2025 marks the 27th year that Precedent Productions will honour the outstanding achievements and contributions of the Australian small business community.

With over 100 categories, this year’s awards will crown the nation’s Small Business Champions, with winners announced at two glittering red-carpet gala events at The Star Sydney on 28 and 29 March 2025.

The program is open to all industries and free to enter, with applications closing on 10 February 2025.

“Small businesses play a critical role in creating jobs and driving economic growth across a wide range of industries, often earning the title of the backbone of the national economy,” said Steve Loe, Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions. “The Australian Small Business Champion Awards provide an invaluable opportunity for operators to have their work evaluated by an expert panel, gain industry recognition, and benchmark themselves against the best in their field,” Mr. Loe added.

Among the program’s previous winners is Justin Vetsavong, CEO of Canberra-based Leaky Roof, who took home the 2024 Small Business Champion Entrepreneur Award. “This honour not only recognises my personal achievements but also shines a light on the incredible team behind me,” Justin shared, highlighting the transformative impact of the awards on his business.

Businesses from every corner of the nation – from regional hubs to capital cities – are encouraged to enter.

The Awards are proudly presented in partnership with NOVA Employment, Castaway Forecasting, BOA, VJB Group, Xcllusive Business Sales, and Big Clean.

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“Small and family businesses stand ready for your valued patronage this Easter holiday season,” Mr Billson says.

“For the first time in two years, there is freedom of movement and no trading restrictions to contend with.

“Consumers are expected to spend a record $9 billion on everything from long-overdue family getaways to seafood lunches, not to mention the chocolate and hot cross buns, as is tradition.

“It is wonderful to see consumer behaviour is far more conscious these days and we want to see that trend continue and for shoppers to share the love with our small and family business community,” he said.

As small and family businesses prepare for the predicted holiday rush, Mr Billson says it’s never been more important to be a kindly customer.

“Business owners are doing their absolute best to serve their communities, despite the challenges that come with having staff in isolation and supply chain disruptions,” Mr Billson said.

“The best way to support small businesses is to be a kindly customer – be patient and understanding, with good and generous intent.

“Small businesses are run by real people who deserve our respect and empathy, so please be kind.”

View the Ombudsman’s Easter video message here.

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The 2022 Federal Budget announced this week offers a range of targeted support to Australian small and family businesses that have been welcomed by the industry.

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) CEO Alexi Boyd welcomed a reduction of “regulatory burden” on small businesses people, making their lives easier as they focus on recovering from the effects of pandemic restrictions.

“We’re at a time where we risk losing small businesses to the accumulated pressures of the last few years. The loss goes beyond jobs and other economic indicators,” she said.

“Small businesses are essential contributors to culture, community, and the history of a place. Neighbourhoods and towns are often identifiable by the unique mix of shops, cafes, and other small businesses that line their high street. If a small business is lost, part of its community is lost with it.”

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson said the budget represents a “financial and strategic commitment to ensuring small and family businesses are digitally enabled, resilient and have the support, incentives, skills and training needed to be truly competitive”.

The Budget includes several new, extended and enhanced measures to support the central role of small and family businesses in driving employment and economic growth.

Investment in technology, skills & training

Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will have access to a 20% tax deduction for expenses and depreciating assets associated with digital uptake. This is capped at $100,000 in expenditure, and hardware such as laptops and portable payment devices would also be eligible.

“Deeper digital engagement has been the saviour for many small and family businesses throughout the pandemic and this commitment to help SMEs build their digital capacity is an important investment in their future,” Mr Billson said.

Small businesses with annual turnover of less than $50 million will also have access to a 20% tax deduction for the cost of external training courses delivered to their employees by providers registered in Australia.

Tax changes

Under proposed changes, the 10% GDP uplift rate that applies to PAYG and GST instalments will be reduced to 2% for the 2022-23 financial year, subject to the legislation being passed in parliament. A proposed update of the PAYG system from early 2024 will allow for PAYG to be calculated in real-time, based on how the business is tracking financially.

“These proposed changed would provide an automatic refund of tax paid in the year if a company with PAYG instalment obligations reports a substantially lesser profit than anticipated or indeed a loss,” Mr Billson said.

