Legislative and regulatory changes seen as leading business risks in 2019

A new report released by global insurers Allianz confirms that changes in legislation and regulation have replaced cyber risks as the top risks facing businesses in Australia in 2019.

The Allianz Risk Barometer, an annual corporate risk survey, incorporates the views of over 2,400 respondents from 86 countries around the world who were asked what they considered to be the key business risks facing their companies in 2019.

The Australian portion of the survey received 151 responses with 36 per cent highlighting changes in legislation and regulation as being the key business risk. Business interruption came in second with 32 per cent of responses and Cyber incidents third with 30 per cent.

Although, many respondents were focussed on the larger macro themes of trade wars and tariffs to justify their responses, the outcome of the survey is particularly pertinent to the Early Education and Care (ECEC) sector given its regulated nature, the introduction of the new Child Care Subsidy in 2018, concerns over existing regulatory burdens and the possibility that a change in Government in 2019 could see changes to the legislative and operating frameworks that are currently in place.

In addition, it is worth noting that from an organisational perspective the ECEC sector is vulnerable to business interruption risks given it’s site based nature and also cyber risks given the large volumes of data that organisations may hold, both on site or off site in the cloud.

The report notes that these “threats requires new risk management solutions, tools and partnerships to manage and mitigate its potential impacts.”

ECEC services wishing to review their level of cyber risk are encouraged to contact the Cyber Security Small Business Program for support.

For regulatory advice and support, service providers should speak with their local regulatory authority, or contact ACECQA for further information.