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The report deals with the key drivers of business set-ups, transfers and closures. It considers innovative new business models and entrepreneurial activity. It also examines a wide range of regulatory, institutional and financial factors that influence primarily set-ups, but ultimately can also impact on the manner and ease with which businesses close. Finally, the report examines the closure of businesses - through voluntary exits, personal insolvency (bankruptcy) or corporate insolvency. This report was released on 21 May 2015. You are invited to examine the draft report, to make written submissions by Friday 3 July 2015 and to register to participate in public hearings. Key Points Businesses are set-up for a variety of reasons and in any one year there is a churn of entries and exits that is comparable with other countries. Most businesses are small and a very low proportion are innovative, producing a product or service new to Australian or international markets. The propensity to be innovative is highest amongst larger businesses. While it is generally relatively easy to start a business, a number of longstanding issues with specific regulatory requirements and regulator engagement and funding remain unaddressed and are making new business entry unnecessarily complex or costly. Some new business models - particularly those that exploit digital technology to make better use of information - are challenging existing regulatory arrangements or causing others to operate in regulatory grey areas. Regulators should have the capacity to exempt businesses for a fixed period, from particular regulatory requirements where these deter entry but exemption does not threaten consumer, public health and safety, or environmental outcomes. Government assistance to business set-ups should not be directed at particular business models, technologies, sectors or locations - criteria based on desired outcomes (such as technology transfer and spillovers) with matching private sector investment, are less likely to distort ...

Key points The total value of Australian service exports was $57 billion in 2013-14 and about 17 per cent of total exports. The six services sectors covered in this study — tourism, education, financial services, professional services, information technology and health services — accounted for around 85 per cent of the total value of service exports. The total value of service exports from all sectors has doubled (in real terms) over the past two decades. Rising household incomes, particularly in some countries in Asia, have been an important driver of increasing global demand for services. Visitors from Asia account for much of the growth in Australian tourism and education exports over the past decade. The costs of exporting services have fallen due, in part, to lower airfares and the development of internet tools including email, online video and audio calls, and electronic payment systems. The priority for the Australian Government should be policy reform that promotes competition and provides incentives for domestic firms, including in services sectors, to innovate and lift their productivity. Specific reforms to reduce domestic barriers to service exports include: implementing visa processing arrangements for short-term visitors and international students that are no more onerous than is necessary to meet a single policy objective of immigration integrity liberalising air services arrangements for the major gateway cities of Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth and, following this, Sydney — unless a published assessment shows the costs of liberalising access to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport would outweigh the benefits to the community simplifying Australia's regime of withholding taxes through greater uniformity in the rate applied to different types of investment and reducing the range of exemptions implementing consistent screening thresholds for Foreign Investment Review Board examination of foreign investment proposals across investors from different countries. International barriers to services trade can be ...

Australia's and New Zealand's mutual recognition schemes are unique in the world by their extensive scope and coverage. They make it easier to do business across borders and give consumers a wider and more competitive range of goods and services. This report was released on 25 September 2015 and assesses the coverage, efficiency and effectiveness of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) and Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA). It also recommends ways to further improve interjurisdictional movement of goods and skilled workers, and reduce red tape, including examining the scope for establishing automatic mutual recognition for registered occupations. It addresses matters identified by the Cross-Jurisdictional Review Forum (CJRF), including requirements for the use of goods and business registration (the CJRF is an interjurisdictional committee of officials that oversees the MRA and TTMRA). Key points The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) and Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA) are generally working well. However, the benefit of the schemes risks slowly being eroded due to regulators not always implementing mutual recognition as required, weak oversight, and an increase in the number of goods and related laws permanently kept outside the scope of the schemes. There are specific concerns with the operation of mutual recognition of occupations, such as 'shopping and hopping' and background checks. These issues have the potential to weaken the community's and regulators' trust in the schemes and undermine their legitimacy. This review has therefore focused on improving governance arrangements, potentially expanding coverage, and addressing irritants to the smooth operation of the schemes. The Commission proposes to reform the governance arrangements by: strengthening the cross-jurisdictional group of officials that oversees the schemes, including by giving it more specific outputs, timeframes and reporting requirements improving the accountability of regulators in individual ...

Background Australia provides statutory protection for intellectual property through patents, trade marks, geographical indications, registered designs, plant breeders' rights, copyright, moral rights, performers' rights and circuit layout rights. Current laws are consistent with treaties under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Health Organization to which Australia has acceded, as well as bilateral and regional trade agreements. The global economy and technology are changing and there have been increases in the scope and duration of intellectual property protection. The Australian Government seeks to ensure that the appropriate balance exists between incentives for innovation and investment and the interests of both individuals and businesses, including small businesses, in accessing ideas and products. This issues paper has been released by the Commission to assist individuals and organisations to prepare submissions to the inquiry. This paper outlines: the scope of the inquiry a proposed framework for considering intellectual property arrangements some broad questions about the objectives and operation of Australia's intellectual property arrangements, as well as some more specific questions, which relate to particular forms of intellectual property rights how to make a submission. Participants should not feel that they are restricted to comment only on matters raised in the issues paper. The Commission wishes to receive information and comment on issues that participants consider relevant to the inquiry's terms of reference. Submissions are due by 30 November 2015. Opportunity for further comment will be sought upon release of the draft report in March/April 2016.