Survey of Business Expectations (SOBE)
The Policy & Advocacy team is preparing to launch the June quarter Survey of Business Expectations and would welcome input from our valued 1839 and ThirtyNiners cohorts. A link to participate in the survey will be shared shortly.
As you may be aware, the South Australian Business Chamber’s survey measures local business confidence and how South Australian businesses expect the state and national economies to perform in the next 12 months. In each edition we also ask supplementary questions. The March quarter survey, available here, found that business confidence in the state economy increased because of major sporting events being held in South Australia.
State Budget
The South Australian Business Chamber was disappointed that the State Budget 2023 – 24, handed down on 15 June, delivered little for the average South Australian business, which is facing increased cost pressures, as well as significant wage growth as the impact of 12 interest rate rises is felt across the economy. Our full budget analysis is available here.
In our pre-budget submission, we advocated for a lift in the payroll tax threshold, introduction of a regional 50% payroll tax discount, establishment of a fund to provide micro-grants for businesses to conduct energy audits, amongst other recommendations. You can view all 15 of our recommendations here. We will continue to take these up during our discussions with decision-makers.
Industrial Relations
The South Australian Business Chamber is providing feedback on the second tranche of Industrial Relations legislation through the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and will continue to defend the SA business community’s interests. Karen van Gorp, from our Policy & Advocacy team represents the South Australian Business Chamber on the Attorney General’s IR Consultative Committee. They last met on 24 May to discuss regulations and codes of practice, including psychosocial injury and Karen worked with two sub-committees of this body to ensure ongoing discussions on this and other topics.
The South Australian Business Chamber has made two submissions to the Attorney General’s Office on the Work Health and Safety (Industrial Manslaughter) Amendment Bill. In our first submission we urged the Attorney General to rewrite the draft due to the substantial changes required. We were pleased that most of our concerns were addressed in the second draft of this Bill.
The voice of the SA business community is also heard through our position on a new SafeWork SA Advisory committee.
In the media
We published the following articles on the South Australian Business Chamber’s website, which were also featured in the South Australian Business Chamber’s weekly newsletter:
Entry into force of a new Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement
$650 energy rebate for qualifying small businesses in South Australia
New work restriction for international students
Our CEO, Andrew Kay, also wrote an Op-Ed for the Advertiser’s Business Journal to highlight the importance of our policy and advocacy work.
