The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has welcomed legislation introduced to the Parliament, requiring big businesses to be transparent about their payment times.

The federal government has tabled the Payment Times Reporting Bill 2020 that will require businesses with turnover of more than $100 million to publish information about their payment policies.

The Payment Times Reporting Framework aims to increase transparency of the payment performance of large businesses so small businesses can make more informed decisions about their potential customers, as well as drive cultural change to improve payment times.

“Much of the Australian small business community has been devastated by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis and prompt payment times are critical to their survival,” Ms Carnell says.

“This reporting framework will require big businesses to be up front and honest about the time it takes to pay their small business suppliers. It will be important that the information reported is easy to access and integrate.

“This gives small businesses some choice around who they do business with. 

“Importantly, the legislation introduced today will apply to around 3,000 Australian large businesses, including foreign companies that carry an enterprise in Australia along with certain government enterprises.

“It also defines the small business as those that have a turnover of less than $10 million, which covers 99% of businesses.

“My office will be invoking the powers we have to investigate any reports of big businesses failing to live up to the information provided on this register once it is implemented. 

“We support the Payment Times Reporting Framework as one piece of the puzzle, but it won’t solve the problem of late payment times on its own.

“Legislation requiring SMEs to be paid in 30 days is the only way to drive meaningful cultural change in business payment performance across the economy.

“Ultimately, cash flow is king for small business and we know that if small businesses are paid on time, the whole economy benefits.”

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