It will soon be mandatory for government departments to pay invoices within ten days, a move the government says will help small businesses and improve productivity.
Businesses have long complained about the hundreds of millions of dollars lost through late payments from both public and private sector.
The rule change will be limited to just the public sector.
Announcing the move, the government says its 33 central agencies are a large client for businesses, sending and receiving 1.6 million invoices annually, supplying everything from stationery and furniture, through to services such as software, security and research.
From January 1 next year 135 government agencies will be expected to pay 90 percent of all domestic invoices within 10 business days with this proportion to increase to 95 percent from January 2026.
The government has also established a small business advisory group to give the Minister Andrew Bayly ideas and insights for other ways to make life easier for smaller firms.
David Downs is the chairman of business consultancy Icehouse, and is the newly appointed chair of the Minister's small business advisory group.
Photo: Supplied
