Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025

Dr ALY (Cowan—Minister for Small Business, Minister for International Development and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (16:38): I rise in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Whilst I support the bill in its entirety, it would be natural for me to focus on a part that is particularly important to my portfolio of small business, which is schedule 7.

Schedule 7 extends the $20,000 instant asset write-off until 30 June 2026 for eligible businesses. What this measure does is make a real difference to 2.6 million small businesses in Australia. That includes 1.5 million small businesses that are sole traders and who are also benefitting and have also benefitted from our government's tax cuts.

As everyone in here knows—because I hear it head said often enough that people support small business in this House—small business owners are out there every day, and they're working hard. They're working hard to fulfil their dreams. They are your Indian grocer.

They are the place you go to to get your eyebrows threaded. They are where you get your Vietnamese pancakes. They are the translators and interpreters who operate with an ABN.

They fix your cars. They cut your hair. They cater your birthday parties.

They resole your shoes. They help you with your tax returns. An example of a small business is My Aunt's Handmade Noodles, which I visited the other day with the member for Reid and the local mayor in her electorate.

This is a family owned business, run by a formidable mother and daughter duo, and they craft these handmade noodles using time honoured techniques. The passion and care that My Aunt's Handmade Noodles brings to each and every bowl of these perfectly chewy and flavoured noodles is a level of dedication that I see in the small businesses that I visit and that I meet with right across the country.

The Albanese government is backing small businesses just like My Aunt's Handmade Noodles to ensure that they have the support that they need to thrive, because we know that not only are they building a better life for themselves and for their families, but they are also building a better future for Australia. They employ locals. They train apprentices.

They give young people jobs, and they keep regional communities alive. They sponsor local sports clubs, and they donate to school raffles as well. They are not just the engine room of the economy, as is often said; they are also often the beating hearts of communities.

That's why our government developed Australia's very first National Small Business Strategy. You would think that an intimate understanding of small business would necessitate a strategy that brings together all levels of government to look at how we can collectively support small businesses to grow and to thrive. You would think that this is something that would have been done a very long time ago, but, in fact, this was done by this government, the very first National Small Business Strategy, bringing together different levels of government and focusing on three key areas: levelling the playing field for small businesses, easing the pressure on small businesses and supporting small businesses to grow.

The extension of the instant asset write-off is a really key part of our commitment under this national strategy. What it means is that small businesses with an aggregate annual turnover of less than $10 million will continue to be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000. That's $20,000 per asset, not just once but right across the business.

Let's have a look at what that means. What that means is that restaurants, cafes, grocers, hairdressers, tradies, accountants and small retailers can actually start to buy the equipment that they need today to keep their businesses going today and into tomorrow. No matter where I go, when I speak to small businesses, the one thing that constantly comes up is how important the instant asset write-off is in helping them grow and modernise and the extension of the instant asset write-off, giving these businesses the confidence to plan, to budget and to invest as well.

For small businesses looking to grow, the instant asset write-off frees up cash flow so that they can purchase new equipment that allows them to expand their operations or open new locations. At a recent roundtable that I attended in the member for Swan's electorate, in Belmont, a group of small businesses there told me that managing cash flow was one of their biggest daily challenges.

Really, that makes sense, doesn't it? Mr Giles: It does. Dr ALY: It certainly does.

They also told me that the instant asset write-off and the extension of the write-off helps them to manage those challenges of daily cash flow. An example is the Indian grocer who buys a freezer so that their business can not just expand but also diversify and start selling naan breads that people can take home and cook at home. If anyone has not tried them yet, I highly recommend them.

For small businesses needing to repair or replace items in order to continue to operate safely or efficiently, the write-off allows them to claim the full deduction immediately. That then eases the financial pressure to maintain day-to-day operations—for example, you might have a small manufacturer replace some machinery in order to avoid production stoppages.

