National Representation

While Qrtsa represents members' interests on a local and state level, on a federal level we look after of members through three organisations:

COSBOA - Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia

For the past 20 years COSBOA's focus has been squarely on promoting the economic value of small firms and aggressively pursuing their interests in national policies. COSBOA has been relentless in bringing small business to the policy negotiating table and was instrumental in securing a number of inquiries including the Parliamentary (Beddall) Inquiry into Small Business, the Industry Commission Inquiry into Capital Availability for Small Business and the Senate Inquiry into Improving the Tax Treatment for Small Business. COSBOA has secured a range of other wins for the sector including exemption from the training guarantee levy (when it was in place), the quarterly PAYE and Sales Tax systems and initially gaining and increasing the small firms threshold for superannuation. The Council has around 36 organisational members, enabling them to connect to over 140,000 small businesses.

NARGA - National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia

NARGA began in 1964 in an effort to provide a voice for independent food retailers at a time when the national chains were beginning to grow. Its membership includes Master Grocers Association of Victoria, Western Australian Grocers Association, Food Retailers Association of New South Wales (FRANSW), Northern Wholesalers in Tasmania and QRTSA. The main issues that NARGA is currently considering are Market Domination by National Chains, the Goods and Services Tax, Tax Reform, and National Health and Safety Food Handling. The Executive Director is Graham Parnell (FRANSW) and the Chairperson is Ian Baldock (QRTSA).

NIRA - National Independent Retailers Association

NIRA is a coalition of Australian independent retail associations pledged to act together to represent and promote the interests of their many individual members. NIRA seeks to promote, by combined action, the development, advancement and protection of independent food retailers. To secure uniformity in the laws and practices affecting independent food retailers and to engender a fraternal feeling among individual State-based Associations. The associations that make up the membership of NIRA are: QRTSA, Retail Confectionery and Mixed Business Association of Victoria, Food Retailers Association of New South Wales, Retail Traders' Association of Tasmania, Small Retailers Association of South Australia and Independant Retailers Organisation (W/A) Ltd.