Sub070

Submission to the
Australian Government
Regulation Taskforce

Submission to the Australian Government Regulation Taskforce – R&CA November 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Restaurant & Catering Australia............................................................................. 3

The Restaurant Industry ....................................................................................... 3

Restaurant Industry Employment ....................................................................... 5

Projections for the Restaurant and Café Industry.................................................. 5

The Regulatory Burden in the Restaurant Industry................................................ 6

Background......................................................................................................... 8

Areas of Regulation.............................................................................................. 8

Superannuation................................................................................................ 8

Food Safety Regulation ..................................................................................... 9

Industrial Requirements .................................................................................... 9

GST and the Business Activity Statement ...........................................................10

Training .........................................................................................................10

Fringe Benefits Tax ..........................................................................................11

Occupational Health & Safety ............................................................................12

Other Areas ....................................................................................................13

2


Restaurant & Catering Australia

Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) is the peak national organisation representing
the interests of restaurateurs and caterers.

The Association is a federation of State Associations that work together on matters of
national importance. The State Associations have a combined membership of 6,000.
There is an R&CA member restaurant and catering association in every State and the
Australian Capital Territory.

The Restaurant Industry
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports some 28,900 restaurant, café and catering
businesses that are registered for GST. Of these businesses, 57% turn over between
$100,000 and $499,000 and 94% turnover under $500,000. There are eight businesses
that turn in excess of $20 Million1.

Restaurant, cafe and catering turnover for the month of September 2005 was $949.9
million. This was lower than turnover in the same month in 2004. September 2005
brings up eleven consecutive months with negative growth. In September 2005,
compared to September 2004, the industry is 6.2% down in revenues across Australia,
and at levels equivalent to 2003.

A report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics2 in July 2005 shows a slowing in
restaurant profits (as forecast by the R&CA) with 63.4% of businesses (the businesses
employing less than 10 people) generating less than 2% net profit.

Businesses reported to the ABS an average net profit of 4%, down 16% on the previous
survey period (1998-1999). Labour costs have risen an average of 17% from 29.4% of
turnover to 34.3% of turnover, demonstrating the need for workplace reform. In the
same period turnover increased by 7% among 7.1% more businesses. The slice of
turnover is therefore the same on average as in 1998 / 99 but businesses face
significantly higher wage bills. This is in part attributable to increases in non-wage
labour costs, specifically superannuation and workers compensation.

Restaurant and Cafe Turnover

1200

1000 2000

800 2001
2002
600
2003
400 2004
200 2005

0
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Figure 1- Restaurant Industry Turnover 2000 - 2005

1
ABS Business Counts, March 2002, Restaurant & Catering Australia
2
Cafes and Restaurants Industry Survey, ABS 8655.0

3


Hospitality Businesses by Turnover Band
35,000

30,000

25,000

Unknown
20,000 $20 Million & Over
$500 000 - $19 999 999
$100 000 - $499 999
15,000 $50 000 - $99 999
$0 - $49 999

10,000

5,000

0
571 Accommodation 572 Pubs Taverns & 573 Cafes & 574 Clubs (Hospitality)
Bars Restaurants

Figure 2 – Hospitality Businesses by Turnover Band, ABS Business Register

In addition to being small businesses, many restaurant and catering businesses are not
corporations. As evidenced below, nearly one third of restaurants are operated by sole-
traders or partnerships.

Business ownership type 2001 Survey

Partnership Sole trader
26.6% 9.2%
Public company
4.6%

Trust
8.4%
Private company
51.2%

Figure 3 – Business Ownership Type, Restaurant & Catering Operations Report, R&CA, 3rd Edition.

4


25% of Australian restaurants are located in Victoria, 3% in the ACT and 1% in the
Northern Territory.

Proportion of Restaurant Turnover by State 2003

Tasmania Northern Territory
1% 1% Australian Capital
Territory
3%

Western Australia
11%

New South Wales
South Australia 35%
5%

Queensland
19%

Victoria
25%

Figure 4 – Proportion of Restaurants by State (based on turnover)

Restaurant Industry Employment

In the November quarter of 2003, 239,000 people were employed in restaurants and
cafes in Australia. This represented an 8.1% increase on the number employed 12
months earlier (221,000). In this period the restaurant and café industry accounted for
2.5% of Australia’s workforce and 4.7% of the part time workforce.

