Seamless Borders

Making it simple to do business in Gold Coast City and Tweed Shire

Making it simple for small business to apply and comply

Gold Coast City Council and Tweed Shire Council have worked together to create a more positive and economically viable environment for small businesses, home-based businesses, and mobile businesses operating within the two council areas.

In 2005, Gold Coast City Council's Economic Development Branch, the Gold Coast's Regional Economic Development Advisory Board, Tweed Shire Council, Tweed Economic Development Corporation and the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce formed a cross border working party to discuss the regulatory compliance burden faced by small businesses in the region, especially those operating on both sides of the border.Over the years, a number of reports have been commissioned, identifying a range of issues created by variations at local and state level, but little headway had been made to resolve these issues for the benefit of small businesses, the local and regional economy.The working party developed a strategic plan to address the issues, starting at local level and achieving real outcomes to assist small businesses, before opening discussions with the Queensland and New South Wales Governments regarding major state regulatory issues.

Local, State and Federal Governments working together to solve the problems

In 2005 the Federal Government established a $50 million Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund, to assist local government authorities to develop and implement strategies for regulatory reform to benefit small businesses, in particular home-based businesses.

Gold Coast City Council's Economic Development Branch applied for funding to enable the cross-border working party to undertake its proposed project Seamless Borders - Building a Competitive Economic Zone for the Gold Coast and Tweed Region. The working party subsequently received a grant of $570,000 which was awarded through AusIndustry in Canberra. Additional funding and resources from Gold Coast City Council, Tweed Shire Council, and Tweed Economic Development Corporation took the working party's allocated budget to $700,000. This allowed the Seamless Borders project team to:

• investigate and prioritise the range of issues identified in the application
• develop strategies to align local regulatory compliance
• implement initiatives for alignment on both sides of the border
• develop a single entry point for information on how to apply and comply
• undertake discussions to address state issues
• implement initiatives to address differences in state regulation
• implement a marketing strategy ensuring awareness of the new processes