Small Business Start-Ups

Ms COOK (Fisher) (14:48): My question is for the Minister for Small Business. Can the minister inform the house what the South Australian government is doing for start-ups and entrepreneurs?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for her question. Entrepreneurship underpins our state's efforts to become more innovative and globally competitive and helps create sustainable jobs and high-value globally competitive markets. This government is strongly committed to creating a business environment where start-ups can succeed and where established businesses can grow.

To that end, we are working to reduce costs for all South Australian businesses and to build the capability of business owners and managers to grow globally competitive profitable businesses and create jobs. We are implementing the most significant reforms in WorkCover in a generation, and the new return-to-work scheme is expected to save businesses an estimated $180 million per annum in premiums. On top of this, this government is embarking on the most comprehensive state tax reform in South Australia's history, and at the centrepiece of that reform package are jobs.

Every single business and enterprise in South Australia, whether big or small, can benefit from these changes. The government's tax reforms stand our state and our party alone in the nation for tax reform. We are committed to red tape reduction and better engagement with industry through the work of the Simpler Regulation Unit, and the state government, through our jobs plan, is investing in various programs aimed at realising the economic potential of the state's entrepreneurs.

The government is providing $1.7 million over three years to the SA Micro Finance Fund, which provides grants of up to $50,000 for South Australian entrepreneurs to turn their new ideas into high-value businesses. The government is providing $1.05 million over three years to Innovyz Start to deliver a mentorship-based start-up accelerator program, and I am advised that graduates of its accelerator program have so far raised more than $2.95 million in leveraged investment.

The government is also providing $450,000 over three years to support Venture Catalyst. An initiative of the state government and the University of South Australia, the program encourages entrepreneurship and the creation of local start-ups by providing funding for early-stage ventures founded by the University of South Australia students and recent graduates. To date, four local start-ups have received $50,000 each in seed funding.

The government is providing $400,000 over four years to Majoran, a city-based co-working space that provides mentorship and industry connections for budding entrepreneurs. This program also delivers the government's entrepreneurship masterclass, MEGA, along with the open data event Unleashed, and the SouthStart conferences, which bring together around 600 entrepreneurs from Australia and beyond. Over the past two years, the government has committed $40,000 per year to support the SA Young Entrepreneurs Scheme, a program delivered through Business SA that assists young professionals to develop and start a businesses.

Together, these measures support the establishment, growth and success of the next generation of innovative South Australian businesses working in a jurisdiction that will become the lowest-taxed jurisdiction in the federation of all the states—something we can all be very proud of.