Consumer and Business Services

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Business Services and Consumers a question about Consumer and Business Services (CBS).

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Small businesses are doing it tough in South Australia and believe that they are getting no help from the government. My office has received a number of complaints about the Office of Consumer and Business Services. CBS is labelling South Australian businesses as 'dodgy' in their media releases. If a business is found guilty of an offence, using the term 'dodgy' would be deemed to be appropriate. However, I have been told by businesses that they suffer from the loss of business as well as their reputation being tarnished when labelled as 'dodgy' by a government agency even before a thorough investigation is completed.

For example, on 22 September 2015, the office of CBS released a media article titled 'Public Warning of Dodgy Dealings by Local Builder'. The document outlined the name of the tradesman along with his business name, stating:

We strongly believe he is carrying on a business without holding the relevant South Australian Building Work Contractors licence.

Within the same document, however, it went on to say that 'CBS is continuing to investigate the alleged conduct'.

My questions to the minister are:

1. What mechanism has been put in place to monitor whether a small business is being unfairly treated by CBS, particularly when the investigation has not even been finalised?

2. What compensation measures will the minister put in place if CBS make the wrong judgement about a business under investigation?

3. Will the minister review the CBS name and shame policy to ensure that business owners are given a fair and equitable hearing?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for her important question. It's really easy for businesses to avoid being shamed and referred to as 'dodgy'. It's quite straightforward: it's in their hands. They've got complete control over this, complete autonomy, and they simply need to do the right thing.

These warnings that CBS have the power to authorise are only ever distributed when there is clear evidence that a breach has occurred, even though complete inquiries can take some time. I'm absolutely confident that CBS does not misuse that authority. The powers of the commissioner are fairly limited in a number of respects, but one thing that they are able to do successfully is to name and shame.

CBS are a group of extremely hardworking public servants who perform at an extremely high level. They operate in an incredibly business friendly way. When they are alerted to or become aware of any potential problems with a business, they always seek the most conservative remedy in the first instance. They seek to inform and assist businesses to understand their obligations, to put the right systems in place and to do the right thing, and it is usually only after a series of warnings and other interactions, when a business has failed to respond to the concerns raised by CBS, that they will take the next step and issue a warning or name a company publicly.

I am absolutely confident that if CBS has named a particular organisation, it is based on sound and solid evidence. As I said, if businesses want to avoid being named and shamed, it is in their hands; they simply need to do the right thing. If they are in doubt, as I said, CBS is there. They will offer all sorts of advice and assistance to help organisations and businesses here in South Australia do the right thing.