When you are a small business owner, dealing with a business dispute can cause stress, cost you time and money, and take your focus away from running your business.
Problems are an unavoidable part of running your own business. Every enterprise has its challenges, but it’s how you deal with them that makes the difference.
When you’re faced with a problem such as a dispute with another business or a government organisation, you can turn to the Small Business Development Corporation for free and confidential help. We offer the following range of free services to help you overcome any hurdles you may be facing.
Business advice
Our free business advisory service can provide you with practical guidance on how to resolve a problem in your business, like unpaid invoices or disputes with your landlord and clients or suppliers.
Our advisers are experienced current or former business owners, so they have been in your shoes and are well placed to help you. All of our advice is free, impartial and confidential.
Call our free advisory service on 133 140
Find out more about our business advisory service
Dispute resolution
If you’re followed the guidance provided by our business advisers, but you’ve been unable to come to a resolution with the other party, our team can refer you to our specialist dispute resolution service.
You can try this service as a way of handling or finalising your dispute without going to court.
Our dispute resolution service does not provide legal advice, and needs both you, as the business owner, and the other party involved to be willing to participate and work cooperatively with our impartial case manager who will be assigned to your case. All parties involved will be supported to make their own decisions throughout these confidential discussions.
Our free dispute resolution service is easy to access and confidential, so you can get back to running your business sooner. It can help you with:
- Commercial leasing disputes
- Non-payment or non-performance of goods and services
- Disputes with other businesses or government departments
Advisory services
Are you ready to turn to us?
To access our support services:
Speak to an experienced business adviser on 133 140
We are open from 8:30am to 4:30pm weekdays. If you’d like to contact us out of hours, please leave us a message via live chat and one of our friendly advisers will get back to you.