The BCA regularly makes submissions to federal and state government committees and inquiries that have relevance to BCA policy positions and priorities.
Obtain copies of submissions released by the BCA prior to 2008 here.
IEP-supported programs aid business in boosting their Indigenous workforces. [more]
A demand-driven, uncapped temporary skilled migration program is essential to Australia’s long-term prosperity. [more]
The recently announced second tranche amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 is a missed opportunity resulting from poor process and poor policy. [more]
The proposals to regulate the procurement processes of private projects in the Bill are a step too far. [more]
The study findings should lead to reform of Australia’s major project approvals processes so that they meet policy objectives in a way that imposes lowest economic cost. [more]
The EPBC Amendment Bill is fundamentally bad law born of a poor regulation-making process, because the problem it seeks to address has not been properly defined. [more]
April 2013 – The BCA does not support the Bill in its current form. [more]
April 2013 – Employment placement services need to be made easier for employers and jobseekers to use. [more]
March 2013 – The government’s proposal to change the timing of company tax payments by large companies is not without risk to the operating environment for businesses. [more]
The draft guidelines will help reduce construction costs, maintain good workplace relations and promote construction sector productivity. [more]
The government’s execution of its fiscal strategy is not working and needs a major rethink. [more]
March 2013 – The review creates an opportunity to start a national discussion about the need to update and refresh competition policies relating to infrastructure.[more]
February 2013 – Requiring employers to report on disability employment would fail to increase the employment of people with disability and impose unnecessary costs. [more]
February 2013 – The Consumers and Fuel Price Boards consultation paper fails to provide adequate justification for regulatory intervention. [more]
February 2013 – Australia is a high performer in an already highly regulated environment, and poorly targeted regulation can distort the focus of corporate governance. [more]
February 2013 – The BCA does not support any additional reporting on workplace gender equality issues. [more]
January 2013 – The BCA does not support the Bill and urges the committee to recommend its withdrawal. [more]
January 2013 – The future benefits of ICT development will primarily be driven by the ongoing development of markets and by private business and consumer decisions. [more]
December 2012 – Strong support from the BCA to make a society more inclusive for all Australians. [more]
December 2012 – Educational strategies, high-peforming workplaces and the removal of all legislated age restrictions are key to encouraging workforce participation by older Australians. [more]
November 2012 – Australia’s international competitiveness is being challenged by a high-wage, high-cost, low-productivity economy. [more]
November 2012 – It is essential that governments do not undermine the competitiveness of domestic liquid fuel refining and supply through regulatory decisions and other imposts. [more]
There are considerable gains to be made from institutionalising more disciplined regulatory gatekeeping at all levels of government. [more]
Any national licensing scheme must license only those skills and competencies that reduce identified risks, remove all ineffective and duplicative regulatory functions across the country, and nationally recognise licences regardless of the jurisdiction in which they are obtained. [more]
There is no good reason for prices to continue to be regulated in South Australia. [more]
The new national curriculum on economics and business will significantly influence how primary and senior school students understand the role that the economy and businesses play in growing national prosperity. [more]
The findings of the Business Tax Working Group should be rolled into a 10-year comprehensive tax reform process. [more]
September 2012 – How can the costs of the Renewable Energy Target policy be minimised?[more]
Enterprise Migration Agreements play an important role in helping to manage labour shortages and support companies to deliver projects in a difficult economic environment. [more]
September 2012 – Electricity prices should reflect the efficient costs of providing electricity to end-users. [more]
No restrictions should be placed on businesses’ use of international permits to meet their full liabilities under the Clean Energy Act. [more]
In pursuing the objective of emissions reduction, a key assessment of any proposal is whether it enables emissions reduction at least cost to the economy. [more]
Reforming the Newstart Allowance should be part of a more comprehensive review that takes into consideration all income support arrangements. [more]
The fiscal imbalance is set to become even more acute in the future and at some stage the structure of state tax systems will need to be reformed. [more]
June 2012 – Maintaining Australia’s sound environmental regulatory standards should be done with a risk management approach and ensuring regulations are streamlined and outcomes focused. [more]
Calls for further institutional reforms that will help drive longer-term fiscal sustainability through increased transparency and accountability. [more]
The BCA supports the full economic and social participation of all Australians. However, we believe proposals to regulate unnecessarily duplicate existing protections.[more]
The submission lays out some high-level elements the BCA hopes to see considered in the international education strategy and highlights this.[more]
The system places major costs on the state’s employers, does not sufficiently provide the right incentives, and is not providing the opportunities NSW workers need to support them in an early return to work. [more]
It is critical to Australia’s economic growth and prosperity to implement sound long-term energy policies and planning and in the future consider climate change related policies within this context. [more]
Certain parts of the Bill could unnecessarily increase business reporting costs and fail to achieve the objective to improve workplace gender equality. [more]
Some key themes that have emerged in feedback provided by BCA member companies through surveys and other forums. [more]
Our current student visa assessment level framework is less flexible than it needs to be and needs reform.[more]
An examination of the drivers and consequences of growth in alternative working arrangements in Australia over recent decades. [more]
The 2012–13 Budget could be a watershed for Australia. [more]
Calls for further consultation on two of the options presented before a final decision is made. [more]
The Fair Work Act is not supporting Australian businesses to stay competitive in a particularly challenging economic environment. [more]
Addresses the role of the Productivity Commission in relation to the Jobs and Competitiveness Package. [more]
The proposed Tax Studies Institute will need to have a strong mandate and be practically focused if it is to make a valuable contribution to the task of comprehensive long-term tax reform. [more]
Calls for one Anti-Discrimination Act with which everyone in Australia must comply.[more]
The proposed reform of Australia’s coastal shipping sector may lead to higher costs and lower-quality services for domestic shipping users. [more]
Retrospective tax law changes are inconsistent with long-standing principles of sound tax design and do little to enhance Australia’s reputation as a destination for foreign investment. [more]
A competitive Australia is key to effective Asian engagement.[more]
The current system of GST distribution involves an overwhelming level of effort and complexity for a relatively low national return. [more]
Examples of the difficulty business has in dealing with local government, and specific recommendations for improvement. [more]
Prepared in response to the discussion paper released by the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians as part of its consultation process. [more]
Why the clean energy future package lacks essential and responsible safeguards[more]
Calls for an examination of how governments can best bring forward their priority infrastructure projects for implementation.[more]
Calls for additional safeguards to help address the risks associated with global and domestic economic cycles and the limited progress in international negotiations. [more]
Outlines a number of issues of concern to BCA members that warrant legislative amendment to the Act.[more]
Providing the ACCC with additional powers to deal with so called ‘price signalling’ would represent an unwarranted regulatory overreach with potentially adverse consequences for the rest of the economy. [more]
Supports the establishment of a National Disability Insurance Scheme as proposed by the Productivity Commission’s draft report on disability care and support.[more]
A continuing focus on an efficient and effective energy market is needed to meet the substantial investment task ahead. [more]
There has been a proliferation of national partnership agreements, which in many cases is reintroducing Commonwealth direction over funding. [more]
Calls for funding to be reallocated to ‘follow the student’, better support disadvantaged students, and improve student transitions to post-compulsory education. [more]
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in its final form at the end of 2009 is not an appropriate scheme to come into operation in 2012. [more]
Reinforces the need for a funding model that promotes better outcomes for students, business, industry and the community as a whole by driving the productivity growth Australia needs.[more]
Calls on the government to create new, faster, less expensive and less onerous visa categories linked to study at high-quality Australian education and training institutions.[more]
The submission outlines a number of high-level issues including the importance of efforts to develop a harmonised national occupational health and safety framework to apply across Australia. [more]
We do not believe a case has been made as to why the present provisions of the law are not adequate. [more]
A properly constituted oversight board could play a very important role in helping the Australian Taxation Office meet the community’s legitimate expectations for the operation and administration of the country’s tax laws. [more]
Realising potential benefits from fixed and wireless broadband services requires a competitive and efficient communications sector that provides accessible and high-quality broadband products at least cost to consumers.[more]
The submission highlights the importance of integrated strategic cities planning systems, effective federal–state relations and rigorous assessment of projects for successfully managing the growth of our cities. [more]
Comments on the overall system governance design, who the authority reports to, and its degree of independence, focus and objectives and coverage. [more]
At this stage, a compelling case for the need for an energy efficiency obligation has not been made. [more]
A national population strategy should chart a course towards Australia’s future that reflects the shared goals and aspirations of the Australian people. [more]
A call for the Productivity Commission to assess the economic and productivity impacts of the proposed shipping reforms and the implications for the cost and availability of domestic shipping services. [more]
This submission outlines a number of suggestions relating to the government’s review of the employment services.[more]
This submission argues that in practice we do not believe the approach taken or the legislation as presently drafted will necessarily enhance the functioning of markets or achieve these outcomes. [more]
We oppose the “two-strikes test” and the “no vacancy” rule, and we have also raised a number of concerns with the new provisions relating to the accountability of remuneration consultants. [more]
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The government’s execution of its fiscal strategy is not working and needs a major rethink.
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