Nearly 30 groups representing small, medium and large businesses are calling on all Australian governments to cut regulatory costs by 25 per cent to help consumers and businesses amid surging costs caused by the Middle East war.
This comes as a recent AICD Mandala report showed federal regulatory compliance now costs the Australian economy around $160 billion a year – almost 6 per cent of GDP and more than the Federal Government spends on Medicare and school education combined.
The Alliance of Industry Associations, which represents every part of the Australian economy, warns that duplication and fragmentation across governments are driving up costs for households and businesses.
The call is outlined in the Alliance’s 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission, released this week, which pointed out how overlapping and inconsistent regulation across federal, state and local governments is adding unnecessary complexity, delaying projects and increasing costs across the economy.
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) CEO Skye Cappuccio said that for small businesses in particular, red tape often means hours each week spent navigating compliance complexity instead of running their business.
“That’s time taken away from customers, staff and growth. Reducing duplication would ease costs and support stronger productivity growth across the economy,” Cappuccio said.
The National Farmers’ Federation CEO Mike Guerin added that Australian agriculture is on track to contribute more than $100 billion to the economy this year and supports over 250,000 jobs, despite the significant global headwinds thrown its way. “Imagine what could be achieved with smarter policy settings and less red tape,” Guerin said.
“Cutting duplication would allow farmers to be more nimble in responding to global shocks, spending less time in the office and more out in the paddock, keeping Australian agriculture competitive on the global stage.”
According to the 27 peak bodies, regulatory costs are ultimately carried by businesses, workers and Australian families at the checkout.
The Alliance is calling on governments to commit to a 25 per cent reduction in regulatory burden by 2030, starting with immediate steps to reduce costs, undertake an economy-wide regulatory stocktake, and improve coordination across jurisdictions to remove duplication and inconsistency.
This comes after the United Kingdom implemented reforms to reduce regulatory costs and complexity, while the European Union has adopted a 25 per cent red tape reduction target, rising to 35 per cent for small businesses, as part of broader pro-growth reform agendas.
The Australian Retail Council (ARC) CEO Chris Rodwell said ARC and Mandala modelling show regulatory fragmentation will wipe $26 billion from national GDP over the next decade and add more than $9 billion to the cost of living.
“Retailers operating nationally are forced into duplicative compliance, fragmented logistics and inconsistent supply chains, when that capital should be driving productivity, investment and lower prices,” he said.
This all comes three weeks ahead of the Federal Government’s handing down of the 2026-27 Budget.