Projections for the Restaurant and Café Industry

Accommodation, cafes and restaurants (of which cafes and restaurants are one sector)
is projected to be the third fastest growth industry to 2010-20113. The hospitality
industry is projected to grow by 2.4% per annum between now and 2011. This growth
will require an additional 12,700 employees per annum, over the next six years.

3
DEWR Job Outlook, June 2004

5


The Regulatory Burden in the Restaurant Industry

Government regulation has increased in its ranking as a barrier to operating an effective
restaurant business. In 1998 17% of respondents rated it as a barrier, by 2003 it had
reached 47%. The restaurant and catering industry reports barriers and success factors
to operating restaurant and catering businesses in its benchmarking report released
every two years. Figure (v) below details the proportion of responses in each area of
regulation.

Theme/ % of respondents % of respondents % of respondents
Difficulties and obstacles describing factor describing factor describing factor
2003 2001 1998
GST 47% 32% -
Government regulations 47% 23% 17%
Government taxes and charges 47% 16% 16%
Staff related difficulties 42% 42% 47%
Payroll costs 42% 20% 27%
Competitors 37% 9% 27%
Overall Paperwork 37% 7% -
Workers 32% 4% 8%
compensation/superannuation
Penalty rates / IR 26% 17% 8%
Local Government Council 26% 5% -
Regulations
Operating costs 16% 16% 31%
Unfair dismissal laws 11% 3% 3%
Rent costs 5% 5% 4%
Smoking Regulations - 3% -
Long hours - 3% 4%

Figure 5 – Proportion of responses in regulatory areas

In a recent report by the Office of Small Business, the areas of regulation impacting on
restaurant and catering businesses were mapped by the origin of the regulation and the
frequency of the task. The outcomes are detailed in Figure 6 below.

Regulation Area of Government Ongoing Frequency Fee
paperwork
Business Name Registration State Every 1 or 3
years
Australian Business Number Commonwealth Once only
application
Registration Pay as You Go Commonwealth Once only
Witholding
Goods and Services Tax Commonwealth Once only
Registration
Development approval Local Govt On start up;
as required
Business Activity Statement Commonwealth Monthly/
Quarterly
Income Tax Return Commonwealth Annually
Tax file number declarations – Commonwealth As required
new employees
Superannuation Guarantee Commonwealth Remittance
quarterly

6


Centrelink forms Commonwealth As required
Occupation Health and Safety State As required
requirements
Workers compensation State Annual
renewal
Liquor Licence State Varies Varies
Food Hygiene State/Local Govt Varies Varies
licensing/inspections
Food Hygiene requirements State/Local Govt
Agreement to discharge trade Local Govt Varies
waste into sewers.
Employment Awards Commonwealth/State
Apprentice/trainee awards and Commonwealth/State Varies As required
arrangements
Unfair dismissal Commonwealth/State

Figure 6 – Areas of Regulation - Office Of Small Business Regulatory Compliance Case
Studies Pilot Hospitality Sector

7


Background

It is understood that the Regulation Taskforce has been asked to identify practical
options for alleviating the compliance burden on business from Government regulation.
In particular, the Taskforce has been asked to:
• identify specific areas of Commonwealth Government regulation which are
unnecessarily burdensome, complex, redundant or duplicate regulations in other
jurisdictions;
• indicate those areas in which regulation should be removed or significantly
reduced as a matter of priority;
• examine non-regulatory options (including business self-regulation) for achieving
desired outcomes and how best to reduce duplication and increase harmonisation
within existing regulatory frameworks; and
• provide practical options for alleviating the Commonwealth’s ‘red tape’ burden on
business, including family-run and other small businesses.

This submission aims to describe the areas of the greatest regulatory burden for
restaurant and catering businesses. In addition R&CA has attempted to quantify the
burden and proposed solutions.

