The Australian Small Business and Family Ombudsman is urging the Government to simplify small business registration.

In a submission to the Government’s consultation on Modernising Business Registers, Ombudsman Kate Carnell has called for the consolidation of registration requirements for small business.

“The optimal outcome would be one form hosted by a single agency on a single website to update the multiple registries that exist,” she said.

“One of the issues facing small business is the compliance burden of having to meet regulatory requirements for registering and updating information on their business structure and governance.

“The compliance burden relates to cost, time, and complexity.  This is particularly relevant if a company evolves from one structure to another over time.”

The Government’s National Business Simplification Initiative was launched late last year and seeks to remove the barriers facing new businesses by streamlining compliance requirements.

Ms Carnell said that in addition to rationalising the registries, “important business descriptors, such as the size of an enterprise, should be included with registration.”

“This would help to inform understanding of business segments and assist policy development for market participants, regulators and governments.

“We also believe that fees for registrations should be kept to the minimum required by an agency to affect the change.”