The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) is set to hold the COSBOA National Small Business Summit on 4-5 April 2023 at at Pullman Melbourne on the Park.
The two-day summit will welcome Australia’s small-business heavyweights, leaders and influencers who will discuss the trends and issues that are currently affecting small business.
Matthew Addison, Chair and Director of COSBOA, has highlighted the importance of the Summit and welcomes the hard discussions. He stated, “We’ve been here before, we’ve progressed through similar challenges, but the unknown is daunting. What we need now is to have real honest discussions on what the small business community needs in order to protect, prevent and prosper.”
Addison added, “This year, we have taken a refreshed look at the Summit program and session topics to match the needs of not only our association members but their members, and the broader small-business landscape. From looking at the planning and recovery tools for before/after a natural disaster and what we need from the Government to promote regional resilience, to policy investments and resources to prevent cyber attacks on small business. Representatives of small business will not want to miss these vital discussions and knowledge-sharing sessions.”
Key topics that will be covered at the summit include:
- Regional resilience
- What does the future hold? – trends and global impacts
- Industrial relations reform – understanding the impact for small business
- Building a safe and supportive workplace
- The enterprisers – real small-business stories
- Cyber security – prevention, policy and recovery
- Thriving in a competitive economy
- VET skills & workforce planning
The summit will have 17 policy-driven sessions and over 35 expert speakers, including the likes of Sandra Parker, Fair Work Ombudsman; Kate Pounder, CEO, Tech Council of Australia; Matthew Prouse, President, Digital Service Providers ANZ; and Troy Williams, Chief Executive, Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia.
A number of political leaders are also expected to attend, including The Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP – Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Australian Labor Party; The Hon. Julie Collins MP – Minister for Small Business, Australian Labor Party; The Hon. Natalie Suleyman – Victorian Minister for Small Business; and The Hon. Peter Dutton MP, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party.
50 member Associations of COSBOA will also take part in the event, representing more than 1.3 million small businesses, in sectors across grocery, retail, health, finance, trades, bookkeeping, transport and more.
