What constitutes “best practice” in terms of the interaction that a competition agency has with its own national small business constituency? This chapter discusses what “engagement” is, provides an overview of the general concepts and issues involved in developing an engagement framework, and examines some of the actual tools used in engagement, with a specific focus on Australian examples.

Small businesses can be both the victims of anti-competitive practices and the perpetrators of offences against consumers. Engagement by competition regulators with small businesses is both about their rights and their responsibilities, but should these be approached separately or holistically?

Research suggests that regulators often wish to act in certain ways to deliver upon their regulator objectives but find that statute law either prohibits or fails to facilitate sound engagement approaches. Discretion, though, must be weighed against predictability, transparency, and accountability. The approaches to the issue of discretion taken by different nations, and how this relates to small businesses are examined.

“… in many cases it is the approach of regulators — their communication, advice and support, enforcement and reporting requirements — that have the most significant impact on business owner[s]” (PC 2013, p. 37).

… The previous [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)] chairman showed good skills and abilities in communicating with large businesses, but in our view he showed no understanding in how to communicate with the small business community. He did not understand the difference between big and small business, indeed we always felt that he demanded that small business have the same skills and abilities as big business (COSBOA 2013, p. 5).