Bruce Billson confirms five-year stint as ASBFEO will end in 2026

The announcement confirms the end of a term defined by vocal enthusiasm for the small business sector, and frequent calls for lawmakers and industry participants to “energise enterprise”.

Bruce Billson will depart as Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) in early 2026, after five years of outspoken advocacy for the sector.

His tenure will not extend past the conclusion of his five-year contract on March 10, Billson confirmed on Wednesday at the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia National Small Business Summit.

The announcement signals the end of a term defined by vocal enthusiasm for the small business sector, and frequent calls for lawmakers and industry participants to “energise enterprise”.

“I would love to have been extended, and it was open to the government to do that,” Billson told SmartCompany on Thursday.

“But it was made clear that that wasn’t what was going to happen, and that there was interest in finding a replacement,” he said.

“So that’s the way it is.

“I’ve given my all and will continue to in the balance of the term that’s available.”

The federal government is now actively recruiting for a successor.

Billson’s tenure at a glance

Operating under the Treasury department, the ASBFEO is tasked with assisting small and family businesses with payment and contract disputes, diverting them away from costly legal proceedings.

The independent advocacy organisation directs inquiries to state-based small business commissioners, where those concerns are best served by local experts and mediators.

The ASBFEO backs a growing number of small businesses in dispute with major digital platforms, addressing issues like fake reviews through to unfair account bans.

It also produces research on the sector and informs the federal government on matters likely to affect Australia’s 2.6 million small businesses.

Legislation creating the ASBFEO was passed in 2015, when Billson served as Minister for Small Business under the Abbott government.

Billson retired from federal politics in 2016 and became the second ASBFEO, after inaugural leader Kate Carnell, in 2021.

With on-and-off COVID-19 restrictions constraining small businesses, Billson pledged to help small businesses and family enterprises in difficult circumstances.

Calls to the ASBFEO have increased over his tenure: the office received 6,479 requests for assistance in 2022-23, growing to 8,142 in 2024-25.

The organisation also conducts research on the make-up of small businesses in Australia, with recent reports raising red flags about the rate of new business formation by younger founders.

“There’s a smaller proportion of businesses owned by people under the age of 30 than that was the case several decades earlier,” said Billson.

“We’re wondering what’s going on there, what that means for the future, and whether there’s some really sound policy recommendations we can make in that space as well.”

ASBFEO review underway

Billson’s announcement coincides with a statutory review of the ASBFEO, commissioned by Treasury, investigating whether the nearly 10-year-old institution remains effective and fit for purpose.

The ASBFEO has undergone two such reviews, in 2017 and 2021, with the most recent edition finding it had “carved out a highly meaningful role as an advocate and point of assistance for small businesses in Australia”.

The most recent review, helmed by former Victoria Small Business Commissioner and Australian Taxation Office assistant commissioner Judy O’Connell, will be the first handed to a Labor federal government.

The Albanese government raised eyebrows in October 2022 by redirecting some funds earmarked for the ASBFEO in the Morrison government’s March 2022 budget to small business mental health and debt counselling resources.

Billson said the review has been in government hands for number of months, “but I’ve not seen it and aren’t clear on what what it may recommend.”

He hoped the review would acknowledge increased demand for services and a “shrinking” budget.

While the ombudsman runs independently, “the organisation’s very dependent on Treasury, and that can sometimes make things more difficult than it needs to be,” said Billson.

In his closing remarks to the Wednesday summit, Billson called on attendees to give small businesses “the best possible chance to succeed”.

“I’m up for that, whatever the future may hold,” he said.

This story originally appeared on SmartCompany. You can read the original here.

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