Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
2006 Category 3 Winner
Businesses Entry Point
Australian Government Department of Industry
Tourism and Resources, Australia
Description
Promoting transparency for the business community by increasing access
to information.
The Problem
Unlike the private sector and non-profit organisations, government are cautious in
providing information online because of their preoccupation with privacy matters
and security issues. This was also the case in Australia.
The Solution
In late 2003, the Australian Government Department of Industry improved its transparency
by developing the Business Entry Point (BEP) Transaction Manager (www.
business.govt.au) to allow business communities and stakeholders to deal with government
in an easier, cheaper, and faster way.
By using the BEP Transaction Manager, businesses can manage, find, and complete
government forms online, and access more than 5,500 transactions in federal, state,
and local governments directly on the internet. The Transaction Manager successfully
brought together approximately 5,900 forms from federal, state, and local governments
that can now be filled out online.
The 2004 review indicated that since the setting up of the BEP, the total value of
time and cost savings were approximately US$50 million a year, which represents
fivefold more than the current BEP annual investment of around US$9 million. Currently,
approximately 120 organisations are representing 180 BEP websites on a
daily basis.
This portal provides business communities and stakeholders with significant benefits,
and makes service delivery efficient and effective. The highest priority for
government is to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. Although BEP
does not reduce regulation itself; by providing information and various resources
online, it allows small businesses to fulfiltheir obligations in a much easier and
rapid way.
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