Under the Small Business Commissioner Act 2003, the functions of the Small Business Commissioner are to:
• facilitate and encourage the fair treatment of small businesses in their commercial dealings with other businesses in the marketplace;
• promote informed decision-making by small businesses in order to minimise disputes with other businesses;
• receive and investigate complaints by small businesses regarding unfair market practices and mediate between the parties involved in the complaint;
• make representations to an appropriate person or body on behalf of a small business that has made a
complaint regarding unfair market practices;
• monitor and report to the Minister on any emerging trends in market practices that have an adverse effect on small businesses;
• encourage the development and implementation of small business service charters within government to ensure small businesses receive high quality service;
• monitor the operation and effectiveness of those small business service charters;
• as required by the Minister, monitor and report to the Minister on the impact that legislation in Victoria, government procedures and administration have on small businesses;
• as required by the Minister, assist other branches and agencies of government to develop legislation, government procedures and administration that provide alternative ways in which small businesses can comply with the requirements of the legislation, procedures and administration;
• investigate compliance with industry codes;
• advise the Minister on matters for which the Commissioner is responsible;
• advise the Minister on the operations of the Act.

The Small Business Commissioner Act 2003 can be downloaded here.

The Office of the Victorian Small Business Commissioner has numerous responsibilities under the Retail Leases Act 2003. Some of these include:
 - certifying that a tenant has waived his/her right to an intial lease term of less than five years
 - maintaining a register of retail leases notified to the office by landlords or their representatives under s.25 
 - appointing a specialist retail valuer to determine the amount of rent to be paid under a lease if the landlord and tenant cannot agree
 - making arrangements to facilitate retail tenancy dispute resolution by mediation, or another form of alternative dispute resolution

The Retail Leases Act 2003 can be downloaded here.

Regulations
The Retail Leases Act 2003 also has accompanying Regulations which complement its provisions. It is important that those entering into a lease are aware of the Regulations.
The main objectives of these Regulations are—
(a)  to make provision with respect to the amount of occupancy costs for the purpose of excluding certain retail premises; and
(b)  to make provision with respect to the amount of outgoings payable by a tenant; and
(c)  to prescribe the form of the landlord's disclosure statement.
The Regulations can be downloaded here.

Ministerial Determinations
Since the introduction of the Retail Leases Act 2003, a number of premises and tenants have been excluded from the coverage of the Act through Ministerial Determinations (as outlined in section 4). There have so far been five Ministerial Determinations made by the Minister(s) for Small Business. You can refer to them by clicking here.  

Other relevant leasing legislation
- under the Retail Tenancies Reform Act 1998 (as amended) the Small Business Commissioner was provided with the responsibility, from 1 November 2003, of appointing a specialist retail valuer under s12 or s13 of that Act.
- under the Retail Tenancies Act 1986 (as amended) the Small Business Commissioner was provided with the responsibility, from 1 November 2003, of appointing a specialist retail valuer under s10 or s11 of that Act.
- section 146 of the Property Law Act 1958 (Restrictions and relief against forfeiture of leases and under-leases). Click here for details.
- section 42A-42F of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1958 (Removal and Disposal of Goods left on Vacated Premises). Click here for details.

The Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 can be downloaded here.