The Australian Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC) reporting requirements for small business will be streamlined.
Financial Services and Regulation Minister Joe Hockey and Small Business Minister Ian Macfarlane today announced changes designed to cut red tape for SMEs.
From mid-2002, nearly 1 million proprietary companies will no longer need to provide ASIC with an annual return, significantly reducing paper work.
"The cost savings to small business from these measures will be significant," Macfarlane says.
Under the changes small businesses:
- will no longer need to provide ASIC with an annual return. These companies will only need to alert ASIC of changes such as to their address or directors
- will have their ASIC fee capped at $200 for three years
- will be able to lodge documents over the Internet
- can conduct online searches of ASIC's database
- can make payments to ASIC electronically.
Hockey says ASIC will set up a Business Advisory Board, with representatives of small business, to advise on its relationship with business clients in managing company information.
"This will allow small business to contribute to the development of ASIC policies and systems affecting the business community," he says.
The changes announced today flow from the Government's Corporate Law Economic Reform Program - CLERP 7.
The CLERP 7 proposals have received broad support from the business community.
They also include a simplification of the schedule of fees paid by companies, the three-year cap on annual fees paid by small business, and moves toward greater cost recovery when larger companies lodge fundraising and takeover documents with ASIC.
Additional government announcements today for small business include: