THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell has welcomed the Federal Government’s move to pay e-invoices within five days or pay interest on late payments.

The five day e-invoicing payment policy applies to contracts valued up to $1 million, where both the lead contractor and federal government agency both use e-invoicing.

“This is a game-changer for e-invoicing small businesses that are directly engaged in a contract with a federal government agency,” Ms Carnell said.

“The next step would be to apply this to businesses right down the supply chain. Our Small Business Counts report shows that late payments continue to hamper small business viability, with half of all small businesses reporting late payments on 40% of their invoices," she said.

“This policy will improve cash flow for small businesses so they have the confidence and the capital to re-invest. We encourage small and family businesses to adopt e-invoicing and make the most of the benefits that flow from that, including reduced administration costs and fewer processing and handling errors.

“We know that around 1.2 billion invoices are exchanged in Australia every year. Research shows it costs about $30 to process a paper invoice and about $9 per e-invoice, a significant saving," Ms Carnell said.

“Around 20 percent of traditional invoices are sent to the wrong person and about 30 percent contain incorrect information – delaying payment. In fact, research shows the Australian economy would benefit to the tune of $28 billion over a decade, if all businesses switched to e-invoicing.

“This Federal Government e-invoicing payment initiative sets a benchmark for all states, teritories and big business to follow.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell wants to hear from small and family enterprises being exited from financial planning businesses.

“Following recent media reports regarding AMP Financial Planning’s restructure of its business, my office has received dozens of requests for assistance from small business financial planners across a number of licensors, many of whom say they are facing financial ruin,” Ms Carnell said.

“Small business owners are reporting that they are bearing the brunt of brutal restructures by their licensors. They are saying that licensors’ handling of matters has not been transparent or equitable."

The Ombudsman wants to hear from financial planning licensees who feel that their treatment is unfair.

“We’re concerned about a number of behaviours that may include the conduct of lookback audits, financial planning licensors shifting responsibility for client compensation payments to licencees, short notice periods provided to licencees exiting the business and restraint of trade provisions," Ms Carnell said.

Any small or family business that has been impacted by changes in the financial planning sector is encouraged to share their story via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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WOULD the House of Representatives work more effectively with fixed four-year terms? What would that mean for the Senate? If the length of terms was fixed, in what circumstances should an early election be allowed?

The House Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee will discuss these issues with a panel of constitutional experts on Thursday, November 7.

The panel will comprise professors Gabrielle Appleby, Cheryl Saunders, Anne Twomey, and George Williams, and Mr Malcolm Mackerras. 

Chair of the committee, Andrew Wallace MP said that since Federation the average length of Parliaments has been about two and a half years.

"I’m looking forward to involving the public in a discussion about whether longer parliamentary terms would improve the Australian political system," Mr Wallace said.

The discussion will be open to the public and streamed live on the Parliament’s website.

The House of Representatives’ Twitter account, @AbouttheHouse, will be following the discussion, and the Committee will consider questions posted on Twitter. The Committee encourages those making contributions to do so respectfully.

Further information is available on the Committee’s website.

Roundtable details 

Date: Thursday 7 November, 2019
Time: 9am to 12.15pm
Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

The roundtable will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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WHITE AUSTRALIA comes to a halt for the race that stops a nation, 20 South East Queensland students will be at Evolution Mining’s Mount Carlton gold mine -- the birthplace of this year’s coveted 2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy.   

The students from 10 Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) schools, will spend two days touring the mine located 150km south of Townsville, arriving today. 

They’ll see the mine, processing plant, hear from geologists, engineers, scientists and tradies, and inspect one of the mine’s five 95 tonne haul trucks.  

“Last year the mine produced more than 100,000 ounces of gold and this year we are commencing an underground expansion,” said Evolution’s Mount Carlton general manager Anton Kruger. 

“It’s also great to see that 14 of the students attending are girls who will have an opportunity to meet some female employees on site in various roles, showing that this industry is definitely one for them to consider.

“It’s fantastic to have the students on-site to gain some insights into how gold is produced, and an overview of the many career opportunities available in the resources sector,” he said.  

“Gold is used not just in the obvious things like jewellery, but also in medicine, for example playing a critical role in cancer detection and cure, electronics such as mobile phones and computers, and of course, the Melbourne Cup, for which we are very proud to have this year produced the gold. 

“While many of the end products from mining are very familiar, the time, effort and resources spent on their production are not always apparent. 

“We hope that the tour will spark interest in the students in considering resources as an exciting and rewarding career option."   

The QMEA is a partnership between the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and the Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program. It has 74 schools throughout Queensland. 

QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland ‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every five dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in seven Queensland jobs.

www.qrc.org.au

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