The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes the passage of the extension of the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme to support working parents across Australia but urges the government to reduce the administrative burden of the scheme on small businesses.

“In passing the legislation, we would like to recognise the advocacy of Senator David Pocock and Senator Jacqui Lambie in obtaining $10 million in funding from the government to support small businesses in navigating the red tape burden that comes with administering the scheme,” ACCI chief of policy and advocacy David Alexander said.

“A better outcome would have been the extension accompanied by changes which would have allowed small businesses to opt into administering the PPL.

“Services Australia should make the payments directly to recipients, as it already makes every payment beyond the first 40-day period of PPL to all recipients regardless of organisation size.

“Small businesses are unnecessarily caught up in the payments process, which creates a significant administrative burden and payroll processing time. When problems arise with payments that are not the fault of the employer, they can take a lengthy period of time to resolve, often causing distress to employees and employers.

“Working towards less red tape, not more, is especially important for small businesses.

“We look forward to continuing to engage with the crossbench senators. ACCI will also seek to work constructively with the Department of Social Services and Services Australia to design improvements that will assist small businesses in administering the scheme.”