Business.gov.au Fact Sheet 

KEY POINTS

• business.gov.au is an initiative funded by the Australian Government and managed by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, with the support of state and territory governments.
• business.gov.au is the Australian Government's principal business resource, offering simple and convenient access to government information and services for business, in particular for small to medium-sized businesses.
• It is a whole-of-government service providing essential information on all stages of the business cycle, including planning, starting, improving and closing a business.
• By using business.gov.au, businesses can comply with government requirements more simply and conveniently, saving time and money.
• In addition to providing essential business information, business.gov.au has developed important business services and resources including:
  
• ABN Lookup is a service providing access to the publicly available information provided by businesses when they register for an Australian Business Number (ABN).  Through the ABN service, businesses can also look up the publicly available information about superannuation funds through SuperFund Lookup.
• Content Syndication is an easy and cost-free service enabling businesses and intermediaries to publish business compliance information from all three levels of government on a third-party website. Once installed, the syndication service automatically creates and updates business information on a partner’s website using business.gov.au content. The real benefit of the syndication service is that businesses can access up-to-date government information on sites they are more familiar or comfortable with.
• Business Consultation – Established as a result of the Taskforce on Reducing the Regulatory Burden on Business Report, the website gives businesses and individuals more opportunities to be consulted about government policies and regulations that may affect them. The website also allows visitors to register to receive notifications of new public consultations that are posted to the site by government agencies.
• GovForms is an online resource to help businesses find, manage and complete government forms. GovForms currently contains 9,300 forms across all levels of government in Australia.  These range from licenses to registering for a business name to lodgement of a building development application.
• SmartForms are interactive, dynamic PDF forms.  With the use of technology developed for business.gov.au, government forms can be completed and/or lodged electronically.  Through a Whole of Government licensing arrangement, no licence, service or hosting fees are required from participating government agencies.
• Starting and Growing Your Business Checklists - These are comprehensive checklists designed for business to be aware of, and more readily comply with Australian business regulations.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• The combined business.gov.au suite of sites receives over 1,800,000 visits a month, ranking it amongst Australia's most visited business information websites.
• In 2006, business.gov.au won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award for eBusiness.
• Following extensive consultation and research with small business, business.gov.au went live with a refreshed website on 6 November 2009. The refreshed site features a new look and feel, incorporates a range of user feedback and an extended version of the Grant Finder service, now including State and Territory grants and other support for business.