Something’s not right. Something is breaking Australia — and it’s not just the economy, interest rates or cost of living.
It’s compliance.
The slow, grinding weight of red tape, constant regulation changes and endless paperwork is wearing people down. Good, honest people — just wanting to have a go, get on with the job — are being buried under a mountain of rules.
We are reaching breaking point. And compliance is the final straw.
Let’s take a look around.
The transport industry is suffocating under overlapping safety, fatigue, and emissions regulations — many of which don’t reflect the reality of life on the road. The result? Higher freight costs, and higher prices for everything we buy.
The cattle industry is on the verge of becoming unviable — trapped by rising costs, complex water rules, biosecurity threats and endless environmental forms. The more we tie up our food producers in red tape, the more we all pay for it at the checkout.
The building industry is buckling under duplicated compliance systems that slow down projects and drive up costs. This fuels our national housing crisis.
Aged care and support services are bleeding staff — not just from burnout, but from frustration. Systems that were meant to protect are now just ticking boxes, not helping people.
Agriculture is now being hit by emissions targets, biodiversity requirements and carbon policies — often written by people who have never set foot on a farm.
And volunteer organisations? They’re expected to run like million-dollar corporations. But they’re powered by unpaid locals who now spend more time filling out forms than helping their community. We’re losing the very people who ask for nothing in return — except the chance to do something good.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying we should scrap all rules.
Of course we need standards, safety, fairness and accountability.
But this has gone too far. This isn’t good governance — it’s overreach.
We’re now dealing with regulation that is duplicated, outdated and completely disconnected from real-world industries.
And who’s writing these rules? Politicians and bureaucrats — many of whom are sitting in offices, creating policy for farms, trucks, clinics and construction sites they’ve never set foot on.
We’re Being Set Up to Fail.
It’s no wonder so many Australians are walking away. Businesses are shutting down. People are quitting jobs. Entire industries are at risk of collapse.
This is not a conspiracy theory. It’s real, and it’s happening right now.
So when do we — the doers, the workers, the everyday people — start asking:
Are these rules helping us thrive? Or are they slowly killing off the industries and communities we rely on?
Don’t Wait for Change
I don’t believe we wait for an election to demand change.
I believe we do it now.
We don’t want to cut corners. We just want to keep doing what we know best – and keep going.
It’s time to stop blindly accepting more rules and start demanding smarter ones.
Written by Christiane Smith