Ask yourself, would you open a business in Australia in 2024.

The general answer: “You’d have to be mad. Not in a fit.”

Small businesses across the country are in despair. 

The bakery and cafe in the centre of the picturesque South Coast town of Jamberoo, officially known as Kings Patisserie, is busy from the moment it opens its doors. Tradies pick up a coffee before 6am on the way to work, tourists come and go, and it is the central meeting place for locals. 

Established 10 years ago, the business has thrived, until recent times. Like so many businesses, the bakery had a near death experience during the lockdowns of the Covid era.

But while back up and running, life still isn’t easy. 

Owner Warren Southwell says that three years ago his electricity bill was $2,500 a quarter. Now it’s $5,000. 

“It has literally doubled,” he says. “All our expenses have gone up. We’re a really busy cafe but we are still struggling. We are $50,000 in the red to the tax office, that’s never happened before. Sugar has gone up 50 percent. Flour has gone up from $9 to $14 a bag. 

“Wages have gone up a lot. I used to employ 12 people. That’s down to nine. And their wages have gone up $100 a week over the past year. We pay the general retail award wage. But the cost of living has gone up more than that. Everyone works really hard. Everyone deserves more. And everyone is doing it tough.

“It is just another expense we have. We are being hit from every angle.We have had no tax cuts or anything else. Other businesses say the same; it is very very hard for everyone, no matter what you are doing.

“What is killing us is the prices of material, and the wages goïng up.

Warren was extremely reluctant to put up his prices, but, like so many other business owners, had no choice. 

“My family suffers, and there’s a lot of other families out there suffering. I only get one day off a week. I have two young boys, and I struggle to get away to watch them play football.

“I really worry about people out there in small business, I think about them a lot. We can’t afford to put on staff to do the hours, so I end up doing them myself. I think a lot of families are suffering because of the amount of hours they are doing. It is a mental health and family crisis.

“My parents and grandparents worked hard, now we are watching the collapse of the country. It is really scary.”

Tough conditions in the retail sector are confirmed by figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this month.

Of the 137,114 businesses operating in June 2019 only 86,320 of them survived through to June 2023.

While the figures are plumped up by new entrants; that shows just how tough it is for small business at the moment. Overall, there was a drop of 1.4% in the number of retail businesses during the 2022-23 financial year.

Chief Executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia Luke Achterstraat is urgently trying to get the concerns of small business onto the government’s agenda. 

“With 43% of small businesses not breaking even, the Government can’t waste any time,” he said. “Small businesses need quick, effective and fast policies that reduce the cost of doing business. They need energy relief, promotion of better competition and to start a conversation about payroll tax.”