Areas of Regulation

The areas in which Restaurant & Catering Australia believes that regulatory burden
could be lifted from restaurateurs and caterers are:

Superannuation

Restaurant and catering businesses often describe the compliance burden related to the
administration of their requirements under the Superannuation Guarantee. The key
complaint from businesses about the Superannuation Guarantee was the requirement to
make payments for staff who earned as little as $450 a month. Businesses regarded
this threshold as inappropriate because:

• the industry has a transient workforce, with many staff working casually for short
periods and then leaving - one restaurant estimated that it employed 200 different
people in one year.
• the threshold has not increased while award wages have, which has lowered the
effective threshold;
• making very small superannuation payments to many staff is an administrative
burden on the business and of questionable value to staff.

The most favoured changes to the system to address this problem were the addition of
a time threshold, for example three months, before superannuation became payable or
an increase in the dollar value of the threshold.

Restaurant & Catering Australia recommends:

That Government change the current superannuation arrangements such that :-
• The Superannuation Guarantee threshold is raised to $1800 per quarter (from
$450 per month) and that it be indexed to CPI.
• That superannuation contributions for working holiday makers be contributed to
a training and education fund.

8


Quantification4

It is estimated that with 53% of the workforce being casual that restaurateurs would
save 5% in their superannuation bill as a result of the raising of the threshold. This
would save the average restaurateur $630 per annum.

Food Safety Regulation

Food safety is regulated through the Food Regulatory Agreement. Regulation is based
on national food standards that are enacted by the States / Territories and enforced by
Local Government.

Restaurateurs and caterers all regard food safety as being an overly regulated area.
The industry does not question the need for food safety but do not agree with the
majority of approaches being taken to introduce such regulation. The thrust of
regulation is a process based model often referred to as HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Point). Food Safety Plans are the vehicle through which this approach to food
safety is regulated.

Businesses in Victoria are the only foodservice businesses required at this point to have
a food safety plan. They indicate that the monitoring and record keeping associated with
their Food Safety Plans requires significant resources. In the main they question the
effectiveness of the record keeping requirement in ensuring good hygiene practices.

A body of work undertaken by the Commonwealth in 2003-04 shows clearly that there
is no cost:benefit to introducing food safety plans for restaurant businesses. It also
shows there is marginal benefit to plans for other businesses (such as caterers). What is
clear, however, is that food safety is best achieved by training food handlers in basic
hygiene skills.

Restaurant & Catering Australia recommends that the FSANZ proposal to implement
mandatory food safety plans be changed (as a result of the current further studies and
evaluation) and a new approach be developed that encourages food safety plans being
developed as best practice or punitive measures and food handler training be
mandated.

Quantification5

In the OSB study, businesses in Victoria estimated that the ongoing costs of Food Safety
Plans were 4 hours per week. This equates as a supervisory wages to approximately
$4,500 per annum. Taken across the industry (if required nationally) Food Safety Plans
would cost $130 Million per annum to main. In contrast mandating food safety training,
would cost in the order of $5.3 Million per annum if every new employee was trained.

Industrial Requirements

As noted above, industrial arrangements are a significant burden on restaurant
businesses. This is substantially because restaurants and catering businesses are labour
intensive and therefore employment regulation will be of a greater concern to these
businesses than the average.

4
Quantification of costs are based on very imprecise estimates – They have been included at the request of
taskforce members to provide some guidance as to the magnitude of burdens and solutions.
5
Ib id

9


This submission does not seek to canvass the level of burden or pose solutions on
these matters as they are all being debated in the context of the WorkChoices changes.

It should be noted, however, that, should the issue of sole traders and partners not be
addressed through the WorkChoices implementation, effort will need to be made to
promote incorporation to these businesses.

GST and the Business Activity Statement

When initially promoted the GST was envisaged to apply to all product, including food.
The compromise, introduced through the political process, to exempt food, has created
additional complexity.

Restaurant and catering businesses report that accounting systems have made the
process of completing the Business Activity Statement (BAS) much simpler. Most
businesses remitted GST quarterly (93%), with estimates of the time required to
complete the BAS on these occasions ranging from half an hour to two hours.

Businesses were more concerned at the increase in time required to maintain their
accounting systems as a result of the GST. Some of the points made were:
• the fact that the GST applies to some food items and not others means businesses
have to split invoices into GST and non-GST payments, which is time consuming,
particularly for smaller purchases.
• the GST requirements have increased the time required to input data into business
accounts.

