Home topics news Credits: Annie Spratt News News Ombud report warns that nearly half of big biz are failing to pay SME suppliers on time Yajush Gupta July 20, 2022 More than half of the country’s big corporations fail to meet their deadlines for paying their small business suppliers, according to the most recent data from the Payment Times Reporting Regulator. The report finds: Only 47 per cent of large organisations paid more than 80 per cent of their suppliers within the agreed-upon deadline. The average contract payment terms decreased slightly to 36.2 days from 36.6 days. According to the Business Council of Australia’s standard, only 31 per cent of large corporations paid more than 80 per cent of their small business invoices within 30 days. The Payment Times Reporting Regulator has published its second report about the payment policies of 7000 businesses with an annual turnover of more than $100 million. According to the regulator’s update: “The majority of reports submitted for a second reporting period indicate that entities were not meeting their own payment terms offered to small business.” The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, notes that while stated payment goals have slightly improved, real payment performance has deteriorated to the point where even the mediocre 30-day payment objective has not been met. “I applaud those companies paying on time, particularly those who pay their small business customers in far fewer than 30 days. But this report tells us that far too many big