The Victorian Regional Chamber Alliance (VRCA) has lodged a formal submission to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the operation and adequacy of the National Employment Standards (NES).

Representing regional chambers of commerce across Victoria, VRCA advocates for small and medium-sized enterprises operating in regional and rural communities. The submission highlights that regional businesses face fundamentally different operating conditions compared to metropolitan counterparts, including narrower profit margins, persistent workforce shortages, higher operating costs and limited capacity to absorb additional regulatory burdens.

While strongly supporting fair and reasonable minimum employment standards, VRCA cautions against significant expansions to NES entitlements without rigorous economic modelling of their impact on regional economies. In particular, proposals such as increasing annual leave from four to five weeks are identified as measures that could:

• Increase direct wage and on-cost expenses
• Intensify existing labour shortages
• Reduce productive capacity in already constrained labour markets
• Place disproportionate pressure on small and regional employers

With more than 148,000 small businesses operating in regional Victoria, VRCA emphasises that the viability of these enterprises is directly linked to local employment and community wellbeing.

The submission urges the Committee to adopt an evidence-based and graduated approach to reform, including:

• Rigorous economic modelling specific to regional impacts
• Consideration of phased or differentiated approaches
• Direct engagement with regional business communities
• Policies that strengthen productivity and workforce participation without undermining business sustainability

VRCA’s core message is clear: employment standards must maintain a careful balance between protecting employees and ensuring regional businesses remain viable, competitive and capable of sustaining local jobs and economic resilience.

For regional communities, small business strength is community strength.