Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore for his question and say what a wonderful job he is doing as the member replacing a very dear friend of mine, Mal Washer. Mal and I came into this parliament together. We had rooms side by side up in the north wing, as we called it. Those of us who remember Mal also remember Gloria Riley with great fondness. I take this opportunity to express my condolences to Gloria's family and acknowledge what a wonderful friend she was not only to Mal but also to the constituents who came into the electorate office in Moore. Mal was a wonderful member, but the current member is doing a fine job.

In response to his question, the Single Business Service, which was implemented by the Abbott government, is successfully enabling Australia's 2.1 million businesses to access essential information and services that they need to start, run and grow their operation. We have an extraordinary Minister for Small Business in our government. Those 2.1 million businesses are more than ably represented by what is undoubtedly one of the most enthusiastic ministers for small business I have seen for quite some time. I say that as a previous Minister for Small Business; that is where I started my ministerial career. The minister does a fantastic job. The Single Business Service point has effectively streamlined resources for businesses through one website, and that website—I am never one to miss an opportunity to publicise it—is business.gov.au. As well as that, there is one contact centre and one outreach network, which is of course that wonderful entity, AusIndustry, which does a fantastic job for businesses in Australia. Businesses and business intenders can now find what they need when they need it on popular topics such as starting a business, registration and licences. That allows them to cut through the red tape, which of course is a pledge of our government, saving time and money. The consolidated channels also assure the government that the services are being delivered in the most effective manner.

Businesses are using Single Business Service in large volumes. In the first 11 months of operation, there have been more than 10.8 million unique page views to business.gov.au—a substantial increase; in fact, an increase of 25.4 per cent over the period in the previous 12 months. The contact centre has taken over 71,000 phone calls, emails and web chats—an even larger increase on the previous year of around 43 per cent. Further enhancements to the contact centre web presence and ICT infrastructure will be implemented over the forward estimates. These will include more tailored online customer features and a consumer relationship management solution. Single Business Service is also working to improve program design and delivery through its centre of excellence.

The Entrepreneurs' Infrastructure Program, which was also implemented by this government, is delivering through the Single Business Service. It offers practical support for businesses. It provides expert assistance from a national network of more than 100 private sector advisers for cofunded commercialisation grants, research connections and collaboration opportunities. As at 31 May 2015, almost 3,000 services and around 500 cofunded grants totalling $23.3 million have been approved. The Single Business Service is helping Australians understand and access the government's Growing Jobs and Small Business package, and specific small-business information pages established on business.gov.au have seen some 280,000 unique visits. In terms of business.gov.au, it will become a single online portal for streamlined business registration initiatives which were announced as part of the Growing Jobs and Small Business package. As well as that, the department is playing a leading role in the digital transformation agenda.

See this speech in context