(30 May 2024 – Australia) The Payment Times Reporting Amendment Bill has been introduced to parliament, targeting faster payment times and improved cash flow for small businesses seeking a more level playing field with large corporates.
The reforms include updates to improve outcomes for small business and incentivise large business to make timely payments, reduce financing costs and achieve real productivity gains.
The reforms enable the regulator to name the best and worst-performing corporates and undertake research on the economy-wide impacts of slow payment. They also provide a mechanism for the Minister for Small Business to give a direction to an entity in the slowest 20 percent of payers overall to make enhanced disclosures.
The government will also be able to direct a slow-paying entity to state on its website, procurement, ESG-related and other documents that it is a “slow small business payer” with details on how to access its payment times reports.
“Our government knows how important cash flow and payment times are to small businesses. For small businesses who supply goods and services to large companies, it's simply unfair for those big corporations to delay paying the invoice. Imagine walking into your local cafe, getting a coffee and saying I'll pay for that in 90 days. It's simply unthinkable just as it should be unthinkable for big businesses to create long delays when paying their small business supplies” commented Minister for Small Business, Julie Collins.