Queensland businesses now have more time and money to spend growing their operations, with up to $425 million a year in savings thanks to the State Government’s efforts in cutting red tape.
Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the latest Red Tape Report Card showed the Government was well on its way to achieving its commitment of a 20 per cent reduction, with the resulting savings allowing businesses to get on with running their enterprise and creating jobs.
“We said we would make it easier to do business in Queensland by reducing unnecessary regulation and we’re delivering on that promise,” Mr Nicholls said.
“The previous Labor Government choked Queensland businesses with a tangle of red tape that got in the way of business growth and we’ve been working hard every day to turn that culture of bureaucracy around.”
Assistant Minister for Regulatory Reform Lisa France said the independent Office of Best Practice Regulation estimated regulatory compliance costs must be reduced by $569 million to achieve the 20 per cent target.
“The LNP’s measured plan to cut red tape, reduce the cost of doing business and maintain Queensland’s competitive tax status is helping to grow a four pillar economy and create jobs,” Mrs France said.
“We have more than 500 red tape reduction initiatives underway delivering total savings of around $425 million.
“For example, recently we announced businesses with a payroll tax liability of less than $20,000 will now only need to lodge returns twice a year, instead of every month.
“This simple change will save business a total of around 40,000 hours of time spent on paperwork and around $2 million in administration costs.”
Other examples of reforms saving businesses and the community time and money include:
- Overhauling planning and development and speeding up project approval processes, saving businesses $30 million per year,
- Removing the need for car registration stickers, saving $44 million,
- Repealing the waste levy, saving businesses $88 million a year in fees,
- Simplifying regulation relating to routine plumbing work, saving $18 million per year,
- Reducing paperwork and simplifying permits for ecotourism operators to access our national parks, saving $610,000 per year.
- Reducing the average premium rate of workers compensation by 17 per cent, giving Queensland the cheapest average premium rate in the country and the strongest safety net for workers.
The Government’s report card on red tape is available at www.treasury.qld.gov.au/redtape.
People with ideas for removing unnecessary or ineffective regulation can contact the Office of Best Practice Regulation at obpr.publicomments@qca.org.auor (07) 3222 0555
