Most statistics pages recycle each other. This one carries the source, the period and the caveat for every number, because a figure without a date is not evidence.
Last reviewed: 7 August 2026. Free to cite with attribution to Pipeline Plan.
The business population
| Metric | Figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actively trading businesses | 2,729,648 | 2024-25 | ABS Counts of Australian Businesses |
| Businesses with fewer than 20 employees | 97.3% | June 2025 | ABS / ASBFEO |
| Non-employing (sole trader) share | 64% | 2024-25 | ABS |
| 1–4 employees | 25% | 2024-25 | ABS |
| 5–19 employees | 9% | 2024-25 | ABS |
The structural shift — the most important table on this page
| Segment | Direction |
|---|---|
| Non-employing / sole trader | +4.3% in 2024-25 |
| 1–4 employees | −38,587 since 2021-22 (to 688,870) |
| 5–19 employees | Falling |
| 20–199 employees | Falling |
| 200+ employees | +2.6% in 2024-25 |
Only the smallest and the largest segments grew. Everything in between shrank. Businesses are shedding staff and reverting to solo operation.
Other population figures: 1,735,470 businesses operate with no staff. Sole proprietors account for 30% of business structures. Over half of businesses that started in 2019-20 had ceased trading by 2023.
Cost movements
AMP Bank GO Small Business Cost Pressure Index, March 2020 → March 2026:
| Cost | Increase |
|---|---|
| Insurance | +51.7% |
| Interest payments | +36.3% |
| Electricity | ~+26% |
| Wages (≈50% of index weighting) | +20.3% |
| Weighted total | +24.6%, tracking to +27.1% by end 2026 |
Other cost data: 89% of Australian SMEs experienced higher input costs in the preceding twelve months (CommBank, 2025). 46.3% say increasing costs had a major negative impact — third-highest of eleven Asia-Pacific markets (CPA Australia). Some small business insurance premiums are up 60% since 2019, with a 10–20% loading applied in CBD zones.
Fuel excise — the 2026 timeline
| Period | Rate |
|---|---|
| Before 1 April 2026 | 52.6c/L |
| 1 April – 30 June 2026 | 20.6c/L |
| 1 July – 2 August 2026 | 36.6c/L |
| From 3 August 2026 | 53.7c/L (full indexed rate) |
Context: national average unleaded passed $2.30/L in late March 2026 following disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of global daily oil supply. Total relief package: $2.9bn announced, approximately $2.5bn net cost. 51% of SMEs named fuel their single biggest cost concern, with average fuel costs up ~18% year on year (MYOB, May 2026).
The restored rate exceeds the pre-crisis baseline because excise is indexed.
Wages and superannuation, 2026-27
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| National Minimum Wage | +5.97% to $26.44/hr ($1,004.90/week) |
| Modern award minimum rates | +4.75% |
| Workforce affected | 21.1% (~2.7 million workers) |
| Superannuation Guarantee | 12% (ceiling reached 1 July 2025) |
| Payday Super | Live 1 July 2026 — 7 business days from payday |
| Decision date | 2 June 2026 |
Payday Super impact: average SME additional working capital requirement over $124,000 (Employment Hero). 68% of SMEs had made no cash flow preparation (ScotPac). The ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed 30 June 2026.
Payroll tax thresholds: NSW $1.2m @ 5.45% · VIC $1m @ 4.85%, phasing out between $3m and $5m · QLD $1.3m @ 4.75–4.95%.
Insolvency and distress
| Metric | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Companies entering external administration | 14,011 | FY2025-26 |
| Prior year | 14,722 | FY2024-25 |
| Cumulative since 2021 | 52,190 | 2021 – 2026 |
| Construction share | 3,472 — largest of any industry | FY2025-26 |
Appointment mix: director-driven appointments represent 72.2% of initial appointments — voluntary liquidations 41.6%, small business restructurings 20.1%, voluntary administrations 10.5%. Small Business Restructuring appointments rose over 200% year on year in the first nine months of FY2024-25.
FY2025-26 was the first year-on-year decline since the post-COVID wave. The RBA’s March 2026 Financial Stability Review observed insolvencies have “stabilised at around longer-run averages economy-wide.”
Tax debt and enforcement
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Small business collectable tax debt | $35.9bn (2024-25) |
| Increase since 2018-19 | +$19.4bn |
| Share of total collectable debt | ~two-thirds of $54.2bn |
| Unpaid activity statement debt | ~$34.7bn (at 30 June 2025) |
| Payment plans on foot | 655,000+, covering ~$11.7bn |
| Director penalty notices issued | ~85,000 in 2024-25, covering $5.5bn |
| General interest charge | ~10.96% p.a., compounding daily (Apr–Jun 2026 quarter) |
| Deductibility | Not deductible since 1 July 2025 |
At the 25% company tax rate, non-deductible 10.96% is equivalent to roughly 14.6% pre-tax.
