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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 8 Hansard (21 August) . . Page.. 3112 ..
business planning and taxation), as well as for psychological assistance and counselling support.
As a result of business concerns for a "roadmap for recovery"the Government met with a small forum of fire affected business operators to address ongoing needs in the business recovery process. The business operators reported a need for business advice and planning and that the devastation of the fires had significantly impacted on the capacity of business operators to make clear business decisions.
In response, the Government funded a business mentoring and counselling service specifically for fire affected business operators, that works with individual businesses on a case-by-case basis. The service providers have been contracted to make contact with every business operator registered with the ACT Government for assistance under the Bushfire Business Assistance Package and offer continuing services including:
Financial advice and planning
Professional counselling
After fire business planning
Marketing planning
Business restructuring
Business mentoring
(4) The Government, through BusinessACT, employs a range of strategies to improve access by (a) home-based and (b) small business to ACT business development schemes. The strategies include dissemination of program information through:
(i) Business Gateway Hotline Service - a free telephone business enquiry service;
(ii) the Business Gateway Website;
(iii) promotional material that is widely distributed to over 30 organisations, eg. Canberra Connect Shopfronts, Peak Bodies and training organisations;
(iv) the Canberra Business Advisory Service;
(v) the provision a range of free, well promoted business seminars;
(vi) the BusinessACTivity Newsletter
(vii) a BusinessACT presence at other relevant seminars and conferences; and
(viii) all BusinessACT staff promoting program information through work activities.
The Government has also recently funded the Micro and Home Business Association to develop a package of measures to assist the growth of the home-based business sector.
As a result of these strategies the Government provided grants to 152 small businesses and provided assistance to over 3,000 clients through the Canberra Business Advisory Service in 2002/03.
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