2025 federal budget measures encouraging consumers to “Buy Australian”, alongside cost-of-living assistance in tax cuts and energy supports, will flow through to the nation’s small businesses and mid-sized enterprises, according to business management solution MYOB. However, continued and consistent support will be necessary to energise the business communities that, combined, contribute half of the nation’s GDP.
MYOB CEO Paul Robson said while some of the latest budget measures will help the business community, additional measures, such as future certainty around the instant asset write off, would have been welcomed.
“As a homegrown Australian business ourselves, to see support for our local SMEs filter through in these cost-of-living measures is encouraging. Supporting local operators is an important agenda item for the government, the economy and Australian consumers,” said Paul.
An MYOB consumer survey from late last year found 61% will pay more for an Australian product or service – a promising sign for Australian SMEs.
“While a local focus is positive, there is an ongoing ‘cost of doing business’ that is a critical concern for small and mid-sized businesses. SMEs would like to see more certainty around initiatives such as the instant asset write-off. In our recent Bi-Annual Business Monitor, 58% of respondents wanted to see this initiative made permanent so business owners can have greater certainty around their business planning and investment decisions.”
Ahead of federal budget, MYOB research found SMEs had hoped to see reduced cost pressures and support for cashflow prioritised. Some of the measures mid-sized businesses were focused on included access to finance, innovation and digitisation, as well as support for cybersecurity.
"Small businesses continue to face economic headwinds. With utility costs, fuel prices, and concerns about price margins and profitability topping their list of pressures, these targeted measures will alleviate some of the financial strain they're experiencing," said Paul.
Resilience amid ongoing challenges
Despite economic considerations, the MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor demonstrates the remarkable resilience of Australia's SME sector, with 22% of businesses reporting increased revenue over the past 12 months and 44% maintaining stable revenue levels.
"As we've consistently seen in our research, SMEs continue to show tremendous resilience in the face of economic challenges," said Paul.
Looking ahead, 29% of SMEs believe Australia's economy will improve in the next 12 months, with Generation Y business owners (aged 30-43) showing the highest optimism at 36%. Forty per cent of respondents indicate they would vote for SME sector-specific stimulus to counteract the effects of inflation.
"The success of our small and mid-sized business community is intrinsically linked to our nation’s economic prosperity. By addressing their key concerns around cost pressures, cashflow management, and investment support, the government would help to create an environment where these businesses can thrive in 2025 and beyond," said Paul.
For more information on tonight’s Federal Budget announcements, visit: Business News & Ideas | MYOB Pulse
ENDS
For more information please contact
Collette Betts, MYOB, collette.betts@myob.com
Sarah Green, C+D, sarah@ofcharacter.com
About MYOB
MYOB is a leading business management platform with a core purpose of helping more businesses in Australia and New Zealand start, survive and succeed. MYOB delivers end-to-end business, financial and accounting solutions direct to businesses employing between 0 and 1000 employees, alongside a network of accountants, bookkeepers and consultants. For more information visit myob.com or follow MYOB on LinkedIn.
About MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor
The MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor researches business performance and attitudes regarding areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline work, technology usage and the government. This report presents the summary findings for key indicators from the MYOB Business Monitor comprising a national sample of 1,024 business owners, managers and directors (operators), conducted from 28 October to 9 December 2024. The businesses participating in the online survey were both non-employing and employing businesses. All data has been weighted by industry type, location and number of employees, which are in line with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS - Counts of Australian businesses, including entries & exits - 8165.0).
About Mid-Sized Business Research
The survey of mid-sized businesses polled a representative sample of 515 business leaders and decision-makers (with between 20-500 FTEs and $5m+ annual revenue) in Australia. Research took place from 6-30 January 2025 and was conducted by independent research agency, Dynata. Respondents were sampled randomly from the Dynata online panel and screened to ensure they met the qualifying criteria. Quotas were maintained on industry sector and business size/FTEs to ensure a reliable and diverse cross-section of business opinions from mid-sized businesses were obtained. Additional insights have come from Impact Economics.