Small and medium sized enterprises make up approximately 98% of businesses in Australia. Whilst most big businesses have dedicated employees monitoring changes in legislation, trends and other factors, many small businesses simply cannot afford this luxury. So it’s up to you to implement strategies to keep on top of things, seek strategic advice and undertake your own research.
Here are some things to look out for in 2025.
Employee Legislation
a. As of 1 January, there are some changes to minimum wages in some awards and changes to casual loadings.
b. There is now a new test to determine the casual status of an employee as opposed to contractual or traditional arrangements.
c. The rules for paying new starters below the national minimum wage during training have been updated. New Introductory Classifications now define induction, training periods, and the minimum time required on the job before full minimum wages apply.
d. Legislation has now been enacted around criminalized intentional wage underpayments or wage theft under the Fair Work Act with very very severe penalties for both sole traders and companies.
e. With the abolishment of pay secrecy clauses in most contracts you can no longer mandate your employees don’t talk to each other or to people outside the workplace about their pay and conditions. There are exceptions but very few.
f. There are now enforceable rights to flexible working conditions for employees with more than 12 months service under certain circumstances, mostly relating to being a carer or parent of school age children, pregnancy, disability and being over 55.
g. 10 days annual family and domestic violence leave will now come into play.
h. Most will be aware of increases in the superannuation guarantee from 11.5% to 12% as of the first of July and;
i. Superannuation will also be required to be paid on parental leave as of the first of July.
There are no excuses here these are big legislative changes. So of course you need to know the rules and update your systems to deploy them. With the new wage theft laws and severe penalties, perhaps go further and undertake regular audits to prevent the event that your systems automatically replicate a mistake that gets greater over time.
If you’re a small business you could also look into the voluntary, small business compliance code which provides a pathway for small businesses to avoid prosecution for good faith mistakes in the area of underpayment. But above all, maintain transparency and communication with your employees because the Fair Work Ombudsman now has more power to investigate.
If you employ casual staff, it’s important to understand the new test and classifications to ensure your employees are correctly classified and paid appropriately.
The Challenges of Technology
With all the challenges facing small businesses we often turn to technology to cut costs and save time. However, just sourcing, rolling out, and trying to use new technology itself is an issue for many. Artificial intelligence is, of course the latest kid on the block but it’s best used in such a way that it is seamless to your clients, and so they don’t feel like they are missing out on any customer service. Surely nobody likes those pop up chat bots that never seem to have the answer…
Inadequate Support
If you’ve ever tried to seek support from a state or federal government agency you will understand this is a very frustrating process.
With all the complexities of today’s world and the roll out of all new legislation this year, you will need to be on top of it very quickly. This is where your Chamber of Commerce can come in, you are encouraged to reach out to the Chamber to ask for assistance when necessary.
Increasing Competition From the Unexpected
We are now working in a generation of the gig economy
and given the portability of technology, and access to the internet in 2025, it is expected more people are increasingly taking on a side hustle or starting up multiple businesses at once in order to pay the bills and enjoy a laptop lifestyle.
Late Payments
With increasing cost of living pressures affecting your clients, the trend to pushing payments out to the last day and beyond is expected to continue.
Rising Costs.
Costs will continue to rise, as they do, so it’s important to consistently monitor alternative suppliers, methods and ways of doing business to maintain efficiencies.
Consumer Sentiment and Trends.
With the advent of social media and the connectivity people experience today, especially with the effect of influencers now making real inroads into your sales, it’s even more important to keep on top of what your clients want and need.
Regular surveys, and analysing what’s selling, and what’s not is so much more critical these days.
Labour Shortages
It’s expected for the foreseeable future labor shortages will continue especially in regional areas like the Kimberley, with high costs of living and housing shortages, making this so much more acute.
Clear use of technology perhaps artificial intelligence, maintaining preferential workplace conditions, staff training and developing opportunities for upskilling and advancement wherever possible can perhaps help alleviate some of the problems.
Costs of Funds
Getting a bank loan the traditional way in the regions is hard for small businesses.
That’s not to stop you looking for alternate sources of funding, such as crowd funding etc.
Nevertheless, a well run business with great record keeping and updated business, risk management and marketing plans is always going to look good to a bank than one that doesn’t.
If you need help bringing your business up to speed, why not contact a business adviser at the Broome Chamber of Commerce and industry.
Cyberattacks
Increases and access to technology. Artificial intelligence is now being used to mimic reality with people’s images and voices being hijacked to fool people, parents and perhaps businesses to hand over money and/or information.
The increasing criminal use of AI Is going to lead to an ever-increasing barrage of cyberattacks. So small business owners need to keep on top of this and engage quality up to date technology and roll out constant staff training to keep up with the more sophisticated phishing, ransomware, malware, password attacks, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, social engineering attacks, SQL injection, man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, credential stuffing, and data breaches. There’s a bit to Google there I know…
Specific Industry Changes
Of course your own industry may well have legislative changes this year and other non legislative challenges that you need to watch out for.
If you’re industry has a representative body, it’s a good idea to keep in touch with and maintain membership with that institution, who no doubt will be well on top of it (if not lobbying for) moderation or abolishment of any extreme proposals. If that is not the case, you should reach out to the Broome Chamber of Commerce and ask for advice.
Making Time for Yourself and Your Family
Just thinking about all the challenges that face small businesses that seemed to increase each year is stressful in itself. Now, more than ever it’s important to plan ahead, make provisions to go on that holiday and spend time during the week with your loved ones.
Competition from Large Enterprises
Big business is coming even to Broome bringing with them buying power, advertising money and curiosity interest..
It is, of course up to you to fight back with the relationships you have with your customers, your knowledge of their needs and personal friendly service.
The flip side to all of this is that with some forethought research, and assistance from experts, you can mitigate and even avoid any issues associated with the challenges you face this year.
Yes, everybody is saying it’s likely interest rates will change direction, but it may take some time before that positively effects consumer spending. So businesses need to maintain belt tightening and constantly review and target their traditional markets while looking for opportunities to diversify.
Of course this article does not try to be a definitive answer to or even define all issues that face small businesses in 2025, merely a prompt for you to undertake your own research and keep on top of things. Building resilience is the key and there’s no chargrin in asking for help. The Broome Chamber of Commerce and Industry offers free advice from one of three newly appointed business advisers all with unique skills that can point you in the right direction.