Cash flow and payment times
| Metric | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Average days to be paid | 24.1 days | March quarter 2026 |
| Average days paid late | 6.9 days | March quarter 2026 |
| Large businesses paying within 30 days | 3 in 10 | — |
| Large businesses taking 120+ days | ~1 in 4 | — |
| SMEs citing tight cash flow as top concern | 43% | 2025 |
| SMEs using non-bank lending (past 12 months) | 34% | 2026 |
| Have used or would consider non-bank lending | 92% | 2026 |
Technology, AI and productivity
AI adoption:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Australian SME AI adoption | 44% (Feb 2026), up from 25% in 2024 |
| AI users reporting productivity gains | 79%, up from 37% (mid-2024) |
| Reported productivity improvement | 25–35% for SMEs |
| Reported higher revenue from AI | ~43% |
| Reported lower operating costs | ~25% |
| Employment grew due to AI | 19% (vs 6% where staffing declined) |
| Top use cases | Content generation and data analytics, 54% each |
| Non-adopter barrier | ~65% cite distrust or preference for human control |
But — the conversion gap:
| CPA Australia, 2025-26 | Australia | APAC avg | AU rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech investment improved profitability | 29.6% | 56.3% | 10/11 |
| Named AI as top technology investment | 15% | 32% | — |
| Most-invested technology | Accounting software | Artificial intelligence | — |
| Sought advice from IT consultants | 17.0% | 26.6% | 10/11 |
Adoption is broad but shallow. Time saved is being reabsorbed rather than converted into profit.
Software waste: 25–30% of SaaS licences go unused or significantly underutilised. Businesses under 200 employees run an average of 42 applications, with up to 47% of licences unused.
Australia vs the Asia-Pacific
CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey 2025-26, eleven markets:
| Indicator | Australia | APAC avg | AU rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grew in last 12 months | 45.9% | 62.5% | 9/11 |
| Expect to grow next 12 months | 52.8% | 69.9% | 10/11 |
| Expect local economy to grow | 33.9% | 64.6% | 11/11 |
| Increased employee numbers | 13.3% | 36.2% | 10/11 |
| Will introduce something new to market | 11.7% | 29.2% | 10/11 |
| >10% of revenue from online sales | 43.6% | 63.4% | 10/11 |
| Did NOT use social media for business | 31.7% | 12.0% | 1/11 (worst) |
| Required external funds | 29.8% | 61.3% | 11/11 |
| Expect strong overseas revenue growth | 8.5% | 20.6% | 10/11 |
Owner demographics — the structural driver
| Metric | Australia | APAC avg |
|---|---|---|
| Owners aged 50+ | 54% | 26% |
| Owners aged under 40 | 22.8% | 38.0% |
Growth by owner age:
| Age | Reported growth in 2025 | Not using social media |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40 | 64% | 24% |
| 50–59 | 40% | 31% |
| 60+ | 32% | 48% |
Australia has the second-oldest small business ownership profile among the eleven markets surveyed. The most common succession plan is no succession or exit plan.
The human cost
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Experienced financial stress in past year | 64.3% |
| Worked through illness rather than taking time off | 61.3% |
| Never taken a single week off | 31.7% (rising to 60% among those working 60+ hour weeks) |
| Have considered closing or selling | 50.8% |
| Sole traders / micro earning under $75,000 | ~70% |
| Report satisfaction with business ownership | 81% |
| Cited financial gain as primary motivation | 7% |
The last two lines are the ones worth sitting with. They did not start it for the money. They started it for autonomy — and 31.7% have never taken a week off.
Cost-cutting behaviour
When facing severe hardship, Australian small businesses report their preferred order:
| Action | Share |
|---|---|
| Let employees go — first option | ~44% |
| Reduce products or services — second option | ~31% |
| Cut software or licences — second option | 16% |
| Shop utilities at least annually | 58% (1 in 5 every six months) |
Set against the profit arithmetic: on a $1m business at 10% net margin, a 5% price rise adds ~$50,000 while a 10% cut to discretionary costs adds ~$5,000.
The behaviour is close to inverted against the value. That gap is the single most consequential fact in Australian small business right now.
Sources
Australian Bureau of Statistics (Counts of Australian Businesses; business adoption of AI) · Australian Securities and Investments Commission (insolvency statistics) · Australian Taxation Office · Australian National Audit Office · Fair Work Commission · Australian Energy Regulator · Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts · Reserve Bank of Australia (Financial Stability Review March 2026; Statement on Monetary Policy May 2026) · ASBFEO Small Business Data Portal · CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey 2025-26 · MYOB Bi-Annual Business Monitor May 2026 · AMP Bank GO Small Business Cost Pressure Index 2026 · ScotPac SME Growth Index · Employment Hero · CommBank SME research · BizCover State of Australian Small Business Owners 2026 · National AI Centre · Xero Small Business Insights.
Confidence note: government and regulator figures are primary-sourced. Vendor and industry survey figures — the AMP index components, the Employment Hero working capital estimate, SaaS utilisation rates and the 44% cost-cutting preference — are single-source or self-interested and should be treated as directional rather than definitive.