Mr Billson was the federal minister for small business from 2013 to 2015.
When asked to respond to the potential appointment, Mr Billson said that he refused to comment on the rumours.
However, the chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), Peter Strong, said he would welcome Mr Billson’s appointment into the ASBFEO role, saying he was one of the best-performing small business ministers in Australia’s history, and achieved remarkable outcomes for the small business community.
“Mr Billson is also noted for his energy, his unrelenting focus on the changes needed, and for being the first small business minister in cabinet solely dedicated to the cause of some 3 million small and family business folk who between them employ almost 5 million other folk,” he said.
Mr Strong also expressed “deep thanks to Kate Carnell, the outgoing ASBFEO, for the work that she has done”.
The office of the ASBFEO was established in 2016 following the enactment of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Act 2015 and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2015.
Ms Carnell was appointed the inaugural ASBFEO for a five-year term beginning in 2016.
Before becoming the ombudsman, she was the chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and was the chief minister of the ACT for five years from 1995 to 2000.
