25 November 2021
Of the 2.4 million businesses in Australia, the majority (2.35 million or 98 per cent) are small businesses.
Nearly two-thirds of businesses are sole traders and more than a third employ 1-19 staff. The state with the largest number of SMEs is NSW, with 33% of all SMEs located in NSW.
The industry with the largest number of small businesses is construction (17%) followed by professional, scientific, and technical services (13%) then rental, hiring and real estate services (11%).
Latest news
The ABA welcomes the release of the Federal Government’s response to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services’ inquiry into financial abuse, released today. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham acknowledged the important work of the committee as well as the Government’s response and said banks were committed to protecting customers from the scourge of… Read more »
Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the Committee for the opportunity to appear today. Australia’s banks are not approaching artificial intelligence as a distant prospect. It is already at work in our industry, every hour of every day. It is checking payments in real time, answering customer questions at two in the morning, helping… Read more »
E&OEDoorstop9 News8 October 2026 Topics: Credit card surcharging ban Journalist: The Greens say that to solve this issue, the banks should be paying the credit card surcharge. What’s your response to that? Simon Birmingham: Having a safe, modern, secure payment system does come with huge costs, but banks are already cutting payment fees by around… Read more »