Regulation still a burden for small business

Small businesses in Australia spend up to five hours per week on compliance with government regulatory requirements, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission.

The report calls on goverment regulators to do more to reduce the compliance burden on small business.

The commission recommends that regulators focus on communicating with greater clarity and facilitating voluntary compliance rather than pushing disproportionate enforcement strategies. 

"A regulator's culture and attitude towards business can be as important as the content of the regulation itself," commissioner Warren Mundy said.

"There is still significant scope for improvement in the way regulators engage with small businesses." 

The Council of Small Business of Australia said the report established a template for better engagement between small business and government.

"This report is a positive and constructive response that shows we have been heard," COSBOA executive director Peter Strong said.

"The message from this report is loud and clear - stop and consider the impact of regulation on the small business person, their business and their capacity to continue in business."

There are around 480 Commonwealth, state and territory regulators and 560 local government regulators operating across the nation.