Acknowledgments omitted.
It’s wonderful to be here in Sydney to talk about the Albanese Government’s support for small businesses.
New South Wales is home to about 34 per cent of Australia’s small businesses and of those, roughly 70 per cent are located in Greater Sydney.
This entrepreneurial heartland is the ideal place to discuss the benefits of the Digital Solutions program for small business.
Since we came into government, we have invested $18.6 million for Digital Solutions, which is being delivered by Realise Business here in Sydney, the rest of NSW and ACT.
We made the decision to invest in the Digital Solutions program because we know how it can help small businesses harness opportunities and build their resilience.
Because digital technology and digital adoption is key to a stronger, more productive and resilient business sector – which is good for the economy and for all of us.
Australians are already adopting digital and data tools as they recognise the potential gains.
According to the Productivity Commission, almost all Australian businesses are connected to the internet, over half have a web presence, 68 per cent have placed orders over the internet and 57 per cent have adopted cloud technology.
I acknowledge that many small businesses continue to be impacted by the current economic conditions.
This is why the Government is focused on making it easier to do business, improving regulatory settings, consulting on unfair trading practices and supporting the use of digital technology.
The use of digital technology becomes even more crucial when facing economic headwinds.
Not just to streamline business processes and improve customer experience, but to harness emerging opportunities effectively so employees can work smarter and gain a competitive advantage.
For example, automating routine tasks using small business software that incorporates artificial intelligence.
Or enhancing customer service with online strategies and using insights gleaned from data analytics.
There are also home‑grown digital powerhouses that provide free versions of their software, which can give small businesses that edge.
A CSIRO report states that the next wave of digital innovation will generate $10–15 trillion globally, and currently available technologies could contribute $140–250 billion to Australia’s GDP by 2025.
The same report states that compared to other advanced economies, Australia has captured less value from digital innovation.
CPA Australia’s Asia‑Pacific small business survey 2022–23 found that Australian small businesses are much less likely to use digital technologies than their counterparts in Asia, including in areas like ecommerce, payment technology and social media.
All the while, new productivity‑enhancing technologies continue to emerge.
These findings mean there are untapped opportunities to accelerate digital adoption.
Our Government wants to ensure small businesses can tap these opportunities for productivity gains.
Which is why we are introducing a $392.4 million Industry Growth Program to help small business to innovate, adopt and adapt, including to digital technology.
And we continue to support the Digital Solutions program, which to date has helped around 50,000 small businesses to adopt digital tools.
Here in NSW, Realise Business has been helping deliver the Digital Solutions program for almost five years.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Digital Solutions program, it provides Australian small businesses with free workshops, webinars and self‑directed tutorials as well as up to four hours of low‑cost, personalised advice on making the most of digital tools.
The advice covers:
- learning how digital tools can help small business
- developing websites and selling online
- social media and digital marketing
- using small business software
- cyber security and data privacy.
I had the opportunity yesterday to see the program in action at a workshop facilitated by Realise Business in North Strathfield.
It was great to meet local business owners who were there to learn about the digital tools that they can use to do business better.
A study by Xero found that on average, small businesses that adopt new technology experience 120 per cent higher revenue, and 106 per cent higher productivity, than comparable small businesses that don’t adopt new technology.
Internationally, studies have found a positive relationship between technology adoption and GDP growth.
In several cases, the evidence suggests the economic benefits from using technology are greater for businesses that have also invested in complementary areas, such as management capabilities and data assets.
Another area requiring serious focus and investment is cyber security.
Small businesses are at the heart of local communities across the country.
Which is why the Government continues to put them at the centre of efforts to tackle cyber security threats.
Small businesses that have rapidly digitalised in the past few years are making the most of new opportunities.
But they’re also increasingly vulnerable to cyber‑attacks.
The average loss caused by a cyber‑attack is around $46,000 per small business.
This causes not only significant financial damage, but also reputational damage. And when your business already faces cost pressures, a cyber‑attack is a huge blow.
The Government has released the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.
It is a long‑term vision for the future of Australian cyber security that is also crucial for Australia’s small businesses.
