, regulators, industries, academia and the community. www.cpaaustralia.com.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called on the Victorian Government to cover the costs associated with small business closures, with tough trading restrictions to remain in place until the end of October, at the earliest.

Ms Carnell said the latest roadmap announcement by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was a devastating blow to thousands of small businesses, many of which now have no other choice but to close their doors forever.

“Under the Victorian Government’s roadmap, many small businesses will not be able to open for another eight weeks at least and that’s only on the condition that there is less than five cases per day as a state-wide average,” Ms Carnell said.

“On that basis, small businesses that were thinking this lockdown would only last for another couple of weeks, now don’t know if they will ever be able to re-open.

“For those struggling small businesses that know they cannot remain viable under these imposed conditions, the Victorian Government needs to step up and help them make the sensible business decision to exit.

“This means the Victorian Government needs to pay for all break-lease termination fees – not just on the premises but also equipment so small business owners can walk away without further penalties.

“It is unreasonable to expect small businesses to continue to hang on and accumulate debt, given this ongoing forced closure is not fault of their own," Ms Carnell said.

“This is a situation no small business could have planned for. The lockdown extension has forced small businesses into this dire predicament and now the government needs to do the right thing to support them to exit if they cannot afford to hang on.

“The enormity of this lockdown extension and the psychological distress inflicted on small business owners cannot be underestimated," she said

“Small business loans are often secured against the family home, so these hard-working small business owners are now faced with gut-wrenching decisions about their future. They need to be supported in every aspect.

“I encourage all small business owner to seek help if they need it. The Partners in Wellbeing telephone hotline is 1300 375 330 and Beyond Blue’s Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service is at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au

“Our My Business Health web portal also provides free practical resources for small business owners and also links to leading mental health organisations.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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ULTRA-LOW interest rates have created a unique environment where buying a house in many areas is cheaper than paying rent on one, according to new findings.

Pete Wargent, the co-founder of BuyersBuyers.com.au, an online marketplace offering affordable buyer’s agency services for all Australians, said first homebuyers were now weighing up the rent versus buy equation given the lowest borrowing rates on record.

“There are some uncertainties in the economy, but for those with access to a deposit, a reasonable level of employment security, and a sensible buffer, then it has become a compelling equation in many locations,” Mr. Wargent said.

“At BuyersBuyers.com.au we are seeing increasing levels of enquiries from first-time buyers, reflecting the change in borrowing rates and government incentives."

In many areas, rent money is dead money, according to RiskWise CEO Doron Peleg. Mr Peleg said renters with secure jobs were better off buying a house than to continue paying someone else’s mortgage.

“When it comes to houses, the preferred dwelling option in most areas of the country, in many cases it is cheaper to buy than rent, and rent money is dead money. Whereas, if you buy a house you can start building equity straight away, particularly when you take a long-term strategic view, and if you are in a good position to negotiate well and buy a ‘Grade A’ property that will serve your family to many years to come,” he said.

“Our research shows that interest-only repayments for both owner-occupiers and investors are lower than the annual rental cost in most of the 88 areas at the statistical area level 4 (i.e. SA4s). Therefore, funding costs are now lower than rental payments across all states and territories.

“And, except for Sydney and Melbourne, in all other states and territories, even the principal and interest repayments are lower than the annual rent, assuming that you have a 20 per cent deposit.

“No interest rate rises are expected in the foreseeable future and the intense competition between the banks is only going to intensify, meaning that buyers are in a very strong position to continue enjoying ultra-low interest rates.”

Mr Peleg said the biggest savings were in the capital cities where rental returns were the highest.

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