Page 2226 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 3 August 2021
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between a buyer’s and supplier’s accounting systems. It enables shortened payment and processing times, fewer manual errors and it is more secure than a paper-based system.
E-invoicing is an innovative game changer that could reduce the cost of doing business by up to $20 per invoice, according to Deloitte Access Economics. In Australia, with an estimated 1.2 billion invoices exchanged annually and almost 90 per cent of small and medium businesses still processing paper or PDF invoices, there are big productivity gains to be made. Yet, when asked about when the ACT government would implement e-invoicing, the answer from the minister was that he is not sure. That is not good enough. The Labor-Greens government should provide certainty on this and commit to a 1 July 2022 implementation.
Another compelling reason for this is that e-invoicing should form part of Canberra’s COVID-19 economic recovery. At a time when small businesses are struggling and government has an opportunity to put in place the digital infrastructure that could help drive our recovery, their response was to run the rort-able, failed ChooseCBR scheme. Imagine how that $2 million could have assisted with the preparation and scoping work needed to get e-invoicing up and running as soon as possible—something that would have supported many more businesses in Canberra than just a handful.
Another key reason to target 1 July 2022 as an implementation date is that the commonwealth government has mandated this date for all of its departments. No doubt there are many businesses and organisations in the not-for-profit sector in Canberra that provide goods and services to both the commonwealth government and the ACT government. It would be very efficient for them to be able to use a single digital productivity enhancing system for invoicing.
Why aren’t we taking advantage of our location and leveraging the benefits being introduced by the commonwealth government? We have all of the know-how and resources at our fingertips to make this a reality.
Another really important reason to get this done is that the implementation of a system like e-invoicing is simply good governance. All suppliers to government should be paid on time, and it is a fact that not all of them are, going back several years. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will say that again: this Labor-Greens government, which claims to prioritise fair working conditions, is not paying all of its suppliers on time. That is a statement made in an answer to a question on notice that I have received.
Businesses rely on cash flow, so the knock-on effect of this for business owners and staff is real. Implementing e-invoicing as soon as possible would be an important step forward, ensuring all suppliers to the ACT government are paid on time. This is something small business advocates have been saying is needed for a long time now. Indeed, the Council of Small Business Associations Australia has been advocating for the adoption of e-invoicing for many years and has played an integral role in the commonwealth government’s work in this area.
Of course, this Labor-Greens government has a track record of complacency and incompetence when it comes to creating a business-friendly environment in our city.
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