Restaurant & Catering Australia recommends that Businesses with mixed inputs (such
as restaurants, cafes and caterers) should be able to elect to utilise a simplified
accounting method that approximates input credits.

Quantification6

In a report published by Prof. Jeff Pope in 2002 it was suggested that the cost of
compliance for an average sized small business was in the order of 0.45% of turnover.
On the basis of ABS data7 this would place the average compliance cost for a business
the size of an average employing restaurant business ($558,500) at $2,513.25 per
annum.

Based on data provided to the R&CA, the average restaurateur or caterer spends $552
per month (or $6,600 per annum) on GST compliance8. It is reasonable to assume that
the difference in the two estimates is brought about by the mixed-inputs experienced by
restaurants, cafes and caterers.

Training

The administrative arrangements around apprenticeship and traineeship has attracted
some attention in the debate over regulatory burden. In a recent report for the National
Skills Shortages Strategy9 participants in focus groups reported that whilst Registered
Training Organisations (RTOs) were doing much of the paperwork on their behalf, there

6
Quantification of costs are based on very imprecise estimates – They have been included at the request of
taskforce members to provide some guidance as to the magnitude of burdens and solutions.
7
Café and Restaurants Industry, Australia, 1998-1999
8
Restaurant and Catering Operations Report, 3rd Edition, 2003
9
The National Skills Shortage Strategy is a program funded by the Federal Department of Education, Science
and Training

10


was a significant workload in administration of apprenticeship. In some locations
participants believe it is a major drawback to recruitment and believed the New
Apprenticeships Centres (NACs) were not assisting as much as they could. This is of
particular concern for small business owners who lack the resources for managing
trainees and apprentices as well as their other employees.

Specific problems reported through the Office of Small Buisness Regulatory Case studies
included:
• difficulty accessing incentive payments - two businesses indicated that they had
been deprived of the first incentive payment because earlier studies by the
apprentice had been deemed part of the apprenticeship.
• payments where an apprentice was "poached" by another business - businesses
claimed that in these circumstances the old employer might be deprived of a
payment it deserved, while the new employer got paid without making much
contribution to training the apprentice.

Restaurant & Catering Australia suggests a review of the administrative and employer
incentive arrangements, surrounding the New Apprenticeship Scheme, with a view to
minimising the burden on employers and should be modified to (a) focus on occupations
in skill shortage and (b) encourage the retention of an apprentice by the employer who
has invested in their training particularly in the first two years.

Fringe Benefits Tax

In the Office Of Small Business Regulatory Compliance Case Studies Pilot Hospitality
Sector it was reported that ‘A significant proportion of the businesses interviewed
objected to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) on business meals, because of the effect it has
on their turnover’.

In its ‘Committed to Business Statement’ in 2004, the Australian Government extend a
number of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemptions to ensure these remain relevant and
accessible to small business (e.g. extending the FBT exemption for employer-provided
remote area housing and extending the exemption for work-related items such as
laptop computers to include portable printers as well as personal digital assistants).

In its Tax Blueprint the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry cites FBT as ‘the
worst of all taxes from a compliance perspective’ with 23% of revenue collected being
expended on compliance.

The Ralph Review of Business Taxation recommended several reforms to FBT that have
never been adopted.

In an Australian National Audit Office report released on the 2 June 2005 titled
‘Administration of Fringe Benefits Tax’, the Australian Government concluded that
‘complying with the requirements of FBT legislation can be relatively complex and
resource intensive for many employers including Australian Government public sector
entities.’

In the same report the ANAO found that the complexity was such that there is ‘an
increased risk that entities would not fully meet their FBT obligations’.

GST has dramatically increased FBT compliance cost. The Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade alone paid $25.7 Million in FBT in 1999-2000 with their FBT compliance
increasing 129% as a result of GST10.

10
A question on notice, in the Senate, 7 June 2000 to the Minister representing the Minister for Trade.

11


The current FBT regime is in conflict with the Workplace Relations platform that
employee and employer should be able to tailor the relationship to meet their individual
needs. Only 8% of agreements contain flexible remuneration arrangements as a result
of FBT arrangements11.

