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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-25 Daily Xml
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Estimates Vote

Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, $61,613,000

Administered Items for the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, $14,842,000


Membership:

Ms Savvas substituted for Ms Clancy.

Ms Hood substituted for Ms O'Hanlon.

Ms Pratt substituted for Mr Whetstone.


Minister:

Hon. A. Michaels, Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts.


Departmental Advisers:

Mr A. Reid, Chief Executive, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Ms N. Kilvert, Small Business Commissioner, Department for Industry, Innovation and

Science.

Mr C. Marwick, Executive Director, Industry and Workforce Capability, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Ms Diana Tembak, Executive Director, Portfolio Delivery, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Ms K. Calaby, Director, Small and Family Business, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Mr M. Smith, Director, Finance and Investment Services, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Ms A. King, Manager, Corporate Operations, Office of the Small Business Commissioner, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.

Mr A. Swanson, Chief Financial Officer, Attorney-General's Department.


The CHAIR: Welcome back to today's estimates committee hearing. I understand the minister and the lead speaker for the opposition have agreed an approximate time for the consideration of proposed payments, which will facilitate a change of departmental advisers. Can the minister and lead speaker for the opposition confirm that the timetable for today's proceedings, previously distributed, is accurate?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Yes, confirmed.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Absolutely.

The CHAIR: I remind members that all questions are to be directed to the minister, not the minister's advisers. The minister may refer questions to advisers for a response. Questions must be based on lines of expenditure in the budget papers and must be identifiable or referenced.

Briefly, I also advise that if the minister undertakes to supply information at a later date it must be submitted to the Clerk Assistant via the Answers to Questions mailbox no later than Friday 6 September 2024. Members unable to complete their questions may submit them as questions on notice for inclusion in the assembly Notice Paper.

The rules of debate in the house apply in committee. Ministers and members may not table documents before the committee but may supply them to the Chair for distribution. I will allow both the minister and the lead speaker for the opposition to make opening statements of about 10 minutes each, should they wish.

This estimates committee is for the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science. I declare the proposed payments open for examination and call on the minister to make a statement, if she wishes, and to introduce her advisers.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Thank you, Chair. I would like to introduce, on my right, our Small Business Commissioner, Nerissa Kilvert. On my left we have Adam Reid, Chief Executive, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, and Callan Markwick, Executive Director of DIIS. Behind me we have Kathryn Calaby, Director of the Office for Small and Family Business. We have Diana Tembak and Martin Smith, also from DIIS, and we have Ashlee King from the Office of the Small Business Commissioner as well.

I will not make an opening statement, but will allow the leader to ask his questions. However, I do want to thank all the officials not only in preparation for estimates but also for all the hard work that has gone on in the last 12 months, particularly since we launched the Small Business Strategy in July 2023. A lot of work has gone into rolling out the programs and the initiatives that we committed to in that strategy, so I want to thank them all for that work.

The CHAIR: Thank you, minister. I call on the lead speaker for the opposition to make a statement if he wishes, and then we can proceed to questions.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you, Chair. I do not have an opening statement. I reiterate the minister's thanks to the public servants, the minister and her staff who have been involved in this process.

For my first question—and there are not many budget papers to refer to in this portfolio, so I think this will cover the vast majority of my questions; I will let you know if there is a change—I refer to Agency Statement, Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 161, program 2, which has the small business program summary.

The budget papers indicate that the objective of program 2, as outlined on page 161, is 'To support small and family businesses in South Australia to successfully start, operate and grow'. I am keen to understand what definition of small business the Office for Small Business uses when it refers to small business in the budget papers.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: We have specifically not had a formal definition of small business, because my portfolio also includes family business which, as you are aware, can encompass some larger businesses. Most of the data we are using relates to small businesses, which are 20 FTE or less. When we are referring to, for example, 97.3 per cent of small business being small businesses it is relating to that kind of statistic of FTEs.

