Queensland businesses face $15 billion red tape bill in 2025

By Emma Clarke

Queensland businesses are projected to spend more than $15 billion on regulatory compliance in 2025, according to the latest Efficient Regulation Report from Business Chamber Queensland.

The biennial report, which surveys hundreds of businesses across the state, reveals the cumulative financial, time and productivity burden of red tape across the state’s business community.

It shows the median cost of compliance per business is now $30,000.  Some large businesses reported up to $1.25 million in regulatory cost and both sole traders and large enterprises reported the steepest increases since 2021.

Most concerningly, more than 80% of businesses said regulatory burden inhibited their growth and productivity prospects.

“This is not just a cost of doing business, it’s a cost of not being able to grow, hire, or innovate,” Business Chamber Queensland CEO Heidi Cooper said.

“One in three businesses employ someone specifically for managing regulatory compliance.  That’s someone who’s not contributing to the business, serving customers or clients or generating revenue.

“The majority said their business would benefit from increased profitability and workforce productivity, or they would focus on growing their businesses if they weren’t investing so much time and money in regulatory compliance.

“Throughout the history of this research Queensland businesses have consistently told us they want to focus on growing their operations, not navigating red tape,” Ms Cooper said.

Business Chamber Queensland has been researching and mapping the regulatory burden on businesses since 2009 and working with all parts of government to reform red tape.

The report identifies the most financially and time-intensive areas of regulation, including building approvals, employment regulation, and environmental requirements.

The report also showed the shifting and increasing pressures on Queensland businesses that are now not only dealing with domestic pressures but international market challenges.

“Traditionally we think about efficient regulation as a domestic business issue, but this year we saw a shift in the global market and businesses are telling us it’s also hard to do business internationally,” Ms Cooper said.

“We saw a 21% increase in the cost burden to export, with 52% of businesses reporting high impacts of exporting regulation costs.”

Businesses overwhelmingly call for streamlined processes, better communication, simplified data collection and scalable compliance models that reflect business size and risk.

Ms Cooper said some progress had been made in Queensland, particularly since the Productivity Commission was re-established and with the new Queensland Procurement Policy set to start from January 1, but there was still work to do.

“We specifically called for red tape to be among the first priorities for the government and it is pleasing to see this important economic issue on the government’s agenda,” Ms Cooper said.

“But the reality is businesses are still feeling overwhelming impacts, and it’s coming from all parts and levels of government.

“Reform must focus on designing better regulation that supports business success and economic outcomes.”

Download the report.

Key findings:

• 74% of businesses say compliance costs have increased since 2023. Large businesses with more than 200 employees report a media annual cost of compliance of $1.25 million.
• 47% of businesses spend more than six hours a week on regulatory tasks.
• 46% of businesses report major operational impacts from regulatory burden, the highest level ever recorded.
• 82% of businesses say regulation inhibits their growth and productivity.
• One in three businesses now employ staff specifically to manage compliance.

A business perspective

ACS Engineers co-owners Angela Harlen and Susan Shay (pictured) have worked for close to 10 years to support business and families to build and develop in the Scenic Rim and Western Queensland.

Their business is built on helping people navigate complex compliance and regulatory conditions, including planning, subdivision, infrastructure development, building and agricultural industry legislation compliance.

They’ve helped develop everything from poultry farms and industrial developments to family land subdivision and primary producers to build dams on their land.

But Angela says regulatory burden is restricting and constraining growth and development at every turn.

“People come to us with a dream and we turn that dream into a reality. We look after the whole project, starting from the feasibility and planning to delivering the finished project,” Angela said.

“We should be able to do that and be confident we can without another red tape roadblock.

“We also help people to start businesses and to get their ideas up and running. They have an idea and know how to do it but it doesn’t always fit in a government check box so we need to demonstrate how they can do that.

“Sometimes if people start a business and don’t realise all the approvals they need, they end up with a show cause notice saying they’re in breach of the planning scheme and that notice says they could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“They’re in tears and beside themselves. Sometimes we’re running an engineering business alongside a psychology business.

“The emotional toll of being caught in red tape is exorbitant and that’s what’s frustrating. There are so many cogs in the wheel and you have to make sure every cog falls into place.”

Angela says in some cases, it takes four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars before land holders get approval to start their business and can start turning a profit.

She said Beaudesert and the wider Scenic Rim region was primed to benefit from industrial and business development, with dedicated precincts for development, but regions risked missed opportunity and economic growth as projects got caught up and delayed in red tape.

“We want business to prosper, because the benefit that can bring to local communities is immeasurable, from employment to trade and community benefit,” she said.

“There is so much a thriving business sector can offer us as a region and community.

“It’s always nice to drive past a development knowing we’ve had a hand on it and what it contributes to the public amenity.”

She said red tape reform must move the compliance load from the planning stage to construction and delivery, where businesses could demonstrate compliance in real time.

“Too much focus goes into the planning instead of the end product,” Angela said.

“These costs incurred in planning will add costs to the product in the end. Less burden in the planning stage and more emphasis on construction and operation will deliver a better product at the end of the day.

“We shouldn’t have to do a report for the sake of doing a report. It’s best to touch it, feel it, smell it, breathe it, you can’t put that in a report.

“There needs to be more flexibility in regulation and for government to take the time to understand how business operates and provide a level of trust that business can and will do the right thing.”