Four young women sitting together at a table in a coffee shop, engaging with a tablet and sharing a smile.

Business for good

Size and economic contribution of social enterprise in Australia.

What social enterprise brings to Australia has been little known - until now.

Stylized network diagram with multi-colored circles connected by lines, next to the text 'Social Enterprise Australia'.

Commissioned by

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Funded by

Research by

Why is this a big deal?

Firstly, it makes visible the value of the people and organisations that make up the social enterprise sector. They should be recognised, celebrated and learned from.

Secondly, it shows that - despite limited Federal Government recognition and support - the social enterprise sector makes a significant economic contribution to Australia. Off the back of this research, we call on the Federal Government to work with our sector on a national strategy to unlock the full potential of social enterprise.

Size and economic contribution of social enterprise in Australia

Graphic with a stylized horse head icon pointing towards a speech bubble that contains the text "12,000 SOCIAL ENTERPRISES".

There are over 12,000
social enterprises in Australia.

Illustration of a money bag with a dollar sign and a speech bubble stating '$21 billion per year economic impact'.

They contribute $21.3 billion to the economy or 1% of GDP.

Illustration of three smiling diverse people above a yellow speech bubble with text '200,000 JOBS' in red and blue.

They employ over 200,000 people - about one in 60 jobs in Australia.