Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications and Other Measures) Bill 2023. The coalition will be supporting this legislation. This legislation implements reforms led by the former coalition government that reduce red tape, lower the cost of doing business and support digital innovation in the delivery of core business functions.

This bill reintroduces measures advanced before the election to modernise annual general meetings and other business communication rules and provides an initial response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's review into financial services legislation. This bill revives and expands legislation that was introduced prior to the last election. The main body of additions to the bill implement initial recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission's review into financial services legislation, commissioned by the previous coalition government. The bill implements law improvement measures across four streams: technology neutral communications in schedule 1, recommendations of the ALRC in schedule 2, the rationalisation of ASIC instruments in schedule 3 and minor and technical amendments in schedule 4. The amendments in schedules 2 to 4 are largely made with existing policy parameters.

Schedule 1 to the bill amends the Corporations Act and other Commonwealth acts to modernise communication methods available to consumers, businesses and regulators when interacting with each other by extending the global communications regime, allowing members of certain entities to elect to receive documents in either hard copy or electronic form and providing relief to entities that are unable to contact members under the Corporations Act; ensuring that regulatory bodies and the Treasury portfolio can hold hearings and examinations using technology; updating payment provisions in Treasury laws to allow electronic payments to be used; and, finally, replacing requirements in Treasury laws to publish notices in newspapers with a requirement that notices be published in an accessible and reasonably prominent matter.

Schedule 2 to the bill implements recommendations and other suggested improvements identified by the ALRC in its first interim report to simplify and improve the navigability of Australia's financial services laws. In an interim report, the ALRC found that Australia's financial services legislation is challenging to navigate and complex for individuals and businesses who may have obligations under the law.

Schedule 3 to the bill amends the Corporations Act and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act to transfer long-standing and accepted matters currently contained in ASIC legislative instruments into the primary law. The amendments will improve navigability of the law and provide industry and consumers with greater certainty and clarity when interacting with Treasury.

Schedule 4 to the bill makes a number of miscellaneous and technical amendments to Treasury portfolio legislation. The amendments correct drafting errors repealing operative provisions, address unintended outcomes and make other technical changes. Combined with further reforms of the coalition, this bill is expected to reduce the regulatory burden for businesses by more than $500 million per year.

Independent research has estimated that the annual cost to the economy of red tape is at $176 billion a year. Red tape's costs to the economy are more than just the direct cost; of course it includes businesses that have never started, jobs that are never created, and the ambitions that are never fulfilled because of bureaucratic interference. Many businesses you talk to will tell you that the cost and burden of compliance is, along with staff shortages, their No. 1 issue. This project is no small task, with the Treasury portfolio laws covering more than 50 acts that contain thousands of provisions, spanning corporations law, taxation, competition and consumer policy, and financial sector regulation. This needs to be the beginning, not the end, of reducing red tape and supporting deregulation for Australian businesses.