Earlier this week, alongside Minister O’Neil, I announced two new programs to directly support small businesses under the Cyber Security Strategy.
The first is a $7.2 million cyber health check program that will allow businesses to undertake a free ‘check‑up’ of their cyber security maturity, and access educational tools and materials to help them improve their resilience.
The second is the $11.1 million Small Business Cyber Resilience Service, which small businesses can call if they experience a cyber attack to help walk them through their recovery.
This will build on supports already in place.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre, through the cyber.gov.au website, provides small businesses with information, resources, guidance and tools on how to secure your business.
The website has a free Cyber Security Assessment Tool that can help identify the cyber security strengths of a business and learn how to improve cyber security.
The cyber.gov.au website also contains information on how to recover from these incidents.
Small businesses can report cyber‑attack incidents through 1300 CYBER1.
The Government has also invested $23.4 million to help small businesses build resilience to cyber security attacks through a new Cyber Wardens program.
This program is being delivered by COSBOA (Council of Small Business Organisations Australia) and over the next three years around 50,000 cyber wardens in 15,000 businesses will be trained.
COSBOA’s research found that 6 out of 10 small businesses felt unprepared, and rated their cyber security as ‘poor’ or ‘could improve’.
It is important to ensure businesses have greater capacity to keep data and personal information safe.
A critical element of increasing consumers’ trust and confidence in the digital economy is ensuring we have strong privacy laws.
Last month, the Government responded to the Privacy Act Review Report and gave in‑principle agreement to removing the small business exemption from the Privacy Act.
Agreeing in‑principle means that further consideration, analysis and consultation will be undertaken before any final decision is made by the Government.
And I understand that consultation with small businesses and their representatives has already commenced.
This position is taken in light of the increased privacy risks applicable in the digital environment. The small business exemption would only be removed after an impact analysis is done and suitable transitional support is developed.
This will help to ensure that small businesses have greater resilience towards data breaches and are keeping data and personal information safe.
By helping small businesses to improve their data security, we are ensuring they are less attractive targets for cyber criminals and helping to protect small businesses and the jobs that they provide in the community.
This is a good thing for small businesses and for Australians who love to support them.
The Government has introduced other new measures to help small businesses.
For example, we passed legislation to strengthen unfair contract terms protections for small business. The new provisions commenced on 9 November.
This will ensure a larger number of small businesses can be offered greater protections.
The reform will also introduce a stronger deterrence by giving courts the power to impose a civil penalty for use of unfair terms in standard form contracts.
The Government is committed to ensuring more small businesses are paid on time.
Late payments create a flow‑on effect for small businesses.
They cause unnecessary accounting complications and threaten business owners’ ability to meet obligations, such as paying rent or wages on time.
The Government recently appointed the Honourable Dr Craig Emerson to lead a review of the Payment Times Reporting Scheme, which focused on how to improve payment times for Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses.
The review makes 14 recommendations, encompassing 23 actions for Government.
These include an overhaul of the Payment Times Reporting Scheme, targeted activities to increase pressure on large businesses with poor payment times, and embedding fair payment terms for small businesses in a range of other Government policies and processes.
The Government is carefully considering the findings and recommendations of the Review to formulate a response that will level the playing field and ensure large businesses treat small businesses fairly.
We are introducing the Small Business Energy Incentive, which will help small‑ and medium‑sized businesses save on energy and power bills.
Businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will be able to access a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction on assets and improvements that support electrification and more efficient energy use.
The maximum bonus deduction will be $20,000, based on total eligible expenditure of $100,000.
This deduction could make a real difference to the eligible businesses that take it up.
We’re also making it easier for small businesses with annual turnover of less than $10 million to invest and grow by providing cash flow support through the $20,000 instant asset write‑off.
Listening to small business owners I am always amazed by their resilience in the face of challenges.
And I know the impact takes its toll.
The Government has provided $15.1 million so that small business owners can access free mental health and financial counselling support.
The Albanese Government will keep working to help improve conditions for small business and support their long‑term resilience including through broader programs such as cheaper childcare and Fee Free TAFE.
All that we do is about providing an environment where small businesses can continue making the most of opportunities.
Thank you.