AFIA submission to PC inquiry into reducing barriers to business dynamism

03 July 2026, AFIA's submission highlights SME access to finance as a critical, practical driver of business dynamism and productivity growth. It sets out the role of non-bank and specialist lenders in serving SMEs underserved by traditional bank credit models, and identifies barriers including disproportionate regulatory obligations, data and information asymmetries, and settings affecting capital markets and securitisation funding. The submission welcomes the Government's decisions to extend the Small Business Responsible Lending Obligations exemption for 10 years and to make the instant asset write-off permanent, and calls for proportionate regulation, stronger data infrastructure through Digital ID and the Consumer Data Right, and continued support for competition and market entry among banks, non-bank lenders and specialist finance providers.

 View the submission here.