Industry regulators reinforce small business focus

Coming together at the Council of Small Business Australia's (COSBOA) MicroEconomic Challenge, representatives from the ATO, Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and the Fair Work Commission (FWC) reiterated to small business owners the importance placed upon them within the economy.

Steve Vesperman, deputy tax commissioner of the ATO, revealed that the tax office is currently looking to better understand and improve small business' experience with the tax system.

"Recent updates to the administrative system have required us to develop a much better understanding of the experience of small businesses in their interactions with the tax system.

"As a result we're looking at how we can continue to improve that experience and provide the best outcome in terms of them meeting small business obligations," Mr Vesperman added.

Mr Vesperman was joined by Cletus Brown, director of knowledge solutions for the FWO, who described the role of the ombudsman to help small businesses who are trying to do the right thing, and target those who are not.

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, stated that the positive advancements and focus on small business are changing the SME landscape.

"It is heartening to see the likes of the ATO, FWO and FWC looking at how they can improve and streamline the way they work with small businesses and consumers.

"Whether that comes in the form of using technology more effectively, or communicating with language that's easy to understand; the result is more people 'having a go' so we can build healthy communities and bolster the economy," Mr Strong concluded.