Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits

In 2021-22 the three industries with the largest percentage growth in businesses were:

• Administrative and Support Services (with an increase of 14.7% or 15,685 to 122,344 total)
• Other Services (with an increase of 12.9% or 14,778 to 129,049 total)
• Arts and Recreation Services (with an increase of 10.0% or 3,382 to 37,078 total)

The industry with the smallest percentage increase in businesses in 2021-22 was:

• Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (with an increase of 1.4% or 2,384 to 175,333 total)

In 2021-22 there was a:

• 10.9% increase in the number of businesses in Victoria, the largest percentage growth in any state/territory, with an increase of 71,444 to 726,839 total
• 7.7% increase in the number of businesses in the Australian Capital Territory, with an increase of 2,419 to 33,918 total
• 4.7% increase in the number of businesses in Tasmania (1,896 to 42,614 total), the lowest percentage growth of any state/territory

In 2021-22 there was a:

• 8.9% (7,487) increase in financial corporations, to 91,426 total
• 7.9% (102,940) increase in households to 1,401,062 total. Households accounted for 54.5% of all businesses, the largest of any institutional sector
• 5.6% (57,073) increase in non-financial corporations to 1,074,311 total

In 2021-22 sole proprietors had the largest net growth of any type of legal organisation, increasing by 90,239 businesses, or 12.7% to 798,209 total. This was driven by a 31.0% entry rate for sole proprietors, with 219,515 entries

There was also a:

• 6.6% (65,600) increase in companies to 1,052,213 total
• 1.8% (4,189) decrease in partnerships to 231,839 total

Employment data in this section was created using annualised employment data typically published in CABEE.

An experimental point-in-time employment indicator to capture short term impacts is available in the datacubes. For more information, see the Methodology or the About tab of the relevant datacubes.

In 2021-22 the number of non-employing businesses increased by 9.9% (140,102), with a net movement of 14,978 surviving businesses from employing to non-employing.

There was also a:

• 5.9% (3,309) increase in businesses with 20-199 employees to 59,355 total

• 3.0% (6,675) increase in businesses with 5-19 employees to 227,102 total

• 2.4% (17,395) increase in businesses with 1-4 employees to 728,759 total

In 2021-22:

• 92.6% of businesses had turnover of less than $2 million
• 27.2% of businesses had turnover of less than $50,000
• 81.2% of exits had turnover of less than $200,000

• There was a large net movement of surviving businesses into the upper turnover size ranges, with businesses having a turnover at or above $200,000 increasing by 61,627 collectively
• The $5 million to less than $10 million turnover size range showed the largest percentage change, increasing by 14.3%, driven largely by the movement of 11,526 businesses from the $2m to less than $5m turnover size range
   

Interactive map - Count of Australian businesses including entries and exits, July 2018 ­– June 2022
The map is best viewed in full screen and opens in a new tab.

How to use

• If the map page does not load, please try again later or refresh the page.
• Use the headings under the main title to navigate to a topic and then use the buttons on the left to view different subsets of the data. 
• If viewing on a mobile device or small screen the buttons to switch between data subsets may move to below the map. 
• Click on a region of interest to view data about that region.
• To search, click on the magnifying glass to open the search function. You can search for addresses, suburbs, and postcodes. 

Geographic areas

The boundaries used in the interactive map are:
•    Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) 2021, ASGS Edition 3 Main Structure boundaries according to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3. 
•    Local Government Area (LGA) 2021, ASGS Edition 3 Non-ABS Structures boundaries according to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 3, June 2021. 

Map data

The data displayed in the interactive map can be accessed from the Data downloads section below.

In the September quarter 2022 there was a:

• 0.2%, or 5,371, increase in the number of businesses
• 5.2% entry rate, with 132,626 entries
• 5.0% exit rate, with 127,255 exits
• 0.1% (-1,182) decrease in non-employing businesses and 1.0% (6,553) increase in total employing businesses

For more information on the methodological differences between the quarterly and annual counts, see the Technical note.

In the September quarter 2022, the three subdivisions with the largest net quarterly increase in businesses were:

• Medical and Other Health Care Services (+2,352 businesses or 1.6%)
• Property Operators and Real Estate Services (+1,785 businesses or 0.7%)
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Except Computer System Design and Related Services) (+1,415 businesses or 0.5%)

The subdivision with the largest net quarterly decrease in businesses was in:

• Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services (-1,615 businesses, or -2.5%)

There is a strong seasonal pattern in the counts of Total Businesses, Business Entries and Business Exits. To assist in distinguishing between short-term trends and the seasonal patterns, seasonally adjusted counts have been prepared for these headline figures. For more information, see the Methodology.

In the September 2022 quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms, there was a:

• 0.2%, or 4,010, decrease in the number of businesses
• -16.6% entry rate, with 118,221 entries
• 28.6% exit rate, with 124,405 exits

Australian Business Register (ABR) initiated cancellations substantially increased in the June and September quarters 2022 from 2020 or 2021 (in line with pre-COVID levels in 2019). The focus of bulk cancellations continues to be businesses that have recently lodged but not reported business activity (and there is no other data indicating their entitlement to an ABN). Increases in cancellations, as well as long term non-remitters, in the September 2022 quarter have resulted in a decrease in total businesses in seasonally adjusted terms.

This release previously used catalogue number 8165.0.

December quarter experimental estimates will be made available available in an “Additional Information” release in February 2023. Release dates are available under Future releases at the top of this page and in the ABS Release Calendar.