Small Businesses Losing Ground in Post-Pandemic Australia, Warns Ombudsman

‘If small and family businesses are the ’engine room of the economy‘, we have lost a cylinder in a four-cylinder engine in the aftermath of COVID,’ he said.

People shop in a JB Hi-Fi store on May 28, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Australia’s small business sector—traditionally a major driver of the economy—is facing a decline in influence, with the country potentially “sleepwalking” towards an economy dominated by large corporations, the Ombudsman for the sector has warned.

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson points out that in 2006, small firms contributed 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 53 percent of the private sector’s workforce.