For small businesses wanting or needing to modernise, the ability to upgrade technology or equipment can improve efficiency, reduce costs and indeed enhance competitiveness. For startups and new small businesses, the write-off provides immediate financial relief, helping new businesses invest without having to build up profits. An example would be a startup online retailer buying storage equipment or a young photographer who is embarking on a career as a sole trader going out and buying a new professional camera and lens.

The expansion of the write-offs gives them the ability to buy what they need today. The items might be small in nature, but, when we look at small businesses, the diversity of small businesses, the breadth of small businesses and the fact that a large number of small businesses are indeed sole traders who do not operate from a physical premises, the instant asset write-off—though it can provide for small items—can actually make a humungous difference to these small businesses.

And I don't think we should be dismissing the impact that the instant asset write-off has for the small businesses that, often, we don't think about. I'm going to be very honest here and say that we don't think about our translators and interpreters as small businesses, yet they operate with ABNs. We don't think about those small businesses for whom a relatively small piece of equipment is actually essential to them being able to establish their business, start up their business, grow their business or continue their business.

For that reason, this measure supports fairness, because big corporations can more easily absorb shocks. They can more easily access finance and they can more easily take advantage of complex depreciation systems. Small businesses don't necessarily have that luxury.

They don't have the luxury of being able to wait years to recover a cost through depreciation. They don't have big reserves to dip into when something breaks or needs repair or replacement. The instant asset write-off lets small businesses reinvest, employ people and expand and in their local communities.

It's the difference between putting off an upgrade and improving businesses today. And I know, from speaking to business owners right across Australia, that this is one of the most impactful ways that we can back small businesses and help them through. But I also know that this doesn't fix every problem for every small business and that there is more to do.

Another issue I hear about among small businesses wherever I go is about red tape. I know red tape is a bit of a motherhood statement, so I've charged the small businesses that I meet with to actually give me some examples of what red tape means. Inevitably and consistently, what small businesses come back to me with is that red tape is a kind of shorthand for the fact that small businesses have to navigate three levels of government, often all at once.

It can be confusing. It can be time-consuming. Sometimes they have to apply more than once or more than twice for permits and so forth.

That's what I'm hearing from small businesses everywhere, and that's something that we want to tackle as well. The National Small Business Strategy outlines how governments will work together. That is the key here—governments working together to support small businesses by removing some of the complexities, making it easier for them to operate and creating environments in which they can operate and therefore thrive.

We are working with state governments to basically cut the clutter for small businesses—actively working and looking together for ways to reduce or eliminate this red tape or these layers and layers of compliance, without reducing or impacting quality. It's a big job and it is ongoing, but the enthusiasm of all the ministers from the different jurisdictions is inspiring.

I would like to thank them and commend them for their passion for supporting small businesses in line with the federal government's passion for supporting small businesses. We are also working to level the playing field for small businesses, ensuring that the power imbalances that they face when dealing with larger businesses are addressed, recognising that they often lack market power as well, and increasing the pressure on large businesses with poor payment practices by highlighting the best and worst payment performers and strengthening communication challenges to promote prompt payment as an environment, social and governance obligation.

In closing—small business is big business. That's what it is. There are over two million small businesses around Australia.

They employ over five million Australians, and 1.5 million of those are sole traders. If we don't back in small businesses, it means that we're also not backing in communities. It also means that we're not backing in economies where small businesses form the backbone.

We understand that small business is at the heart of community and that small business isn't just about the economy; it's about the people who run small businesses every day, the people who dedicate their blood, sweat and tears to growing a business not for themselves but as a legacy, often for their families, and so that they can contribute. We recognise, I might add, as Minister for Multicultural Affairs as well, that over 30 per cent of small businesses are started by migrants.

In my state of Western Australia 40 per cent of small businesses are started by migrants. In extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off, we're not just supporting businesses but also backing people—people who take risks, people who work long hours and people who keep local economies alive. Labor will always stand with them because we know and understand that every piece of equipment, every tool and every shopfront opened represents something bigger.

It represents confidence and the chance to build a better future. That's what this measure delivers, and that's what this government delivers.