Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson said the changes will create more opportunities for small businesses to win government contracts.
“There is no substitute for customers and it’s great to see the Commonwealth’s commitment to be a bigger customer for small businesses,” Mr Billson said.
“An important element to ensuring these changes make a real difference will be to provide capacity-building contracts that will enable smaller businesses to really benefit from the contracts to grow their business.”
The changes will mean that 20 per cent of Commonwealth procurements by value must be sourced from small and medium enterprises. This doubles the existing target of 10 per cent.
“The Government spends about $70 billion a year on contracts, meaning at least $14 billion of this work will go to small and medium businesses,” Mr Billson said.
Procuring agencies will also be encouraged to approach multiple suppliers when they are sourcing from panels that will improve competition and provide more opportunities for smaller businesses to apply for government work.
The Australian Retailers Association said the changes will deliver a much-needed boost for Australia’s small and medium-sized businesses, especially now in the current environment, where many are battling inflationary pressures and rising costs from multiple angles.
“We need to ensure SMBs are given the opportunities to grow and expand, and with greater access to government contracts, they can do exactly that,” ARA chief executive Paul Zahra said.
“Small businesses are under intense pressure at the moment with rents going up, along with fuel and energy costs, as well as changes to wages and superannuation.
“Announcements like this are warmly welcomed by retailers, and we look forward to ongoing collaboration [with] the Commonwealth on other initiatives to support small business growth.”
