The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says small businesses in regional and remote areas of Australia now have more reasons to digitise, with NBN Co announcing expanded coverage and lower wholesale prices.

NBN Co says its Business Satellite Service has been improved to cover Australia’s mainland and large surrounding islands, with wholesale prices significantly reduced.

“Fast and reliable internet is an essential service to most small businesses and especially those in regional and remote part of the country,” Mr Billson says.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has welcomed the new Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business the Hon Stuart Robert MP as announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison today.

“I look forward to working with Minister Robert and his team to help make Australia the best place to start and grow a business,” Mr Billson says.

“Australia is a nation of small and family businesses, who have endured a challenging 12 months.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has called on Australia Post to defer its plans to stop delivering perishable goods, saying this would be a crushing blow to small business producers.

Mr Billson says Australia Post’s decision to cease delivery of various perishable goods from June 30 is a self-imposed deadline that could be delayed to work through its concerns, to support small business food producers.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says today’s decision by Australia Post to continue shipping perishable goods across the country will bring joyful relief to small business food producers.

Mr Billson has welcomed the invitation to co-chair an industry working forum, which will work collaboratively to resolve any issues Australia Post is experiencing across its delivery network, to support small business food producers.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson met with Australia Post today in a collaborative effort to resolve issues with delivery of perishable goods to support small business food producers.

Mr Billson described the first meeting with Australia Post as productive, saying he is looking forward to working closely with Australia Post and all relevant stakeholders to ensure small businesses can continue to count on essential delivery services of their products.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says insurance premiums will be more affordable for small businesses in Northern Australia, under a new Federal Government scheme to launch next year.

Mr Billson welcomed plans for a reinsurance pool to be backed by a $10 billion Federal Government guarantee to cover cyclone and flood damage across Northern Australia from July 1, 2022.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has welcomed the Australian Government’s $1.2 billion investment in the nation’s digital future, including the 30% tax offset for the video game industry.

Mr Billson says the investment will encourage greater digital adoption by small and family businesses, to ensure they are globally competitive.

“This significant investment will support small business growth and go some way to unlocking the commercial gains that can be made through digitisation,” Mr Billson says.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says small businesses in dispute with the ATO will get a fairer go, under new rules proposed by the Australian Government.

Mr Billson welcomed the pre-Budget announcement, giving the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) greater powers to pause or change debt recovery actions applying to a small business in dispute with the ATO.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says the Federal Government’s 2021 Budget is a clear acknowledgement that small and family businesses are central to the nation’s economic recovery and future prosperity.

The Budget includes several new, extended and enhanced measures to support small businesses including:

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Bruce Billson has welcomed plans to establish a new mandatory Franchise Disclosure Registry, saying it will provide prospective franchisees with vital information needed prior to entering into a binding franchise agreement.

Mr Billson says the national registry, to be released next year, will require franchisors to lodge disclosure documentation about their franchise annually. These documents will be publicly available through the registry.