7 Things Your Business Needs to Know About The 2022 Budget

With costs of living on the rise, the highly anticipated 2022 Federal Budget is here. 

As most small businesses have experienced some degree of hardship over the past few years, the 2022 budget strives to address these issues and has a focus of building a stronger and more resilient economy without putting pressure on inflation.   

In this post, we will take you through the seven things your business needs to know about the federal budget 2022. 

Table of Contents

Improving Job Security

As a small business, it is important to know how you need to deal with your employees. The budget aims to tackle insecure work to allow more people to efficiently plan for their future. 

Job security is now an explicit objective of the Fair Work Act 2009 and limiting the use of fixed-term contracts for ongoing roles.

Similarly, workplace bargaining will be reinvigorated through changes to the workplace relations system. This has been put into place to ensure more small businesses are able to reach fair agreements with their employees and appropriately resolve disputes. 

This, paired with an investment in Fair Work Commission’s expertise, small businesses will receive better support so that pay outcomes for their employees are improved. Whether your employees are full-time, part-time or casual, these changes will affect everyone. 

‘Having fair agreements and job security for your employees is incredibly important for growing businesses as it provides consistency throughout growth’ – Dominic Woolrych, Lawpath CEO

Improving Workplace Conditions 

In 2022, the government is committed to strengthening employment conditions and protections. More robust frameworks for flexible and adaptable work will be implemented to reduce harm to workers and the economy. Workplace health and safety is at the forefront of these changes. 

The government is also committed to assisting small businesses implement new family and domestic violence leave entitlements for their employees. 

All workers from all industries will be covered by the same regulatory framework. The Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman will be the authority and abolish the old Registered Organisations Commission and Australian Building and Construction Commission. 

Data Breaches 

Under new legislation, Australian companies can now receive fines up to $50 million for repeated breaches of privacy. 

For small businesses, it is important to consider how you are dealing with customer data and ensure you have the appropriate protocol in place to ensure data integrity. Having a Privacy Policy and a Cybersecurity Policy is an important first step in legally safeguarding your business. 

Get a free Privacy Policy when you sign up to Lawpath today.

A Privacy Policy is required by law in certain circumstances. It outlines how your business will use, store and collect your customers information.

Tax Reforms 

The Australian tax system is evolving and changing to support individuals and small businesses. Having more and better data is at the heart of the changes to meet the needs of contemporary society. 

This means that tax digitisation is becoming more prominent and will hopefully make it easier for you and your business to meet tax requirements. 

Investment in energy efficient small business

Energy costs are on the rise, so the government has responded by committing $62.6 million to support small and medium-sized businesses in improving their energy efficiency and reducing energy use.

These grants will help small businesses invest in cost-saving energy efficient upgrades to keep power bills manageable. As a small business, you can apply for these grants to help improve long term profits. 

Supporting Small Business Wellbeing

In today’s highly demanding and unpredictable world, the importance of mental health is paramount. This is why the Government is providing $15.1 million to extend the tailored small business mental health and financial counselling programs, NewAccess for Small Business Owners and the Small Business Debt Helpline.

As a small business, promoting mental health can help you and your employees continue to perform at your best. 

‘Promoting mental health within small business not just helps the individual but the professional community as a whole. It’s been a particularly tough 3 years for small businesses and it’s encouraging to see more being done to recognise the individuals involved.”’- Tom Willis, Lawpath CMO

Backing Regional and Agricultural Businesses

If you’re a small business in regional Australia, the 2022 Budget is investing $7.4 billion to support regional development. This will help grow regional areas, so that the communities and small businesses in these areas can benefit.  Investment into these regional communities is planned to improve the economic infrastructure to drive regional development.  

Moreover, $1.2 billion has been allocated to help Australian farmers realise their goal of increasing output. This will help counteract the growing risks that farmers face. Pests and diseases are of top priority and the government is responding accordingly by investing $134.1 million in Australian biosecurity. 

Key Takeaways 

There have been some key changes to support the economy that you and your small business need to consider. These changes may mean that you need to alter how you do business. Any good business will be adaptable to these changes and make them work for them. 

If you have any questions regarding how these changes will affect your small business, you can consult a Lawpath lawyer to assist you in developing a strong business strategy to legally safeguard your business. 

Alternatively, you can run a Legal Health Check, so you can know where your business can be better protected. 

Legal Health Check for Small Business

Uncover your small business’ legal gaps in minutes with this award-winning tool.

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