We are really making sure those smaller and micro businesses have the support available to them through the Office for Small and Family Business that we set up once we came into government and, as the member is aware, went out and publicly consulted quite broadly to pull together the Small Business Strategy, which he may have questions on shortly.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you, minister; that is useful. The definition would include businesses, and I guess some of those small businesses would fall into the category of those that pay payroll tax; that is, businesses with a wage bill over $1.5 million.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I could not answer that. I suspect some would, but not very many, on the basis that most small businesses have a turnover of $2 million or less, and it would be unlikely that their payroll would be anything over $1½ million on those statistics.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Minister, have any businesses complained to you about rising payroll tax obligations?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I have seen public commentary on it, but, from my recollection, no specific business has approached me, nor in any of my small business visits do I recall that being an issue. Most of our businesses that we visit and engage with are program participants that are at the smaller end.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Do you know what the average payroll tax bill is for a business?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: If their payroll is under $1.5 million, zero.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: That would be accurate. According to the most recent ABS data, wages in small business have gone up over 20 per cent since 2018 when the former Liberal government abolished payroll tax for small businesses, i.e., lifted the threshold from $600,000 in terms of total wages to the current threshold of $1.5 million. Do you have a figure, or can you take on notice, on how many small businesses, as in that 20 FTE or under definition, in this state, are now liable for payroll tax because their wages now exceed $1.5 million?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I do not have that information. Payroll tax is administered by the Department of Treasury and Finance so they would be the best placed agency to give you that sort of information, I imagine.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: On page 162, we see that expenses have dropped by 11 per cent from the 2023-24 budget when we look at the figures, if you exclude the River Murray event. Does the minister feel that the 2024-2025 budget does enough for small businesses in South Australia?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: What I have in front of me, provided by Mr Reid, is some figures in relation to budgets that relate to small business that exclude natural disasters (floods, etc.). What we have at the moment in our total small and family business expenses for this current financial year is $8.4 million. We then go to $5.159 million.

In years pre-bushfires and floods, etc., in 2018-19, small business allocation was down to $2.095 million, and in 2021-22 it was $3.045 million. So we have effectively doubled the support for small businesses and the programs and the initiatives that we are rolling out I think are quite useful for small businesses. We are certainly getting very positive feedback. So, yes, I am comfortable that the $14.25 million Small Business Strategy that has been funded is good support for the small business community. Of course, we have the $20 million Economic Recovery Fund round 2 energy grants as well.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I have some questions about that coming up.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Excellent.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Firstly, I will give you a reference because this one might seem a bit tangential. Page 162 outlines the number of small businesses provided with solutions to support their growth and competitiveness. Looking at that figure and framing this question through the eyes of the small businesses targeted there, is the minister concerned about the impact that the loss of the $650 energy rebate—which I know sits with another minister—might have on those small businesses that her portfolio seeks to help, who may have relied on that $650 energy rebate?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: No, on account of the fact that the $325 rebate was announced in the federal budget, so that continues. What we have done is allocate $20 million from the Economic Recovery Fund to the energy grants, which we expect to support about 8,000 small businesses with grants of up to $50,000. What that will do is alleviate some of the capital investment up-front for, for example, new equipment that might be more energy efficient but have the year-on-year return on those energy savings, which would have a long-term benefit for businesses in South Australia. We are very pleased to have that energy grant program. The guidelines, I believe, are still being worked on through the appropriate agency.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Was the Economic Recovery Fund's energy focus established on the basis that the energy rebate was to be wound up from a state perspective? Did the state take an active decision to not do the generic rebate but instead focus effort and funding, which could be quite rightly justified, into the energy upgrades through the economic—