Restaurant & Catering Australia believes that the recommendations of the 2000 Review
of Business Tax should be adopted and all business meal expenditure should be
removed from FBT coverage and made non-deductible12.

Occupational Health & Safety

In the Workplace Relations Workgroup report for the Restaurant & Catering Industry
Action Agenda, it was stated that :

Over regulation in the area of occupational health and safety is also a concern to
the <restaurant and catering> industry with the ability for small and medium
size businesses to adhere requirements reduced due to the complexity and
number of regulations, standards, codes of practices and alike.

A concern also arises over the imbalance between education and prevention and
enforcement that exist within some sectors of the system. A preoccupation with
prosecution and penalties at the expense of a cultural of mutual responsibility
and education and prevention must be overturned.

The importance of education and training cannot be stressed highly enough.
Risk management and prevention strategies must be carefully articulated
throughout the workplace and operators, particularly in small business who must
be supported to ensure their effective implementation

The Office of Small Business Regulatory Compliance Case Studies Pilot Hospitality
Sector stated that:

‘businesses pointed to the need for better information for businesses on
occupational health and safety requirements, stressing the need for information
which was targeted to their specific business type (for example, a caterer wanted
information specific to catering). A Queensland business said it would be helpful
if someone could come and advise the business on what steps it should take.’

The recommendation in the Restaurant & Catering Industry Action Agenda was to
promote national consistency in workers’ compensation and workplace health and safety
laws. The strategies suggested to achieve this were :
Work actively with industry, industry bodies, governments and other key
stakeholders to progress a model for a national framework for workers’
compensation that incorporates nationally consistent:
o premium setting
o benefit structures
o insurance regulation and national insurance mechanisms

11
The Supply of Non-Cash Remuneration, Lyons and Ward, UWS, 2005
12
To confirm the legitimacy of a business expense, it is proposed that the reforms are limited to situations
where an ABN is exchanged as part of the transaction, including where the business representative is the
holder of a company credit card or where a company has a direct account with a restaurant.

12


Work with governments and other key stakeholders to develop more balanced
workplace health and safety arrangements that shift the emphasis from
enforcement to education and prevention, where employers and employees
accept mutual responsibilities
Develop and promote practical workplace health and safety guidance materials
for the industry

Other Areas

In the Office Of Small Business Regulatory Compliance Case Studies Pilot Hospitality
Sector several other areas of regulation were mentioned. The content in this section
included:

Workers compensation - There was a degree of dissatisfaction with workers'
compensation requirements, and especially with the claims process. One
business had successfully defeated two claims it considered frivolous, but at
considerable cost. Another business complained that claims resulting from an
armed robbery had led to a 25 per cent increase in premiums, even though, as
the business perceived it, the event was clearly not its fault.

Council regulation - There was considerable variation in attitudes to Local
Government, but overall council regulation was not a major issue for the
businesses interviewed. A number of businesses complained that fees charged
by councils for footpath dining or signage were basically revenue raising and
were not justified.

Liquor licensing - Some New South Wales businesses considered that the cost
($5,000 to $15,000) of a “Dine and Drink” licence allowing customers to drink
without dining in New South Wales, was too expensive for many small
businesses to consider. One business noted they regularly had to refuse
customers service of alcohol, due to this regulation.

Centrelink forms - While most businesses interviewed had been required to
complete Employment Verification Reports, or Employment Separation
Certificates for Centrelink, they were not widely perceived to be a significant
burden. Two businesses expressed concern about the forms. One said it had
been asked to provide the same information on the same employees many times
over, while the other had difficulty providing detailed historical information on an
ex-employee’s wages.

Fees for background music - The requirement to pay fees in order to play
recorded music was identified as a significant annoyance by 2 of the businesses
interviewed. While not a significant cost, it was seen as unjustified that
businesses such as restaurants should have to pay to play a CD they have
already purchased.

Business Entry Point - One business in process of setting up had used the
Business Entry Point as a source of information and had attempted to use the
site to apply online for the Australian Business Number and other tax
registrations. The business owner suggested that it would be helpful to have
more up front information about the circumstances in which a business needs to
apply for various registrations, and the information which will be needed to
complete the application. Investigation showed that the Australian Business
Register site does include the relevant information.

13

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