The government has also proposed broader measures to utilise technology to help reduce compliance costs and improve processing times for small and family businesses.

Covid recovery support

The Australian Government has pledged $80 million to support small and medium export businesses to help re-establish their businesses in overseas markets.

“We’ve heard first-hand from small and family businesses that have had their Covid recovery impaired by closed borders, restriction of movement and disruptions to international supply chains and these measures will be welcomed,” Mr Billson said,

Fuel excise

The budget provides for halving the excise on petrol and diesel to 22 cents per litre for six months.

“This will go some way towards easing this key input cost, particularly for those in the transport sector,” Mr Billson said.

Improved connectivity

Small and family businesses in rural, regional and peri-urban areas will benefit from a substantial upgrade to NBN fixed wireless services.

$480 million has been allocated to extend the coverage range from towers and increase the speed of services to customers. $4.8 million will go towards extending the Mobile Network Hardening Program to support network resilience upgrades in regional Australia.

Payment times reporting

$10.4 million to enhance and redesign the Payment Times Reporting Portal and Register to provide greater transparency about payment times.

Access to expert advice & support

The ASBFEO will receive $8 million to work with proven service providers to offer business planning, capacity building and financial literacy.

A dedicated unit will be created in the Fair Work Commission to support small businesses including with unfair dismissal and general protections disputes.

An additional $4.6 million in funding will ensure Beyond Blue’s New Access for Small Business Owners program can expand and continue to assist small business owners who need mental health support.

$2.1 million has also been allocated to extend the Small Business Debt Helpline for 2022.

Data collection and reporting

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will receive $19.9 million to develop a new reporting application to enable businesses to submit survey business indicators directly through their accounting software.

“Streamlining of data gathering will ease reporting obligations on small businesses and improve the quality of data which provides valuable insights into the small business experience,” Mr Billson said.

Fees

Fees associated with Australia’s Business Registers will be streamlined, including the removal of the company annual late review fee.

Insolvency reforms

A series of further reforms to insolvency arrangements are funded in the Budget, including $22 million to address unfair preference payment rules, $7 million to clarify the treatment of trusts with corporate trustees and just under $1 million to implement recommendations from the Safe Harbour Review.

Missed opportunities

The Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA) says while the budget includes measures to lessen the burdens faced by small businesses, there were some missed opportunities around least cost routing of payments, and a national strategy addressing illicit tobacco.

“A significant missed opportunity in this budget was a commitment to make least cost routing of small businesses payments mandatory,” said ALNA CEO Ben Kearney.  “This is something that we have been seeking because we know the impact it will have on the cash flow of small businesses. Where merchants can have reliable control of payments routing they can significantly reduce costs. Protecting this is critical to reducing inflationary pressures on payment costs.”

ALNA were also looking for a national strategy and leadership on enforcement to stamp out the “rampant illegal retailing” of illicit tobacco products: “This growing issue sees retailers lose sales, but it also sees our nation lose the revenue that would have otherwise been gained in tobacco excise,” Mr Kearney said.

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Professor Trent Twomey, the National President of the Guild says the Budget is a positive move towards recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

He adds that the “$35.8 million being allocated towards the temporary community pharmacy program to administer vaccines to patients in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the rollout” is testament to the “important role community pharmacy” in the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.

Age care boost

Speaking about the $17.7 billion boost over four years to the aged care sector, Professor Twomey says this is an important advance; however, the opportunity to better utilise community pharmacists in support of at-home care needs to be pursued.

“The Guild has urged the Government to commit to greater funding for pharmacists to supply dose administration aids to ageing patients who are able to stay at home.

“This is important to ensure medication adherence for these vulnerable patients, and we are disappointed this has not been factored into the aged care package at this stage.

“We will, however, continue to work with the Government on this proposal,” says Professor Twomey.

Other allocations

The other standout Budget allocations welcomed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia include:

• The provision of $3.9 million to continue the Take Home Naloxone (THN) pilot program for a further 12 months. This program provides medication that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose or adverse reaction to at-risk Australians.
• The allocation of $120 million to help reduce the regulatory burden of business interactions with Government.
• Expenditure of $421.6 million for improving the My Health Record and supporting small and medium enterprises to expand their digital capability.
• The focus on programs for women.

