Page 2718 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 2013
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profits Commission, the ACNC. This work is also resulting in red tape reduction for community sector organisations that are required to register with the ACNC, enabling organisations to shift resources used for administrative functions to front-line service delivery.
An example of this is the changes the government made at the end of the last financial year to the Associations and Corporation Regulation 1991. Incorporated associations are now only required to appoint an auditor registered under the Corporations Act 2001 if their gross receipts are greater than $1 million per annum. This simple change to audit regulations has doubled the threshold before an incorporated association is required to appoint an auditor and has the potential to deliver $400,000 in savings each year across the eligible community sector organisations in the territory. The doubling of the current threshold to $500,000 has not changed since the 1990s and brings the ACT into line with the thresholds being required by the ACNC.
In conclusion, all of these changes, including the amendments in this bill today, are continuing the government’s commitment to supporting the development of a strong non-government sector in the ACT. We will continue to work with business leaders, community sector leaders and stakeholders to create a more efficient and a more effective environment in which our economy can thrive. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (12.22), in reply: I thank members for their support of this bill. As my colleague Mr Barr has indicated, the bill reflects the government’s intent to ease the regulatory burden and reduce unnecessary red tape for ACT businesses. The bill does this by extending the maximum term for a number of licences or registrations issued by the Office of Regulatory Services and extends the maximum period for those licences or registrations from the current one-year limit to a maximum three-year period.
These reforms will assist business by reducing the amount of time they need to spend on red tape or other regulatory compliance activity. They are part of a broader program that Mr Barr has indicated is an ongoing priority for the government. The red tape reforms already being pursued or put in place by the government include the online fix-my-red-tape feedback tool designed to give individuals a mechanism to identify any red tape that affects or impedes their ability to do business in the ACT; the abolition of motor vehicle registration stickers for light vehicles from 1 July; the introduction of electronic lodgement of rental bonds; streamlining signage requirements for business; minimising the need for multiple police checks; and streamlining approvals and licensing processes for outdoor dining areas.
This bill will build on all these reforms by ensuring that individuals and businesses in a wide range of activities no longer have to undertake often time-consuming processes of application and reapplication for annual licence or registration renewals. Among the many industry sectors that will benefit from this bill are motor vehicle repairers, real estate agents, travel agents, second-hand dealers, employment agencies and car market operators.
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