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Yes, it was a conscious decision of the cabinet to fund the energy grants. On top of that, we have also recently announced the 8.8 per cent reduction in energy prices through South Australia, which is about $512, as I understand it, for small businesses on their electricity bills. They will get the federal rebate, $325. Obviously, energy prices are coming down, which is a good thing. On top of that, the longevity of the benefits that will come from the energy efficiency grants I think will be of great benefit to small businesses.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: There has been some concern from small businesses that are within embedded energy networks that they have not been able to access the energy rebate, even though there has been a commitment by the government to create a mechanism for them to be able to do so. Have you advocated to the Treasurer to speed up support for those customers who are within embedded networks, and have you heard from any businesses in regard to that issue?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I know businesses have called the Office for Small and Family Business making those inquiries. One of the members of the opposition reached out to me on a particular business. I think the human services department is actually implementing that embedded network process, and that was made available from 29 May this year, so that matter has been resolved.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I will move on to the Economic Recovery Fund now, which you have already referred to. The financial element of the Economic Recovery Fund is embedded within the Treasurer's budget papers and not your papers, but I assume that because your office is administering it you will be okay with answering questions in regard to this. When did the minister become aware that the Office for Small and Family Business would administer round 2 of the Economic Recovery Fund?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Through the budget process.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Why is the $20 million grant not reflected in the budget but in the papers for your portfolio? Was that a decision that came later? You have just indicated that that was not the case, but was it a later decision or was this seen as normal?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: None of the Economic Recovery Fund round 1 has sat with me, neither does round 2. I assume it is in Treasury. Yes, the budget is with Treasury.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Is this the biggest grant fund that the office has had responsibility for administering?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I am advised it is fairly consistent in magnitude with the bushfire and the flood recoveries as well.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you. The website of the Office for Small and Family Business indicates that the program will be opened in August, and that the program will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis. Does the minister have data—and you have already given a figure—on how many businesses may be eligible to apply for the grant funding, and where was this figure derived from?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Treasury, and presumably DIIS as well, have been working together on this and extracted data from SA Power Networks which indicated that there are about 94,000 electricity customers that fit into that definition of being a small business electricity customer that we would see in the guidelines that are coming out. From that, we have extracted a figure primarily through Treasury of estimating about 8,000 eligible small businesses might have access to it.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Which minister will be responsible for approving the eligibility criteria for the grants, yourself or the Treasurer?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: The Treasurer.

The CHAIR: I think that is a good point to remind members to ask questions specifically relevant to this portfolio.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I think the minister is okay with these questions. It is a hard one. I am not trying to be a pain or a pest or anything. It is sort of a program which falls between the two ministers.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I will do my best.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I am not trying to catch anyone out. The website suggests that applicants will be able to apply for grant funding of $2,500 up to $50,000 in match funding. Will funding be quarantined into various categories to ensure that the smaller businesses seeking a smaller funding contribution will not be disadvantaged?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: It will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so we would hope anyone who is ready to make that application at the end of August when it comes online will do so. The website, as you may be aware having looked at it, does have an ability to register your interest.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Pre-register.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: To pre-register—and the Office for Small and Family Business will then communicate with those registered businesses.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Is it for small businesses, as per the previous definition, or is access across all businesses in the state?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: We are looking at businesses that have an energy consumption of less than 160 megawatts of electricity per year and hold an ABN and operate in South Australia.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Minister, this is the last question on this one. In terms of administering this within the resources—which are obviously constrained as resources always are—within the constrained resources of the Office for Small and Family Business, will you be bringing on more staff to deal with this or will staff be seconded from other agencies, such as the Department of Treasury and Finance, to administer this program, or will it be administered from within your existing resources?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I am advised there will be four additional staff to administer that grant program to assist the Office for Small and Family Business.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: So those are not seconded staff, those are just additional FTEs?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Additional FTEs.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I will move on and refresh the budget line that I am referring to, which is Agency Statements, Volume 3, page 162, under 'Program summary—income, expenses and FTEs'. Minister, the expenses for employee benefits on page 162 have decreased from $2.81 million to $2.497 million between the 2023-24 financial year and the new financial year for 2024-25. Is this reduction in employee compensation because you are no longer administering the programs around the River Murray flood event or is the reduction for another reason?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I am advised it is because of the flood event.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: So the employees associated with that are no longer there?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: They are no longer there, yes.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Does it include the step-up of the four FTEs for the administration of the Economic Recovery Fund?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I am advised that it does not at this point.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Okay, so that will be a revision, no worries, thank you. Are you able to advise how many small businesses were assisted in the 2023-24 financial year as a result of the River Murray flood event?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Across the various programs, early on we had the Business Early Closure program, which 110 were approved under. That was $1.77 million that was approved. We had the Generator Grants for power shut off. We had 334 applications approved and $541,522 was approved to be paid. We then had the Industry Support Grants. We had 149 applicants approved and $1.49 million approved to be paid. Regarding the Flood Recovery Grants, 29 were approved and that was a total amount approved of $922,196. So there was $4.7 million under those programs in total.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The 2024-25 financial year budget highlights the Women in Business Program on page 161. How will you ensure that this program does not just become a program that ticks a box but actually delivers tangible support to female business owners and entrepreneurs?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: It is one program that is absolutely providing concrete support for women operating their businesses. It builds strong foundations with their business knowledge and their skills and building their networks. There are a number of arms to it. The Women in Business Foundations Program is being run at the moment from the Adelaide Business Hub. As at 31 May 2024, we have had 1,348 participants register for that program since inception. The other element is the Women in Business Program, which is for the more entrepreneurial higher growth businesses, with 76 participants through the program up until 31 May 2024. It is a 12-month program for about 37 or 38 women each year.

