Red tape will be cut saving small business an estimated $1.5 billion over eight years by letting business owners register their business names just once instead of in up to eight different states and territories.
The Government will invest $125.2 million over four years in a national system of registering business names.
It is one of the 27 areas of regulatory reforms identified by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) designed to move Australia towards a seamless national economy.
Small businesses are increasingly establishing themselves in multiple states through their online presence and have had to register separately in each state and pay registration fees to each state government.
Under the national system reforms, small businesses will need to register only once, and importantly, pay only one fee.
The commitment honours the Commonwealth’s side of the Business Names Agreement adopted by COAG in July 2009. It will be used to establish:
- a single, national online registration system for business names and Australian Business Numbers;
- a more business-friendly way of searching for trademarks;
- a shared, whole-of-government online service known as the Business Licensing Information Service to give businesses customised information about their regulatory requirements including licences, registrations and permits; and
- online client accounts which will allow businesspeople to access registrations, monitor compliance requirements, and subscribe to regulatory change notifications from all governments.
The administration of business names will be transferred from the states and territories to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The nine existing Business Licensing Information Services will also be united into one improved, comprehensive service administered by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
These changes will bring an end to the rail-gauge economics of eight different state and territory systems for registering and renewing business names.