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It did so while a parliamentary inquiry into the bill – called for by the Senate due to the bill’s sheer complexity – still had weeks to run with almost 200 submissions received and a further appearance due by the Employment Department (themselves found guilty of wage theft).
If small business should rest assured there is nothing to fear, then why not provide full modelling?
The deal even included new amendments that have not been consulted on or even sighted by employers.
IR argy-bargy was again on display with business critics’ saying firms should suck it up as they “don’t feel the hardships many Australians are feeling right now”.
On the contrary, 98 per cent of all businesses are small and feel hardships every day.
Small businesses are typically self-funded by someone with a mortgage. They are feeling the pinch against the backdrop of rising energy, rent, borrowing and insurance costs.
Business in the balance
Data from the small business ombudsman indicates that 43 per cent of small businesses are not breaking even: that is over one million small firms in Australia are hanging in the balance.
Most small business owners are still paying themselves below the average wage to absorb costs and keep the lights on for their workers and customers.
To arrest these trends, we must boost rather than burden small business operators.
Unfortunately, the IR changes that remain up for consideration – now known as Closing Loopholes 2 – will only create more complexity at a time when small business can least withstand it.
A raft of measures remains on foot that will affect the entire economy including casuals, independent contractors, gig workers, the trucking industry and the very definition of employment, to name a few.
What problems these proposals attempt to solve remain unclear.
The radical changes toss existing definitions out the window that apply to over 3.5 million Australian casuals and contractors and have been endorsed by the High Court.
Many employees, including students and carers, will face the prospect of losing casual work and its attractive 25 per cent loading.
Over 1.1 million self-employed Australians such as builders, tilers, scaffolders and architects face losing their right to be their own boss.
The so-called small business exemptions in the package received no fanfare but have been called out as window-dressing incapable of exempting the impact of more complexity.
For example, the new definition of casuals is three pages long, contains over a dozen tests and requires ongoing assessment by employers in real time.
Complex and unworkable
You do not need to be a pre-eminent barrister to know that is complex and unworkable.
Small businesses do not typically have specialist HR support and incredibly the impact statement provided in the bill fails to address the real cost to small businesses in dealing with complexity.
If small business should rest assured there is nothing to fear, then why not provide full modelling?
The IR changes – and the opaque way changes to date have been prosecuted – run roughshod over the government’s election commitment to make life easier for small business and improve transparency.
It is little wonder small businesses are querying whether the government understands or even cares about pushing additional complexity onto them in the peak of a cost-of-living crisis.
And in terms of process, the next time the government agrees to a Senate inquiry should this be taken seriously or with a footnote indicating a behind-closed-doors deal is brewing?
Our IR system is now more complex than ever and with the prospect of more pages to come.
It is time to review the operation of the 1200-page Fair Work Act in its entirety and assess whether it is promoting a better outcome for all Australians.
This is more sensible than the usual horse-trading that ignores underlying problems and only alienates the 2.5 million small businesses who require a clear and workable rule book.
It is agreed that Australia’s legislators face a stark choice in the coming months.
Small businesses will be watching closely.
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