Three new local government authorities are commencing the SBDC’s Small Business Friendly Approvals Program to streamline their licencing and approvals processes.
The City of Karratha, City of Busselton and Town of Cambridge are the latest local government authorities to start the journey of examining and improving their regulatory processes through the SBDC’s Small Business Friendly Approvals Program.
They join the Cities of Melville, Rockingham, Wanneroo, Armadale, Joondalup and Kwinana, each of whom has participated in an intensive process to examine their regulatory procedures. Through the Approvals Program, the SBDC and human-centred design experts worked closely with each local government’s cross-agency working group to map their current approvals process and identify areas for improvement. The outcome for each LGA was the creation of an implementation plan identifying specific reform initiatives to help small businesses to start and thrive in their local areas.
The Approvals Program is a fully funded State Government initiative that aims to streamline the process of obtaining business licences and trading permits from local government authorities. It is part of a package of Streamline WA improvements designed to accelerate regulatory reform to support economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Approvals Program will roll out to 20 local government authorities by late 2022.
Small Business Commissioner David Eaton congratulated the Cities of Busselton and Karratha and the Town of Cambridge on commencing the program.
”Participating in the Approvals Program requires a significant investment of time and effort from teams across each local government, as well as a commitment to considering all aspects of the regulatory process from a small business customer perspective,” said Mr Eaton.
“I’d like to recognise both the efforts of the local government officers involved in the working groups and the leadership of each authority for supporting this very important process.”
“Every business in Western Australia operates in a local government area. The experience that they have when starting their business, including obtaining the necessary approvals, can make a real difference to their success — and the individual success of each local small business creates a better outcome for economic diversity and job creation in our state.”
Images (clockwise from bottom left): Busselton Jetty, courtesy Tourism Western Australia; Approvals mapping process at City of Armadale; City of Karratha Mayor, Cr Peter Long, with SBDC board member Grant Cucel.
