State Development

Business Victoria

  • Between October 1992 and 30 June 1999, Business Victoria attracted new investment worth over $7.635 billion to the State.  Of this, more than $2.566 billion or about one-third of the total occurred in rural Victoria.

Small Business:

  • Victoria’s small business sector underwent significant change under the Kennett Government. As a result Victorian small businesses saw:
    • less State red tape;
    • fewer regulations in place and fewer new regulations being introduced;
    • lower compliance costs;
    • lower average council costs and utility costs;
    • easier access to information;
    • greater support from the State Government; and
    • increased influence on policy.
    • Stamp duty on refinancing of business loans was removed.
    • Victoria was the first State to reduce its payroll tax rate in three successive budgets with the tax rate falling from 7 per cent in 1997 to 5.75 per cent in 1999.

Victorian Business Centres

  • The Kennett Government established 10 Victorian Business Centres which placed business services from local, State and Federal Governments into one location – a first for any Australian Government.
  • Three Centres were established in metropolitan locations at Vermont, Moonee Ponds and Dandenong, while seven were located in regional cities at Ballarat, Geelong, Mildura, Shepparton, Traralgon, Wangaratta and Wodonga.

Workcover:

  • Workplace deaths fell from 203 in 1991/92 to 118 in 1997/98.
  • Total workplace injuries fell from 55,108 in 1991/92 to 29,494 in 1997/98.
  • Traumatic injuries fell from 5,686 in 1991/92 to 2,888 in 1997/98.
  • Victoria had the second lowest injury rate in Australia with an injury rate of 14.9 per one thousand workers, compared with a national average of 19.
  • In 1996 field staff spent 66,000 hours in the field. By 1999 that had risen to more than 100,000 hours and WorkCover had set a goal of 200,000 hours in the field by the end of the year 2000.
  • Work rates had improved by 5% with 86% of all injured workers returning to work within the first eight months following injury. (Source: 1998 half-yearly report).
  • Victoria was the only state to bring down its workers’ compensation costs as a percentage of total labour costs.  In the four years between 1994 and 1997 costs in Victoria fell by 19 per cent, while the national average increased by 11 per cent.
  • Premium rates payable for WorkCover by Victorian employers declined under the Kennett Government from an average of 3 per cent to 1.9 per cent of payroll from the 1991-92 financial year, a saving of $500 million per year for Victorian businesses.

Electricity Reform:

  • The electricity market was deregulated, resulting in major reductions in prices with real savings of more than $130 per year in electricity charges for households and more than $920 for small businesses.
  • The Winter Power Bonus gave a $60 yearly reduction on winter electricity accounts for small businesses in Victoria.

Cutting Red Tape:

  • Small business regulations fell 65.2 per cent from 1241 in 1987, to 432 in 1998.
  • The number of new regulations introduced each year fell by 51.4 per cent from 352 in 1992, to 171 in 1998.
  • The Kennett Government announced a major new direction in December 1996 to reform regulatory regimes sector by sector, enabling an emphasis to be placed on industries with the greatest potential for growth.