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Best Practice Regulation Handbook

Appendix D. Small Business Advisory Committee

The Australian Government established the Small Business Advisory Committee (SBAC) to further enhance the regulatory analysis process and the development of quality regulation. The role of the SBAC is to assist Australian Government agencies to determine the impacts of policy proposals on small business. The SBAC will provide agencies with greater knowledge and expertise across a wide range of business operations and industry sectors.

D.1 Selection of Regulation Impact Statements for review

The SBAC’s role is limited to RISs that are likely to have a significant impact on small business. If a regulatory proposal being developed by your agency is likely to be particularly burdensome for small business, you should contact the SBAC Secretariat at an early stage.

When the OBPR determines that a RIS is required, the SBAC Secretariat and the relevant agency will decide whether a proposed RIS would benefit from being referred to the SBAC, taking into account the availability of committee members as well as timing issues.

The SBAC Secretariat is located in the Industry and Small Business Policy Division of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and can be contacted via email at: SBACsecretariat@innovation.gov.au.

D.2 Role of the Small Business Advisory Committee

If your RIS would benefit from advice from the SBAC, the Secretariat can allocate the policy proposal to the committee member with the experience and skill set most relevant to the proposal in question. The SBAC process is described in Figure 2.

The role of the SBAC is not to formally assess the adequacy of the RIS, but to provide advice on the analysis in the RIS from a small business perspective. In reviewing the RIS, the SBAC will confine its consideration to whether the full range of possible regulatory impacts on small business has been considered.

At each stage, the SBAC will produce a written report, including any suggestions for the analysis in the RIS; these reports will not be made public. The SBAC may recommend that you consider certain factors not already addressed, or that you include additional information on an issue raised.

Figure 2. Role of the Small Business Advisory Committee

Text description of Figure 2. Role of the Small Business Advisory Committee

Contact for information on this page: OBPR contacts page

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