Efic Amendment Bill 2016—2017 Inquiry

The Export Council of Australia (ECA) strongly supports amending the Efic Act to allow Efic to lend to Australian businesses engaged in export trade. This amendment is not about supporting businesses to manufacture offshore. It is about allowing Efic to lend to a far wider range of Australian businesses, including those with (or looking to establish) international sales and service offices, and those selling directly to consumers.

Foreign sales and service offices are becoming essential for SMEs involved in services, high-end manufacturing and/or technology. Selling directly to foreign consumers is also becoming increasingly important for Australia. Small businesses in particular need to scale-up to directly access overseas consumers via e-commerce, or benefit from the increase in tourism resulting from the growth of the Asian middle class.

Broadening its ability to lend will allow Efic’s product offering to be more in line with the needs of Australian exporters, and will support Australian jobs.