Government strategy to give a voice to Australia’s small businesses

The Albanese government recently announced the National Small Business Strategy to help support the 2.6 million Aussie businesses that fall under this category.

To support small businesses, $640 million is being allocated. The initiative aims to:

• Recognise the value of small businesses to economies and communities.
• Acknowledge the roles and responsibilities across different levels of government as well as other providers, delivery organisations, and advocates that support small businesses.
• Outline a framework to facilitate a coordinated and cohesive approach to supporting small businesses that puts them at the centre of our decision making.
• Create efficiencies and reduce duplication of effort by embedding a collaborative approach to focus our efforts on supporting small businesses and sharing lessons learned.

Minister for Small Business, Julie Collins, said the strategy hopes to foster more collaboration between small businesses and the government.

“An average of more than 5,700 new small businesses are created in Australia every week. That’s thousands of Australians giving it a go and believing in their idea. They provide jobs, deliver services, drive innovation and productivity, and help define communities and the Albanese Labor Government is committed to seeing them thrive,” she said.

“That’s why the Albanese Labor Government has worked with states and territories to develop a new National Small Business Strategy. The Strategy is a collective vision for the small business sector and our shared commitment across tiers of government to work together.”

Around 97 per cent of businesses in Australia are classified as small businesses. This group contributes $590 billion to the economy each year, which is nearly a third of Australia’s GDP.

Further, the job opportunities these businesses create are immense, with 42 per cent (5.4 million people) of the private sector workforce employed by these organisations.

This announcement follows a January investment that saw $10.8 million in funding over 18 months allocated to the Small Business Debt Helpline and the NewAccess for Small Business Owners program.

“Small businesses are the engine room of Australia’s economy, and employ millions of employees. It’s important they have the support they need, when they need it,” said Collins.

“Small business owners and operators are resilient, but we also know some small businesses are doing it tough right now. That’s why this support is so important. This is part of our more than $640 million in practical and targeted support for small businesses, outlined in our Small Business Statement.”

[Related: Government boosts SME program funding to ease challenges]

Jack Campbell is the editor of Broker Daily. After graduating from the University of Wollongong in 2022, Jack began his journalistic career working on Broker Daily’s sister brand, HR Leader. In August 2023 he was made the news editor and worked alongside some talented journalists writing articles and recording podcasts.

To reach Jack, email him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.