QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Dr ALY (Cowan—Minister for Small Business, Minister for International Development and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:06): Can I thank the member for Dunkley not just for her question but for the tireless way that she comes here every single day and advocates for the small businesses in her electorate of Dunkley. There are 2.7 million small businesses across Australia, and behind this figure are millions of Australians, mums and dads, migrants, people young and old, people with a passion and a talent.

But starting a small business is more than just monetising a passion or a talent or a skill. It's about contributing to our economy and, importantly, also contributing to our community. When people take that plunge and they decide to start a business, they need confidence and they need certainty to be able to make the long-term decisions for growth and sustainability for their business.

That's why we announced in this year's budget that we would make the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent. I'm very happy to update the house that, as of this morning, the Albanese Labor government has delivered on that commitment, and the $20,000 instant asset write-off is now a permanent feature of our economy. What this means is that small businesses who want to invest in equipment, in machinery, in tools or in assets can do so with confidence.

They can plan ahead. They can plan ahead without having to constantly worry about whether or not the instant asset write-off will be held for another year, as they have had to do in the past. Small businesses are already taking advantage of the instant asset write-off in fairly significant numbers.

In fact, the latest figures show that around 300,000 businesses claimed the instant asset write-off in the 2024-25 financial year. Now importantly, this measure applies on a per asset basis, so businesses can write off multiple purchases during the year, and it can also be used multiple times during the financial year. Whether it's one coffee machine or three, one new fridge or an entire fit-out, small businesses can write off the assets that they need when they need and as many times as they need.

This is just one of the ways that this Albanese Labor government is supporting small business. It's just one of the ways that we're making a difference, a real difference, to small businesses. It's one of the ways that we back small businesses because we know that small businesses back Australia.

Mr Albanese: I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.