A new online portal has been launched to encourage Tasmanians to report red tape that is holding businesses and industries back from success.
Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Eric Abetz said the portal will allow Tasmanian people and businesses to directly provide feedback on red tape reduction ideas.
“Our valued workers, volunteers, consumers and businesses live and breathe the challenges of red tape every day and know what barriers they need removed to grow and thrive,” he said.
“If there is red tape that is holding you back, is stifling your business, costing you unnecessary hours, we want to know about it.”
Red Tape Reduction Coordinator Stuart Clues, who sits within the Office of the Coordinator-General, will review all submissions and advise the government on potential implementation.
Tasmanians have been able to report red tape to the Office of the Coordinator-General for several years now, but Minister Abetz says this new “e-hub” with “the latest in technology” will make submissions “as user friendly as possible”.
Tasmanian Small Business Council CEO Rob Mallet said the new initiative is “fantastic”.
“It’s very hard for people who are starting a business to actually go out and complain about red tape,” he said.
“They are so scared that at the end of the day, if their name becomes public, their application to either open a wine bar, open a cafe, open a laundrette, will end up taking even longer than it already does.
“Some of these businesses take months, months and months, whilst they’re paying rent, they’ve done their renovations and they’re continuing to wait for bureaucrats to complete the relevant paperwork for them.”
Mallet used Hobart’s Westside Laundry Cafe as an example, saying it was physically able to open up to eight months prior to it actually opening.
“It was hamstrung and held back by red tape and bureaucracy that didn’t allow them to get on with the job,” he said.
“We’ve got a brand new restaurant just down on the next corner. They’re ready to go but the owner’s sitting there on his laptop doing some other things because I know he’s still waiting for permits.”
“There’s a nightclub just one block away and very nearly went broke because the licensing department took an inordinate amount of time to actually approve their licence as a nightclub.”
In Coordinator Stuart Clues’ last report, 188 pieces of red tape were identified between 2014-2024.
Tasmanians can report instances of red tape here.
