The Andrews Labor Government's $10 million Business Acceleration Fund is delivering 25 new initiatives to improve digital services and make approvals simpler for businesses - many focusing on local government.
The projects will deliver benefits to business by streamlining approvals, reducing permit application times and improving a range of local government regulatory requirements through digitisation.
Cutting red tape to save time and money for Victorian businesses, and ultimately benefiting consumers, defines the Business Acceleration Fund.
Businesses across the hospitality, agriculture, construction and property industries are among those that can expect to benefit with quicker application processes and less unnecessary hassle.
Digitisation is a driving force behind Victoria's progressive slashing of red tape, making it easier for businesses to access government services, simplifying interactions with bureaucracy and fast-tracking applications for licences and permits.
Business Acceleration Fund support will enable Maroondah City Council, in partnership with Service Victoria, to digitise 19 business permits, while Maroondah will also lead a project involving neighbouring councils to introduce uniform rules for roadside and footpath trading, fitness training in parks and the use of skip bins.
Melton City Council and Moira Shire Council will receive funding to offer automatic approvals on the Service Victoria platform for footpath trading, outdoor fitness and placing skip bins, speeding up the time it takes for businesses to get approvals.
The City of Greater Geelong will digitise tens of thousands of historical planning files, enabling information requests and new applications to be processed quicker. Hume City Council will undertake a similar project.
Funding will allow Mount Alexander Shire to expand its digitisation work to include permit processes for planning, building, public and environmental health and local laws.
The Mansfield, Murrindindi, Strathbogie and Benalla municipalities will be supported to modernise their systems to accommodate online payments and online tracking of applications.
There are more than 90 reforms being delivered through the Business Acceleration Fund and the $40 million Regulation Reform Incentive Fund.
These initiatives are expected to deliver an estimated $325 million in benefits annually, with estimated time savings of more than 300,000 days each year.
As stated by Minister for Regulatory Reform Danny Pearson
"Helping councils digitise their processes and records saves businesses time and money."
"Reducing barriers to growth and innovation delivers huge benefits for the wider economy, including in new jobs. We're making sure that Victoria is the place to do business."
