About us
Social Enterprise Australia is the national peak body for social enterprise.
We’re for an economy that puts people and the planet first – and for unlocking the power of social enterprise to help get us there. We connect, build and advocate for the sector, and coordinate its national strategy. Our direction is set by the sector, and we provide a bridge for it to partner with the Australian Government and others to grow impact.
What we do
We develop ecosystem-wide infrastructure and partnerships to:
Connect the ecosystem to plan, act and learn together
Build and share sector data, insights and practical supports
Advocate for the customers, capital, policy and investment the sector needs
Our approach
We are impact-led
We’re for an economy that puts people and the planet first, and are serious about the shared work to get us there. We coordinate a national strategy, provide ways to take part, and drive campaigns, so that our ecosystem can work together to maximise shared impact.
We are accountable
The sector sets our direction, and we are accountable to it. We seek to maximise high-level alignment, knowing we can’t do what every person in our sector wants. We provide clear information about the national strategy and our work. We are a democratic, member-based organisation.
We focus on systems
Shifting systems, big and small, is the work. With others, our work is to create the conditions for it. We aim to identify and shift the systems, structures and mindsets that keep us from an economy that puts people and planet first. This includes our own.
We value both how and what
How we work must align with what we’re working towards. We work to ensure our actions support the sector’s values and principles alongside its vision and purpose. We nurture relationships, seek to counter power imbalances, and are realistic about what we can do.
We learn through doing
Only doing shows what works. We plan, act, and learn to find effective paths forward. We share what we learn, including what hasn't worked, and change course when we learn we should. We invest in measurement and evaluation and are evidence-based.
We value both how and what
We believe that how we work is as important as what we seek. And that both must align. We work to treat them with equal value, hand in hand.
Our peers
We work with state and territory peak bodies who advocate for and connect the sector in their areas, and convene the Social Enterprise Peaks Group.