The Port Adelaide Football Club program was a networking program and $50,000 went to the Port Adelaide Football Club. We finished that program at the end of April. We have the Connecting Women in Business program, which is again networking and skills development-based, with a number of providers. We have had over 600 women participate in that. Not in my bucket of money but in the Deputy Premier's bucket of money is something that I think is very much needed, which is the Fearless Innovators Grants as well, which has only just launched.

What we will be doing and are doing is getting feedback from the participants through the program delivery partners, and we will be measuring what the benefits are that are coming through from those. But I am definitely hearing very much firsthand an overwhelmingly positive response from the participants, and certainly from the mentors as well, who are engaging in the programs.

One of the key factors coming through, particularly with the foundations program, is from the mentors describing a lack of business fundamentals skills, which they are able to provide to that mentored person, particularly around marketing and cash flow management and digital presence. They are among the more popular mentoring requests that are being received through the foundations program.

We are certainly seeing a lot of positives coming from the program. We are certainly seeing a lot of program participants going out and telling their networks to engage in the program, and that is why we continue to see increasing numbers engaging through all of the Women in Business Program elements.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you. I do not want it to be seen that if I ask questions about particular programs I do not support them. That is quite far from the case. Minister, you referred to the Port Adelaide Football Club program. Can you tell us a bit more about that one?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Yes. It was, as I said, a $50,000 program. It was a 12-month partnership. There were a range of networking events and development opportunities provided. For example, there were sessions that focused on the legal landscape and what a business owner needs to understand in terms of their legal obligations when they are setting up or scaling up a business. There was a session on digital detox, which I personally found quite useful. I failed in implementing all of the tips of that workshop, but I found it useful. Work-life balance was another key topic, and redefining success as a female business owner was another topic. So there were a range of workshops provided with expert speakers down at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Was it just located at Port Adelaide Football Club, or did the club have specific involvement in that?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: The club was the program partner.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Going back to the Women in Business Program more broadly, can you tell us how many female business owners and entrepreneurs have been assisted and if you know if those individuals have gone on to establish ongoing small businesses, or did they have to already have a business to participate? Sorry, I have asked that question in a mangled way, but we will work through it.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: They are existing business owners. They might be very early on in their business journey, but they are existing business owners, and we have had up until the end of May over 2,000 women participate in various parts of that program, which I would say—

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: That is quite a large number, yes.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: —is a very successful program.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I would agree.


Membership:

Mr Odenwalder substituted for Ms Thompson.


