The Australian Business Council (or Business Council of Australia, BCA) is a national business organisation representing the interests of Australia's largest corporations. It was established in 1993 as a result of the merger with the Business Roundtable, an associated group of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, and the Australian Industry Development Association.
Its members represent a diversity of sectors within the Australian economy including range of sectors including banking, energy, financial services, health, infrastructure, information technology, manufacturing, mining, professional services, retail, telecommunications and transport.
Opposition to the Closing Loopholes Bill
The BCA has been vocal about its opposition to the current Labor Government’s various industrial relations reforms labelling them as “rushed” and stating that the proposed changes to the definition of a casual employee do nothing “to fix the complex and confusing nature of the definition for workers or their employers." The council also responded to a Senate inquiry into the bill stating that the government should abandon the legislation which they called “the most radical, regressive change to workplace law in decades.”
On the 22nd of November Bran Black, the BCA’s Chief Executive, stated that the proposed “Closing Loopholes” legislation remained flawed even after modifications and accused the federal government of making “secret deals”:
“Offering secret deals is not how you create policies that will affect every worker and business in Australia, as well as driving up the cost of living.”
In a joint statement alongside numerous other Australian industry groups such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Retailers Association, and the Minerals Council of Australia, the BCA stated the the new bill will “Impose complexity, confusion and red tape onto small businesses who are already under enormous operating pressures,” and “erode the right for self employed Australians - from barbers to builders - to be their own boss.”