The 2025 Regulation Rumble report found that South Australia continues to have the most competitive payroll tax institutions, planning system and licensing requirements in the country.
Victoria was ranked as the least competitive jurisdiction in which to do business.
WA scored low on several criteria related to costs and regulations, but fared much better on criteria related to the planning system.
It was found to have the most restrictive retail trading hours in the country, with the fewest exemptions and the shortest trading hours.
It also scored poorly on payroll taxes, property taxes, insurance requirements and licensing requirements.
WA has the lowest payroll tax threshold, with the highest rate of 5.5 percent applying to payroll costs of just $1 million.
The report also noted that WA adopted the fewest statements on payroll tax revenue.
The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry has repeatedly called for payroll tax reform but has received no support from WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti.
One of the few ‘cost’ areas where WA performed well was mandatory workers’ compensation, with WA coming second in the country.
In terms of land use and planning systems, WA rose to third place overall in the report “as it begins to reap the benefits of its recent planning reforms”.
WA’s planning system was found to be the most efficient in the country, based on average time to obtain approvals.
“These results have changed since last year due to improvements in decision-making times for development and construction applications, particularly for Western Australia, which excels in decision-making times for building approvals,” the report said.
“Western Australia has also recently reformed its Planning Act to place guardrails around additional information requests (‘stop the clock’) from local councils.”
However, WA’s planning system ranked last for consistency and second last for transparency.
The report notes that WA is currently in the process of standardizing land use and zoning terms across all planning programs. Once implemented, this will improve navigation of the planning codes and requirements for businesses operating across the state.
Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council, said states and territories should be in a race to the top to get the best conditions as a strong business sector will boost investment and productivity and raise living standards.
“This report shines a light on what’s working across Australia, and it’s about encouraging healthy competition between jurisdictions to raise living standards by increasing business investment,” Mr Black said.
“South Australia is leading the nation and showing us that cutting unnecessary red tape and designing efficient regulations isn’t just good for business – it’s good for workers and communities.
“Disappointingly, Victoria still has the most work to do, with some of the highest tax rates and regulatory requirements in the country, making it the least attractive state in which to do business.”
#ranked #worst #business