Chair:

Mr L.K. Odenwalder.


The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: How many businesses were assisted in cyber capability in the 2023-24 financial year, and what is the target for the same activity in the forthcoming financial year?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: As at 31 May 2024, we have 69 participants registered for the program and involved in the program. We have a target of 100 in total, so we are a good way there. That program has been run through the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Given the number of businesses in this state, minister and, again, not criticising, is 100 maybe not ambitious enough and, also given that cyber capability and the risks associated with that are quite great in the current era, is this something that could be more ambitious in the future? Is it something that the Office for Small and Family Business, and yourself, would like to see grow?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I certainly would like businesses to have a greater focus on their cyber risk. The federal government runs various programs, including a Cyber Wardens program, that was funded in previous budgets and I think extended in this budget. We are making sure that we are engaging with as many businesses as possible. The Cyber Uplift Step Program is a fairly intensive, I think, 12-month program, so we would expect smaller numbers than say, for example, the Cyber Wardens program that is run by the federal government, which I would describe as a lighter touch program.

Some of the things we did hear very loudly from the consultation on the Small Business Strategy were in two particular areas where businesses understood they needed to focus, but for various reasons—time, money and other factors—they expressed that they were unlikely to focus on. One of those is cyber and the other one is sustainability. That is why they are two key themes in our Small Business Strategy, to try to get as much involvement from small businesses to uplift their skills and their business programs and their technology to make sure that they are cyber ready, and minimising their cyber risk as much as they can.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I guess you have touched on this a little bit in your answer, but I am quite keen for a bit more information in terms of what the program assistance looked liked through the cyber capability work. Has there been feedback from the small businesses involved and, if so, what was the feedback?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: The Cyber Uplift Step Program, as I mentioned, is run by the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre at Lot Fourteen. The businesses that are involved receive one-on-one advice from cyber professionals from within the centre and access to the centre's learning management system providing training on essential cyber mitigation strategies. There are face-to-face and hybrid workshops with cyber professionals on specific subject areas, and again, that is tailored to each particular business. There is, I guess, an interview process at the start of the program to find out exactly what each business requires.

It provides for a 12-month affiliation membership with the Cyber Collaboration Centre and access to various networking events that are tailored to small businesses. It is, as I said, a fairly intensive 12-month program and particularly tailored to each small business to make sure that they are getting value out of it for their particular businesses.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Page 161 refers to, as a highlight, for the current financial year 2023-24, the participation in Small Business Week and the agenda of events undertaken in this state. Has your office's involvement in that been evaluated to understand whether there were concrete metrics or outcomes from the events and the activities undertaken?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Yes, for Small Business Week—which we held I think from 29 April through to 3 March—there were various programs and an expo day on the Thursday, from recollection. We had various programs throughout metropolitan Adelaide and we also had five regional areas covered by Small Business Week, and we had online content and various activities throughout the week. We had over 1,400 registrations from businesses across Small Business Week. Again, it was very much a popular new addition to the small business offering from the state government.

There was a Women in Business immersive learning day as well, on the Friday, which I understand went quite well. I was there in the morning. I did not make it through the whole day, but I understand there was a lot of very good information gathering that day by those female business owners. We did cover the entirety of the state in some way, shape or form and tried to get as many businesses involved as possible, and those 1,400 registrations I think indicate the popularity of it.

