As part of its pre-election policy Small Business Action Plan, the NSW Government established a NSW Small Business Commissioner to support small businesses throughout the State.

The Commissioner supports businesses by:

providing low-cost dispute resolution services
advising Government on how best to provide assistance to small businesses
identifying ways in which Government can create a climate in which the small business sector can flourish.

Ms Yasmin King was appointed by the Minister for Small Business as the State’s first Small Business Commissioner in August 2011.

Since starting her role, the Commissioner has already assisted many small business operators with issues impacting on their businesses and has been able to achieve many effective outcomes with the cooperation and good faith of the parties involved.

However, despite these successes, not all cases will be able to be solved through the goodwill of the parties involved. In these circumstances, the Commissioner will require the support of a legislative framework in order to assist in the resolution of disputes and issues facing the small business sector. Legislation will provide the tools that will allow the Commissioner to meet the objectives of the role and deliver outcomes for small businesses in NSW.

Legislation to formally establish the role and functions of the Commissioner is proposed to be developed by the NSW Government. As part of this process, the Office of the Small Business Commissioner will be seeking feedback on the proposed provisions outlined in the consultation paper.

We want to hear from you

We are now seeking your suggestions about what role and functions of the Commissioner you want to see established in legislation, and what tools the Commissioner should have that will help small business operators in the most practical way.
It is important that we hear from you directly about your vision for the role of the Commissioner so that we can develop legislation that will help the Commissioner carry out the role most effectively.

The Commissioner will also be undertaking a Listening Tour in locations across the State to hear directly from small businesses as part of the consultation process.
Listening Tour dates for June and July 2012