Business Council of Australia

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an industry association that comprises the chief executives of more than 100 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia – and the Australian Industry Development Association. The organisation is headquartered in Melbourne with offices in Sydney and Canberra.

Its stated reason for existence is to give the business community a greater voice in public policy debates about the direction of Australian society.

Structure

Business Council members determine the work program and policy positions through their participation in policy committees, task forces and the board.

Board

The Business Council board oversees the work of the secretariat, committees and task forces, makes recommendations on issues concerning membership and committee and task force appointments, identifies and clarifies policy issues, and proposes the policy agenda.

Business Council of Australia Board members, as of January 2020, were:[1]

  • Tim Reed, President, BCA and Chief Executive Officer, MYOB)[2]
  • Peter Coleman, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Woodside[3]
  • Danny Gilbert AM, Managing Partner, Gilbert + Tobin[4]
  • Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Group[5]
  • Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer, Qantas
  • Catherine Tanna, Managing Director, EnergyAustralia
  • Alison Watkins, Group Managing Director, Coca-Cola Amatil Limited
  • Jennifer Westacott, Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia

Former presidents include Catherine Livingstone, Tony Shepherd, Michael Chaney, Hugh Morgan, Roderick Carnegie and Arvi Parbo.[6]

The secretariat includes policy directors, working together with the policy and research team, the communications team and the administrative support team.

Policy

The Business Council's policy agenda includes a plan for wholesale reform of Australia's post-secondary education and skills system,[7] personal tax cuts to address bracket creep, lower company tax rates[8] and moves to strengthen Australia's Enterprise Bargaining system[9]. In 2019 the Business Council released A plan for a stronger Australia[10] calling for measures to boost Australia's economic growth and productivity alongside a greater emphasis on fairness[11].

Business Council members determine their work program and policy positions through participation in committees, special-issue task forces and the Business Council board[12].

Membership

As of 2019, membership of the Business Council totals 132 companies , and includes Australia's mining giants, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, as well as the 4 major banks – National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac – and most of Australia's largest manufacturers and business services firms.

See also

References
  1. "Our Board". Business Council of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. Kruger, Colin (17 October 2019). "Tim Reed in box seat to become Business Council of Australia president". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. "Peter Coleman". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. "Danny Gilbert AM". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  5. {{Cite Web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/mining-giant-rio-tinto-pressures-bca-on-climate-as-more-members-depart-20200116-p53ryr.html%7Ctitle=Mining giant Rio Tinto pressures Business Council of Australia to up climate change advocacy|
  6. "Previous BCA Presidents". Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. "Education and skills". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  8. "Tax". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  9. "Modern workplace relations". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  10. April 2019, 11. "A plan for a stronger Australia". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Enterprise Bargaining failing the low paid: BCA". Australian Financial Review. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. "Structure". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
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