Queensland Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce said today “Small businesses will benefit from trade practices reforms already secured by a strong stance on their behalf. Because of that stance the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been given extra time to consider complex mergers that are detrimental to small business. Small businesses will also benefit from the efforts to make sure that small businesses pay only a single $1000 fee for the newly introduced collective bargaining notification process.
“However, more can be done on behalf of small business. The present $7500 authorisation fee for small businesses wanting to collectively bargain under the Trade Practices Act can be reduced to $0. The $7500 fee is simply too high and imposes an unnecessary burden on small business. This is the same $7500 fee prior to the merger and acquisitions amendment that was passed by the Senate.
“There needs to be a guarantee that small businesses will only need to pay a one-off fee of $1000 for notification, irrespective of how often they use the new notification process for collective bargaining. This notification process offers an alternative to authorisation but could end up costing more than the proposed $1000 fee, as small businesses could still end up paying a separate fee for each big business they want to collectively bargain with.
“Small businesses may benefit from the availability of a concessional fee, but questions remain on how widely available this concessional fee will be. For example, the concessional fee will only be available in those circumstances where the big businesses involved in the collective bargaining arrangement with small businesses are in the same or closely related market. Small businesses seeking to collectively bargain with big business for supply arrangements, freight, insurance and payment systems will still need to pay $1000 for each different big business as each is in a different market and not eligible for the concessional fee. A further requirement is that all notification applications by the small businesses wanting to collectively bargain are be made within 14 days of the first application. Unless the small business collective satisfies these conditions, they will still have to pay multiple notification fees – that is, more than $1000 may still be payable for notifications in the absence of appropriate guarantees against this happening.
“Small businesses also need to be spared the need to put in a separate collective bargaining notification application for each big business that they propose to bargain with. Multiple applications add to the paperwork burden for small business. Multiple notification applications are inefficient and not helpful to small business. With the current authorisation process only one application is needed, but with the new notification process more than one application may be needed and may cost more than $1000 in total.” Senator Joyce said.