In Australia, government regulations for business deal with such issues as business structure, taxation, employing people, health & safety, fair trading, environmental protection, protection of intellectual property and business contracts. You also need to get licences and permits applicable to your business.
This page comes under the section Small Business in Australia.
The regulations and license requirements can prove bewildering to a new small business. The option of ignoring regulations is dangerous; it can even result in shutdown just when the business is picking up. So how do you go about the issue of complying with the legal requirements?
In this article, we point to the sources of regulatory and license information, and then take a quick overview of the major areas of regulations.
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The Department of Industry has a Legal Issues Guide for Small Business website. The Sitemap page of the website allows you to see at a glance the topics covered. You can not only select a topic for review but also become aware of the numerous topics that are regulated.
For information on licences and permits, you can go to the Business Licence Information Service website. Select the state or territory where you do business, and find out needed information from the state website.
You can do business as a sole trader, in partnership with others or by registering a limited liability company. Limited liability means that the owners (shareholders) will be liable for business debts only up to the amount they have agreed to contribute to the business. On the other hand, personal assets of sole traders, and partners in a partnership, might be attached for business debts.
There are also differences in tax treatment of business income depending on the structure adopted.
Businesses have to pay tax on their income, on the sales and purchases of goods, and on capital gains. Businesses have to withhold tax from certain kinds of payments they make, such as salaries, and pay it over to government. Certain perks provided to employees, called Fringe Benefits, can also be taxable. Finally, there is stamp duty that you pay on certain kinds of documents.
Businesses are also obliged to file tax returns and maintain business accounts so that their tax liability can be assessed.
There are several regulations that apply from the stage of hiring employees to termination of employment. Fairness in dealing with employees is a major focus in these regulations. There are regulations for minimum wages, maximum number of working hours, safety of workplaces and certain procedures to be followed for terminating employment, for example.
Another area where fairness is insisted upon is in dealing with consumers. Practices like price fixing, misleading advertisements and preventing competition through monopoly power are examples of practices which are sought to be prevented.
Businesses depend on agreements between parties, explicit or implied. Unless the agreements are made enforceable, and breaches punishable, businesses cannot operate. Consequently, there are elaborate provisions that define the formation of business contracts, and remedies for breach of contract.
There are many other regulations on many matters, including copyrights and patents, privacy of personal information, protection of environment, imports & exports and so on. You can get an idea of the regulations in each area by reviewing the material available at the Legal Issues Guide mentioned earlier. For detailed guidance, it is best to consult a business lawyer.
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Corporate Governance in Australia and New Zealand 2e is a fully updated, comprehensive study of the law and practice of corporate governance in an international setting but with particular reference to Australia and New Zealand.
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