“As small businesses, the burden of dealing with Government can be a very heavy and time-consuming one,” says Professor Twomey.

“Anything which makes these interactions easier, and frees pharmacists to spend more time with patients, is indeed welcome.

“The announcement that businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion until June 2022 will immediately be able to write off the full value of any eligible asset they purchase for their business is a boost for pharmacies across Australia.

“The Guild is also pleased to see expenditure of $421.6 million for improving the My Health Record and supporting small and medium enterprises to expand their digital capability.

“The evolution of digital operating and prescribing systems in community pharmacy is continuing, and any improvement in the access and workability of My Health Record is a very positive move.”

Professor Twomey adds that the Guild also welcomes the Budget focus on programs for women, which he says is “long overdue”.

“The community pharmacy profession boasts a workforce of more than 60% women and this trend is accelerating with some two-thirds of graduates being women,” says Professor Twomey.

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The service can be reached by visiting My Business Health and is being delivered by Beyond Blue.

“Small business owners have endured a lot over the past 12 months, particularly those hardest hit by the Covid crisis,” Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson says.

“My Business Health is an excellent support tool for small business owners and it now links to Beyond Blue’s New Access for Small Business Owners program.”

The service offers business owners free one-on-one telehealth sessions with trained mental health coaches.

Mr Billson continues: “Crucially, the New Access for Small Business Owners program is provided by coaches that have experience in small business. Being able to talk to someone who understands the mental load of running a small business will make a real difference.

“Small business owners who look after their mental health, can also help their business.

Mr Billson says that 1000 small business owners revealed 1 in 3 were diagnosed with either stress, anxiety or depression, in a recent Federal Government survey.

“Small business loans are often secured against the family home, so if they lose their business, they could lose their home. The stakes are incredibly high,” he adds.”

Beyond Blue’s New Access for Small Business Owners program is now taking registrations here.

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“The latest data from the Productivity Commission shows there was a 21.7% rise in the number of parents and carers in Australia who didn’t work due to childcare care costs in 2020, compared to the previous year.

“According to those figures, 90,000 Australian parents stayed out of the workforce last year because the cost of childcare was too high.”

Ms Carnell says that currently in Australia, childcare takes “an average of 27% of household income”.

“For women and families in small businesses, particularly those that are relying on JobKeeper or still in the process of recovering from the Covid-19 crisis, childcare is unaffordable,” she says.

Ms Carnell calls on the government to make childcare more affordable by making it “more tax-effective” or “by phasing in an expanded subsidy scheme as recommended by the Grattan Institute, estimated to deliver an $11 billion boost to the economy”.

“Crucially, affordable childcare would allow more [parents and carers] to work on growing their businesses – an important contribution to Australia’s economic recovery,” says Ms Carnell.

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The move came shortly after the announcement by the Western Australian Government to extend the emergency period under the Commercial Tenancies (Covid-19 Response) Act 2020, until at least March 28, 2021.

“It has become clear during this Covid period that legislation is required in order for tenants to receive the financial assistance they need to remain viable and survive into next year”, said Guild Director Matt Tweedie.

Independent tenancy expert David Halvorsen notes that the extension is a common sense and practical decision given the severe and ongoing economic impact of Covid-19. “In order to better manage the permanent structural impacts that we have seen emerge in the WA economy, the government should, as a matter of urgency, conduct its proposed review of the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreement Act 1985.  This legislation was not very effective in protecting tenants pre-Covid and is certainly is not fit for purpose in the new economy”, noted Mr Halvorsen.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacy has continued to provide patient services. However, this has come at a cost, with seventy 70% of WA pharmacies reporting a decline in turnover of at least a 20%.

Many of these businesses are unable to access the financial support offered through the JobKeeper program to retain staff, and therefore are not able to access support provided through the Commercial Tenancies (Covid-19 Response) Act 2020.

