It looks like small business got a shot in the arm from the federal budget just in time, with confidence in the sector at its lowest in over a year.
The Westpac/Melbourne Institute small business index fell 12.7 per cent to 108.2 points in April from February, the worst result since the quarterly survey started in early 2014.
The survey was conducted between April 7 and 16, about a month before the government unveiled a raft of incentives for small businesses in its May 12 federal budget.
Among those measures was a 1.5 percentage point tax cut for the 96 per cent of companies with less than $2 million in turnover.
Small businesses were also allowed to immediately write-off assets worth up to $20,000.
Westpac general manager of small business Julie Rynski said while worries about the economy had weighed on small business confidence at the beginning of the year, she expected the budget measures to give the sector a boost.
"The deteriorating economic outlook, elevated unemployment expectations and complex regulations, have resulted in a challenging operating environment for the sector," she said.
Despite the fall in confidence the index has stayed above the 100 point level, indicating there are more optimists about their outlook that pessimists.
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