Please note we are conducting maintenance on CCIWA from Thurs 2nd of November 8am until Mon 6th of November 8am.

During this time, you may experience disruptions to the website, including eCommerce & eLearning. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions, please contact us on 1300 422 492 or email us at [email protected]

X

Free HR Services from our Employee Relations Experts. Find out more.

Our Business Services

Chamber of Commerce & Industry WA

With over 130 years of experience representing WA businesses, we’re ready to help with the resources and advice you need to succeed.

Employee Relations Helpline

Employee Relations Helpline

Get timely, reliable and practical employee relations advice on employment laws, the awards system and other human resource matters. CCIWA Members get unlimited access.

Legal Services

Legal Services

Our team of experienced, client-focused business lawyers offer a full range of Commercial Law & Employment Law services for all your essential legal needs.

Accounting & Taxation Services

Optima Partners and CCIWA

Innovative and personalised accounting, taxation and business advisory services that focus on delivering the best results to help your business grow.

Workplace Health & Safety Services

Workplace Health & Safety Services

Unlock the potential of your business with our suite of staff training and development programs, crafted by workplace relations experts and tailored to your business needs.

Construction & Mining IR Services

Construction & Mining IR Services

We offer extensive, independent and practical industrial and labour relations support to the engineering, construction and mining industries.

Workplace Training & Development

Workplace Training & Development

Unlock the potential of your business with our suite of staff training and development programs, crafted by workplace relations experts and tailored to your business needs.

Apprenticeship Support Australia WA

Apprenticeship Support Australia WA

Our dedicated team specialises in assisting employers maximise the benefits of investing in apprenticeships and traineeships to build local skills for the diverse WA workforce. Our team of experts will provide all the advice, support and services you need — free of charge.

Work Integrated Learning – Internships

Work Integrated Learning - Internships

Tap into WA’s future workforce with our Work Integrated Learning – Internships program. This free service facilitates university student work experience placements for your business.

Industry Capability Network WA

Industry Capability Network WA

Connecting your business with mining, construction, infrastructure, defence and other major projects using the ICN Gateway.

International Trade Services

International Trade Services

Take your business global using our comprehensive suite of international trade services to streamline importing and exporting, reduce risks and identify international partners.

Mixed recovery in business confidence amidst hard border impacts 

Aaron Morey

CCIWA Chief Economist

The short-term confidence of WA businesses has rebounded this quarter, but outlook for the next 12 months remains much weaker than pre-COVID levels amidst uncertainty over border restrictions. This special WA Super-CCIWA Business Confidence Survey focuses on the impacts of WA’s border restrictions on our State’s businesses.

With ongoing uncertainty about the duration of hard border closures, there are now more WA businesses reporting serious impacts due to the restrictions, than there are businesses that report being unaffected.

WA’s hard border has helped protect the WA community, and was the right response while COVID was spreading quickly around the world. At the same time, today’s report highlights the costs.

More WA businesses now report suffering to a ‘moderate’ or ‘great’ extent due to WA’s hard border, edging up two percentage points to 36 per cent since June. Those most severely impacted were in resources (57%), construction (48%), professional services (45%) and retail (38%). A significant majority of businesses operating in north and eastern regions reported moderate or greater impacts from the borders, in the Kimberley (74%), Goldfields (70%) and Pilbara (60%).

Fewer businesses are now untouched by border restrictions. While the proportion of businesses ‘unaffected’ by the borders was 39% in June, it now stands at 33%. Unaffected businesses were most likely to be in sectors with a strong government presence — in healthcare or education.

Today’s report includes case studies of WA businesses outlining the impacts, including:

  • The loss of interstate tourists, whose spending is not nearly replaced by a short-term increase in local tourism for businesses like InStyle Adventures Broome.
  • The costly cancellations for businesses like the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, caused by confusion about when WA will re-join the nation.
  • The labour shortages for businesses like BVA Metal Fabrication, with WA too small to sustain many specialist skills alone. Indeed, concerns around skills shortage have surged since June, nearly doubling to 25% of all businesses, and as high as 44% in construction, 39% in health care and 32% of resources businesses.
  • The transport delays and supply chain disruptions, impacting our supply of high value, fragile or perishable stock that would otherwise come via air freight, like machine parts for Ranger Exploration Drilling.
  • And finally, the growing competitive disadvantage for service-based businesses, whose east-coast competitors can travel to supply services, training and to meet prospective customers and clients face to face.

This is not a choice between a hard border on one hand and unacceptable risk on the other. Western Australia requires a sustainable approach to our borders arrangements, which recognises that record fiscal stimulus cannot last, and that we may be waiting a long time for a vaccine. A world-class contact tracing system would be one of our most valuable economic assets right now, and WA should not eschew the efforts underway in National Cabinet to outline a roadmap to re-join the nation.

Overall confidence

Turning to the overall confidence breakdown, a higher proportion of businesses in professional services (45%), real estate (39%) and retail trade (38%) expect weaker economic conditions in the short term. Positivity was strongest among manufacturers (47%), those likely to benefit from generous new Commonwealth wage subsidies. These led the 18 percentage point decline in negative outlook for the next three months.

Two in five businesses (38%) believe economic conditions in WA will deteriorate in the next year. This is an improvement since the historic low in June, but remains well below the 21% negative outlook recorded in December 2019.

The biggest barrier to business in WA is weak demand, a concern that has risen 18 percentage points since last quarter, impacting two in five (42%) businesses in retail.

WA Super CEO Fabian Ross said the gradual recovery in business sentiment was “encouraging to see, reflecting the steady work of governments to stabilise the economy against the impacts of COVID-19, and the efforts of businesses to adapt”.

“Though some uncertainty remains over the 12-month outlook, Western Australian businesses have advanced quickly and safely through the staged reopening of the economy. WA Super takes a long-term view of investment, to build portfolios for our members that hold their own when markets are down, as well as up. That long-term view puts the pace of WA’s recovery in a positive perspective.”

Read the full WA Super-CCIWA Business Confidence Report

Share This Post