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While some operators say they've seen a tangible increase in equipment sales, business owners say it's been up to them to tell customers the write-down policy exists.
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Owner of Hallam business ASC Water Tanks, Anant Yuvarajah, agrees it's been left to businesses selling equipment to tell their customers the write-down rules are in place.
"I don’t think a lot of our rural customers were notified all that well," he says.
The end-of-financial year rush was a big one for ASC this year, with the company selling about $500,000 of products in the months before the end of June.
The $1 million-a-year business sold about $160,000 more tank products in June than the same time last year, with Yuvarajah saying the company took the time to communicate the write-off scheme to customers.
But he says many business customers still have no idea they can take up the write-off policy, suggesting the government can do more to advertise it.
Nu Energy says it promotes its solar products with the instant asset write-off policy in mind, but it doesn't have a tangible impact on sales.
Photo: Supplied."I think they could be doing a better job," he says.
However, the ATO says it has undertaken a detailed education campaign to eligible businesses, including via its website and small business tax news rooms.
"It’s been a highly successful initiative of the coalition government, one which has supported one of the hallmarks of this government, job creation," a spokesperson for assistant treasurer Stuart Robert said in a statement to Fairfax Media.
Some businesses who stood to gain from the policy say it hasn't resulted in any new sales for them.
We think it's a good idea but we haven't seen any extra jobs from it.
Kate Corless
"We think it's a good idea but we haven't seen any extra jobs from it," says Kate Corless, who runs solar air-conditioning business Solair Ventilation with her husband Eamon.
The company has been promoting the policy to potential business customers, but Corless says not only do they seem unaware of the available write-down, it hasn't driven them to buy.
"I don’t think it manifests into anything - at least it doesn't for us," she says.
For solar retailer Nu Energy, the policy has been "a good hook" when talking to customers but hasn't had a visible impact on its $5 million in annual product sales.
"A lot of people don’t know about it - and when you bring the policy to their attention they find it interesting, but it by no means guarantees sales," managing director Ben Talbot says. "It's something we push to customers - but solar has so many moving parts already, so many policies."
Emma is a Fairfax Media's small business reporter based in Melbourne.