June 2026 news
Hi folks,
It's been a big month, with lots to share and celebrate. Momentum for social enterprise is on the up. As it should be.
Put yourself on the map
Are you a social enterprise? Or part of the social enterprise ecosystem?
This month, a live map of the social enterprise sector will launch. To put yourself on it, go to the sector guide on Understorey, a place to learn and exchange about social enterprise, and register your organisation.
Understorey has over 30,000 unique users, is used by government, funders, social enterprises and others to learn about the sector. It is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services as part of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative.
Looking for funding?
A new Funding Feed, made in collaboration with The Funding Centre, has been added to Understorey to help make funding opportunities visible, freely accessible, and easy to find for social enterprises.
The Feed is designed to help social enterprises spend less time searching and more time strengthening their business and impact. We encourage social enterprises and sector supporters to explore it, find and share relevant opportunities, and help strengthen access to funding information.
Employment services reform
Big reforms to Australia's employment services system have been announced. And social enterprises are named as part of what's needed.
The next phase of this reform is critical, and an evidence-based, impact-led, collective response is key. We’re currently pulling together what years of work have surfaced, so that we can test draft recommendations with the sector in July, in time for a 31 July submission.
We’re also working with the WISE Hub to develop key shared sector messages. The WISE Hub will share these to support sector submissions and help maximise alignment.
National social enterprise research
The Department of Social Services has commissioned new national research about social enterprise in Australia.
A team of University of Melbourne researchers, led by Professor Jo Barraket AM, Director of Melbourne Social Equity Institute, will undertake the research project to improve social enterprise data infrastructure and knowledge about these organisations.
We, alongside others, have long called for this. We're so excited this research is finally coming, and in such good hands. More consistent, current, and visible sector data is needed. It can underpin effective decision-making and support to grow the sector's contribution.
Support for the Victorian social enterprise sector
Last month, the Victorian Government announced a new $900,000 investment in strategic initiatives to strengthen the state's social enterprise sector.
Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVic) will receive funding to support early-stage and emerging social enterprises to grow into sustainable businesses. The Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE) will receive funding to help local government, businesses and communities build capability to support social enterprises in regional areas. And Social Traders will receive funding to streamline the process for social enterprises to get certified and access opportunities created by Victoria's Social Procurement Framework.
It's great to see new support for the Victorian sector. Big congrats to all who contributed to this decision.
Precinct for Tasmanian social enterprises
The federal government has announced support for a new social enterprise hub in Wynyard, Tasmania, called the Artisan Precinct Initiative. It has awarded $9.6 million through the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program to Big hART to establish it.
The initiative will include workshops, a First Nations cultural workshop, a commercial greenhouse, an artisan hub and supporting sustainability infrastructure. The precinct will support up to 10 enterprises at a time, helping them grow to a self-sustaining stage before creating space for new ones to enter the programme.
With a strong focus on First Nations cultural practice and enterprise development, as well as pathways for young people experiencing unemployment or disengagement from education, the initiative aims to strengthen local capability, create employment and training opportunities, and support long-term community development across Tasmania's north-west coast.
Image credit: Regen Labs
SEDI extended, and new grant round open
The Australian Government has announced a $3.4 million one-year extension of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) through to June 2027. It has also committed an additional $3.3 million focused on First Nations social enterprises. As part of this extension:
Impact Investing Australia will continue delivering capability-building grants to eligible social enterprises in 2026–27. A new grant round is now open, with grants of up to $120,000 available. You can submit an EOI here.
Social Enterprise Australia will continue coordinating social enterprise learning and exchange through Understorey.
Impact Investing Australia, in a consortium with Indigenous business Malu Pty Ltd, will administer the new First Nations Capability Building Grants.
✨ While you're here, there are free Open Learning webinars coming up, and they're not to be missed:
Weaving Conditions for Prosperous and Regenerative Regional Economies: 24 June, 12pm AEST, 90 minutes. Join the WEAVE Regen Economy Systems Lab to explore how regional social enterprises can drive the shift to regenerative, inclusive, and climate-resilient economies.
Centering Our Ways: Speaking back to the social enterprise sector: 30 June, 12pm AEST, 75 minutes. Shifting Ground's Genevieve Grieves (Worimi) and Amanda Sibosado (Bard/Wardandi) invite you to hear from a collective of First Nations social enterprises about how their ways of being, doing, and knowing can reshape the sector.
Building Worlds: Strengthening storytelling practices towards just and liberated futures: 17 July, 12pm AEST, 120 minutes. Join a peer learning community of storytelling practitioners from across Australia to explore how storytelling can surface injustice, galvanise movements, and help us imagine more just and liberated futures.
Farewell and thank you, Social Change Central
For the past decade, Social Change Central has played an important role in connecting, informing and supporting Australia's social enterprise sector. Founded in 2016 by Jay Boolkin and Anne Lennon, it became a trusted source of news, opportunities and practical resources for social enterprises across the country.
Following a long-planned and considered process, Social Change Central made the decision to complete this chapter, close its platform, and transition its Resource Library and News Archive to Social Enterprise Australia. These resources will be reviewed and, where suitable, curated and integrated into Understorey, helping ensure they continue to benefit social enterprises across Australia.
The social enterprise ecosystem has matured significantly since 2016, with stronger national infrastructure, coordination and support now in place. Social Change Central has made a big contribution to that progress, and we thank Jay, Anne and everyone involved for the role they have played in helping build and shape the sector over the past decade.
Reminder: Payday Super kicks off 1 July
Does your organisation pay superannuation? If so, you need to be aware of and plan for Australian Government changes to superannuation contributions that take effect from 1 July 2026. Known as Payday Super, they include a new requirement for employers to pay superannuation at the same time as wages rather than quarterly. We encourage you to consider both the administrative and potentially significant cash flow implications of this for your organisation.
Best,
Jess Moore
CEO, Social Enterprise Australia