The Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development tasked the QSBC to lead the Summertime Taskforce project, which aimed to identify ways to make best use of Queensland’s great weather, facilitate better use of outdoor areas and on-street dining, and revitalise CBDs.
To inform the project, the QSBC established and chaired an Industry Reference Group with representatives from peak industry bodies and associations, councils and key Queensland Government departments. In December 2021, the Summertime Taskforce project delivered a report with practical recommendations and an action plan for the Queensland Government’s consideration. The report can be viewed here.
In October 2022, the Queensland Government provided their response to the report.
In the response, the Queensland Government supported or supported in principle all three recommendations in the Summertime Taskforce project report and committed to taking action.
To deliver on the Queensland Government’s commitment to take action, the response also provided the Queensland Outdoor Activation Action Plan (the Action Plan) – a package of assistance measures and reforms to support outdoor activation.
The Action Plan focuses on three key areas – improving the operating environment, celebrating and raising awareness, and connecting and building capability.
The Queensland Government will work with the QSBC, local councils and the small business community to implement the Action Plan over three years from 2022 to 2025.
The Action Plan will support improvements to the small business regulatory and operating environment, assist business owners and operators and local councils with guidance and information, help connect businesses to support and ideas, and build on existing assistance available to maximise opportunities for outdoor trade activation.
The response can be viewed here.