Victoria has ranked last among Australian states and territories for business conditions in the Business Council of Australia's latest regulation assessment, ABC News reported, a position the state has held every year since the rankings began.
The annual Regulation Rumble report placed South Australia first for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, with Victoria in eighth place. The Business Council's ranking draws on its assessment of payroll and land taxes, stamp duties, planning approval speeds, licensing complexity, and the cost of workers' compensation and insurance.
Business Council chief executive Bran Black said the difficulties Victoria faced in the prior year's report remained unresolved, naming payroll tax, property taxes and business licensing as persistent concerns, and added that a state with Victoria's economic history should treat the situation as a wake-up call. Black said Victoria's high taxes and unnecessary regulation contributed to the state's sluggish economy and high unemployment.
Victoria slipped from fourth to last place on the planning category, with the council attributing this to slower decision-making times relative to other states. The state's planned overhaul of planning and environment laws is not due to take effect for another 12 months. The Business Council said Victoria's most significant reforms would not come into effect until 2027, while other states were already implementing their changes, and noted that the state's Better Decisions Made Faster laws would likely lead to improved rankings once they take effect but were not factored into the current results.
South Australia holds the lowest average payroll tax rates among all jurisdictions and is the only one to adjust its payroll tax thresholds for inflation. Tasmania requires a cafe owner to complete 38 separate steps to set up a business, the most complex licensing process of any jurisdiction, while South Australia requires far fewer. The ACT levies no tax on insurance premiums, placing it ahead of Victoria on that measure; Victoria's scheduled removal of business insurance duties by 2033 put it second on this category.
Premier Ben Carroll, leading a government that had been in power for 12 years, said a re-elected Labor government planned to cut land tax and conduct a review of the state's property taxes. The Liberal Party has committed to payroll and land tax relief if elected, while One Nation has committed to reversing land taxes, removing insurance stamp duty, and raising the payroll tax threshold. A state election is due in November.
Victorian businesses continue to face what the Business Council assesses as the least favourable regulatory and tax conditions of any state or territory in Australia, including among the highest payroll and property taxes and the most complex planning system for that category. Operators setting up businesses in Victoria face slower planning approvals than in most other states, with the planned legislative improvement not expected to affect conditions until 2027.
Reporting: ABC News, SmartCompany
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