The expo day was fully subscribed. There was a waiting list for the expo day, which was on the Thursday. We had Alan Kohler as our keynote speaker, and then we had workshops on various topics throughout the day, which businesses engaged with. The department is engaging with the program participants and program partners to make sure they are seeking evaluation going forward. I look forward to Small Business Week again next year.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Are you able to advise the committee as to how much was spent on publicity and advertising for Small Business Week?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: The entirety of Small Business Week was a quite modest $150,000 sum. We may take the advertising component on notice.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you, minister. That is your first question taken on notice. That is much better than the other committees I have been part of. Minister, I think you already gave a figure, but how many small businesses attended and how were they invited?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: There were 1,400 registrations throughout Small Business Week, invited through a range of mechanisms. The Office for Small and Family Business has a newsletter, and we also had our program partners—various industry associations that partnered with us—spreading the word as well, so we did get good engagement with Small Business Week.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Minister, on page 161 sustainability measures for small businesses are included in the 2024-25 targets. What is seen by your office in terms of the definition of 'sustainability measures', and how will that impact be rigorously measured and reported?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Our Small Business Sustainability Support Program that is on the market at the moment is being rolled out by a South Australian company called 2XE. You may know of it. The program is being jointly funded by the Department for Environment and Water. I thank the Deputy Premier for that assistance. It really is aiming at building skills and capability around ESG, achieving net zero, the circular economy and other sustainable business practices. It has only just recently commenced, and the first workshop was run through Small Business Week.

There will be workshops as well as part of that program to make sure there are tailored solutions for small businesses. What we are hoping to do is actually use that mechanism to make sure that those businesses are aware of the energy grants as well, which may help them implement some of those measures.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I might move on to the flood event, which is referred to throughout the budget papers. On page 161 the budget paper mentions ongoing support for businesses affected by the River Murray flood event. Can you outline what ongoing support looks like?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: The reference you are alluding to, leader, is in the highlights for the 2023-24 financial year. It certainly was a focus for the 2023-24 financial year. Going forward, those businesses of course are able to access various programs, including the foundation's program, which I think is critical in terms of cash flow management, risk minimisation and other areas covered by the program.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The budget shows a $2 million decrease in total expenses in the 2023-24 estimated result, compared with the 2022-23 actual. This is primarily due to the closure in the 2022-23 financial year of the Power Shut Off—Generator Grant and the Early Business Closure Grant program. How many people and businesses were assisted by this program, and are there still people remaining to receive acquittal of that or financial support?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: Which program, sorry?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Either the generator or the business early closure.

The CHAIR: Can the leader indicate which page he is on?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: We were talking before you arrived, Chair, about the fairly minimal number of options for this committee.

The CHAIR: Nevertheless, it needs to be in there.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: It is page 162, the last paragraph before the performance indicators paper.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: For the generator grants and the early business closure, many were processed I guess in the 2022-23 financial year, and closed early on in the 2023-24 financial year. For the early business closures we had 110 approved and for the generator grants 334 approved. There are no outstanding applications for those two programs.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: If I move back to page 161, you have the reference there to launching South Australia's Small Business Strategy 2023 to 2030. Who comprises the small business reference group that helped inform the development of South Australia's Small Business Strategy?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: I do not have this list with me, but it is an across-government reference group with various agencies that interact with small business being involved in that.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Does it have small business people on it?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: There are government agency representatives on that. We obviously undertook a fairly extensive consultation across small businesses across the state when we developed the Small Business Strategy. We had 21 round tables across the state in various regional and metropolitan areas, and we had various round tables that were sector or industry specific. We had a YourSAy survey with over 1,000 responses to that, and we had some in-depth interviews with key industry stakeholders, so we very much engaged with small businesses to develop the strategy and industry associations that all gave us their feedback into developing that strategy.

We landed with a strategy that goes until 2030, which has six key themes within it: strengthening business capability; building skills and workforce; navigating the digital environment was the third theme; boosting business sustainability; embracing diversity; and improving access to government services. They were the six key themes that came out of the strategy, very much guided by what small business wanted from state government. From that, we identified 20 initiatives that would be implemented from when the Small Business Strategy was launched in July last year through to 2026, and I think 19 of the 20 identified have commenced, so we are a long way ahead of where we were hoping to be.

Just to confirm, the reference group is about implementing the strategy rather than feedback to formulate the strategy.

The CHAIR: The allotted time having expired, I declare the examination of the Office of the Small Business Commissioner and the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science complete. The examination of the proposed payments for the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science and the administered items for the department are now complete. Thank you to the minister's advisers.


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