How does Australia fair against other nations when it comes to Red Tape? Tim Mazzarol takes an indepth look at where we sit compared to other countries and what this means for local businesses.

The term "red tape" has been used so much in recent years that it is difficult to trace either its meaning or its origins. It is thought to have come from the use by King Charles V of Spain’s use of red tapes manufactured in Holland that he used to bind important documents of state during his reign in the 16th Century.

During the United States Civil War in the 1860s the US Government used red tapes to bind veteran’s records. People who sought access to such documents used the term as an emblem for bureaucratic intransigence and time wasting. Today it represents a term for unnecessary regulations that impose time delays and compliance costs on business.