COTTON Australia has helped inform crucial policy discussions about red tape reduction by funding a report for the National Farmers Federation (NFF).
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The report by consultancy Holmes Sackett - A Snapshot of Red Tape Costs - updated work completed in 2007 and analysed the cost of administrative and compliance costs associated with a sample of farm operations.
The report found from 2007 to 2013 the average across all farming operations had a total expense of $31,364 per annum relating to red tape, including bank, taxation and other regulations.
Of this, 73 per cent was associated with direct costs, while the balance was for the time associated with dealing with red tape.
A total of 20.6 days was consumed by tasks associated with red tape, which equates to 8.6pc of the working year.
In total, for the average farm, red tape equated to:
- 3.9pc of income
- 4.5pc of total expenses
- 13.9pc of net farm profit