Community pharmacies that have accessed government support, frequently report that landlords are acting outside the requirement to act reasonably and in good faith, and instead are engaging in difficult, protracted and delayed negotiations.

“That the imbalance between landlord and tenant has required the National Cabinet to develop a Code of Conduct and two dedicated pieces of quickly drafted Western Australian legislation highlights the challenge, Mr Tweedie said.  “As a result, very few community pharmacies have been able to access their entitlements, but rather are caught between an offer of ‘take it or leave it’ from landlords and the alternative, which is an expensive and time-consuming determination service.”

The announcement acknowledges the stresses that commercial leases place on the viability of community pharmacy. The Guild believes a review of the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreement Act 1985 is both required and long overdue.

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The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has welcomed the federal government’s $2 billion JobTrainer skills package, saying it will deliver the skilled workers that SMEs need.

The JobTrainer package will support SMEs employing apprentices and trainees with a 50% wage subsidy, up to $7,000 per quarter.

Ms Carnell says the original package has been expanded for an additional six months to end in March 2021 and is now available to businesses with less than 200 employees for apprentices employed from 1 July 2020.

“This is an excellent initiative that shows the government is responding to the needs of SMEs,” Ms Carnell says.

“This program expansion will mean up to 90,000 SMEs will be supported in keeping their apprentices and trainees in work.”

JobTrainer will also provide 340,700 training places to help people access short and long courses to develop skills in growth sectors.

“Importantly, this program is offering free or low-cost training to people in fields of study where jobs are available,” Ms Carnell says.

“It also provides SMEs with the skilled workers they need right now.

“As our COVID-19 Recovery Plan points out, small businesses consistently report that availability of suitable labour remains a major challenge. This problem has been even more pronounced in regional and remote areas.

“JobTrainer addresses these issues as well as the fact that the jobs and skills SMEs will need coming out of this crisis will likely be different to those that have already been lost.

“The package will provide school leavers with a pathway to practical qualifications and older people out of work with the opportunity to retrain at very little or no cost.

“The measures announced today will be a significant contribution to our national economic recovery.”

Text by: Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman

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Ms Carnell says that if banks adopted least cost routing thereby sending tap-and-go payments via the cheapest payment pathway, this would benefit small businesses who are often disproportionally hit by merchant fees.

“Australian banks have been doing some good work to support small businesses throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

“[They] have an opportunity to build on this now, by making least cost routing readily available to small businesses for tap-and-go payments,” Ms Carnell says.

It’s estimated that during March about $30 million in extra fees were paid by merchants, due to banks directing debit card contactless payments to global companies such as Visa and Mastercard.

“For too long, small business have been slugged with unnecessarily high fees from credit card networks, when there is a cheap option.

“This is particularly unfair when many small businesses are trying to get back on their feet, with coronavirus restrictions lifting,” Ms Carnell adds.

According to Ms Carnell, small businesses largely feel the brunt of disproportionate fees as larger retailers are potentially able to negotiate least cost routing with their banks to bypass fees.

She adds that larger retailers may also be in a position to bypass full fees by using payment systems directly.

“The banks need to do the right thing by Australian small businesses in this economic crisis and deliver least cost routing as a universal service.

“As of July, Eftpos has announced it will cut the standard wholesale interchange fee paid by small businesses in half to 2 cents for tap-and-go transactions that are routed to Eftpos.

“Roll-out of least cost routing should be a priority for the banks,” Ms Carnell underscored.

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The project is aimed at helping Australian small businesses, such as community pharmacies, unlock the potential of technology to revolutionise their operations and extend their reach.

“We see this as just one way we can help [our] members grow and maintain sustainability for their businesses,” Guild National President George Tambassis said.

During the project, 100 Australian small businesses will be selected for comprehensive digital transformation under the mentorship of a high-profile business leader who has leveraged technology for their business’s success.

The importance of using technology to its highest potential is reflected in the Deloitte’s ‘Connected Small Businesses 2017’ report, which found that when small businesses are digitally engaged, they are:

• Fifty per cent more likely to be growing revenue.
• Eight times more likely to be creating jobs.
• Seven times more likely to be exporting.
• Fourteen times more likely to be innovating new products or services.

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