Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce’s report card of Toowoomba Regional Council reveals improvements among small business

Toowoomba small businesses are happier with council than they were a year ago, but a new survey by the Chamber of Commerce has revealed a big area for improvement.

The Toowoomba Regional Council has made some “significant improvements” in the eyes of the small business community, but a new survey reveals more work needs to be done.

The Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce’s new council report card, created based on input from more than 200 people in the local business community, has suggested improving sentiment between industry and local government in 2023.

The results, authored by Create Consult Research and presented as a report card with responses split from A+ to F, found the council improved in four of the six categories surveyed.

An excerpt from Create Consult Research's Toowoomba Regional Council small business report card.

Its biggest improvement was in communication and engagement, with 76 per cent of business leaders giving them a grade of C or above (up from just 43 per cent in 2022).

More than half of respondents also said the council had raised the profile and capability of small businesses (63 per cent graded C or above), supported business resilience (51 per cent) and had a fair procurement and payment process (55 per cent).

But despite some improvements, businesses said the council’s handling of red tape and regulations were a problem, with just one per cent giving the TRC an A on the matter.

Comments shared in the report reflect frustrations held by some small business owners and managers about red tape.

“Every time my wife runs an event the amount of paperwork she has to fill in would make your eyes water. Quite sad really what it has done to events here — way over the top,” one respondent said.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl.

“Everything is still a process which I understand, but smaller businesses don’t have the capacity, funds or time to go though processes of red tape,” another person said.

Chamber chief executive Todd Rohl called the survey a “positive sign”, bumping the council’s overall grade up from a C in 2022 to a C+ this year.

“The findings illustrate some areas have improved when compared to the 2022 results which is a positive sign,” he said.

“However, where progress has been made it has been slow, and today significant improvements are still required when it comes to council meeting its signed commitments to the small business community.

“We want Toowoomba Regional Council to be the beacon of excellence, the envy of other local governments, and to be seen as a small business incubator and haven throughout the state and nationally.

“We will continue to make Toowoomba Regional Council accountable in the important role they play in facilitating a prosperous business community by among other things, continuing to seek a reduction in taxes, the removal of unnecessary red tape and to have the city showcased.”

Of the more than 200 respondents, more than three-quarters were either small business owners or managers and 85 per cent of them worked in businesses with less than 50 staff members.