Big stress in small business: new survey reveals rising pressure

Western Australia’s small business owners are feeling the strain, with more than half reporting high levels of stress, according to a new national survey by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

The 2025 Small Business Conditions Survey, in partnership with Intuit, which polled more than 1,100 Australian business owners and managers, paints a picture of rising compliance costs, persistent skills shortages and uncertainty about the future. 

Red tape, rising stress 

Just over 51% of WA respondents – above the national figure of 44% – reported high levels of stress, with the pressure most acute among businesses employing between 15 and 24 staff. This is primarily driven by workforce and uncertainty-related pressures rather than financial strain alone. 

The most common stressors for WA businesses were uncertainty about the future (40.5%, vs 35% nationally), staff management or workforce (39.8%, vs 35% nationally), cash flow (38.3%, vs 41% nationally), personal commitments (37%, vs 35% nationally), lack of time (34.5%, vs 35.0% nationally) and customer expectations (31.4%, vs 33% nationally). 

Just over 63% of small businesses in WA spent more than $20,000 annually on regulation and compliance, compared with 61% nationally. 

In the past 12 months, nearly a quarter of WA businesses considered closing, slightly less than the 28% Australia wide. Nationally, 30% worry they might have to shut over the next year. Reported compliance effects included 57.4% negative and 34.8% neutral, compared with national averages of 42% negative and 26% neutral, showing a higher regulatory burden perceived in Western Australia. 

ACCI Chief Executive Officer Andrew McKellar said the findings were a “call to action” for government and policymakers. 

“What this survey shows is that small business owners are spending too much time tied up in regulation when they want to be attending to their customers, employees and suppliers,” McKellar said. 

He said that while small businesses remained the backbone of the economy, “the regulatory framework and the lack of incentives to invest is testing that resilience and holding back their potential to thrive and employ more Australians”. 

Compliance challenges in WA 

The leading compliance challenges in WA were overall red tape and compliance (23.2%) and taxation (22.6%), followed by payroll compliance (18.5%) and broad HR issues (15.9%). Nationally, taxation (28%), red tape (25%), payroll compliance (18%) and HR issues (20%) were the most common issues, indicating that WA small businesses experienced marginally lower regulatory strain overall but still reported notable pressure from red tape and taxation. 

For HR and industrial relations obligations, the main difficulties were pay rates and entitlements (51.2%, compared with 32% nationally) and payslip compliance (46.8%, compared with 33% nationally). These were followed by superannuation obligations and deadlines (30.6%, vs 34% nationally), understanding modern awards and classifications (28.1%, vs 36% nationally), termination and dismissal (28%, vs 42% nationally), lack of time to manage HR compliance (25.6%, vs 35% nationally), and casual-employment conversion obligations (22.6%, vs 37% nationally). 

Finding the balance 

While stress levels remained high, there were positive signs. Just under 80% of WA businesses – and 82% nationally – were confident about their future – though for many, that confidence is about survival rather than growth. 

Technology is also proving to be a bright spot. Nearly 55% of WA businesses – less than the 60% nationally – said digital tools, including AI, were already having a positive impact on their operations. This was expected to grow over the next few years. 

Policy reform could help ease pressure 

McKellar said there were immediate steps the Federal Government could take to support small business and help grow the economy. 

“An easy step would be for the government to make the Instant Asset Write Off initiative a permanent feature of the tax system,” he said. 

“This would end the uncertainty of the year-to-year process of having to legislate it in each budget and give small businesses the certainty to invest in new plant and equipment.” 

He also called for more support to help small businesses attract and train workers. 

“We are urging the government to expand apprenticeship and traineeship incentives for employers and boost funding for all vocational and educational training, not just TAFE.” 

Read the full 2025 Small Business Conditions Survey report here. 

See CCIWA’s new Keeping WA Strong policy platform which will house our policy drives, including payroll reform.