There were 482,836 small businesses in Queensland on 30 June 2023, representing 19% of all Australian small businesses (compared to 20% of Australia’s population who are Queenslanders1).
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional Population, 2021-22, Accessed 15 January 2024.
Table 1: Small business in Queensland, 30 June 2023
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics, customised data, 2023.
As shown above, 46% of Queensland’s small businesses were in the Greater Capital City region. This aligns with the population distribution, as around half of Queensland’s population resides outside of Greater Brisbane.
Table 2: Businesses in Queensland by size, 30 June 2023
* Includes businesses where information is only available at the state/territory level.
1 This includes a small number of businesses which have income tax withholding roles for purposes other than withholding amounts from wages and salaries (and as such have zero employment).
2 Calculated by ASBFEO based on the ABS definition of small business of 0-19 employees.
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics, customised data, 2023.
Changes to small businesses numbers for Queensland
Chart 1: Annual change in the number of small businesses in Queensland
Greater Brisbane | Rest of Queensland | Queensland Total | |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
2020 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
2021 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
2022 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
2023 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Total includes a small number of businesses where information is only available at the state/territory level.
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics, customised data, 2023.
The number of small businesses in Queensland increased 2% over the year to 30 June 2023. They increased by 4,345 (2%) in Greater Brisbane. The areas with the largest increase in the number of small businesses were:
- Browns Plains (increased by 582 small businesses)
- Brisbane Inner (increased by 520 small businesses)
- Springfield - Redbank (increased by 429 small businesses).
The areas with the largest percentage increase from the previous year were:
- Browns Plains (increased by 11%)
- Springfield – Redbank (increased by 8%)
- Jimboomba (increased by 7%)
- Beenleigh (increased by 7%).
The number of small businesses in the rest of Queensland increased by 5,206 (2%) over the year to 30 June 2023. The areas with the largest increase in the number of small businesses were:
- Ormeau – Oxenford (increased by 867 small businesses)
- Toowoomba (increased by 521 small businesses)
- Mackay (increased by 370 small businesses).
The areas with the largest percentage increase from the previous year were:
- Ormeau – Oxenford (increased by 6%)
- Sunshine Coast Hinterland (increased by 5%)
- Gold Coast Hinterland (increased by 5%)
- Gold Coast – North (increased by 5%)
- Cairns – North (increased by 5%).