Sole traders: the unsung hero of Australia’s economy
Sole Traders, Hidden Realities and Policy Blind Spots
Australia’s economic story is often told through the lens of big corporates and high-profile startups. Yet, beneath the surface, sole traders – the smallest of small businesses – play a vital but underappreciated role in the nation’s prosperity and community fabric. The recent ASBFEO analysis of ABS DataLab administrative data on sole traders from 2017-18 to 2021-22 sheds much-needed light on this diverse, dynamic cohort, unearthing trends and truths that demand a rethink from policymakers and business advocates alike.
The face of small business has changed – and policy hasn’t kept up
Public debate often talks about small business owners as if they’re a neatly defined group sitting off to one side of the economy. But ASBFEO’s analysis tells a far more contemporary, distinctly Australian story. Running a business has become a mainstream part of working life — something many Australians step into, step out of, or combine with other roles as circumstances and opportunities evolve. People are blending employment with enterprise, trying out ventures that don’t always fit traditional labels, yet still carrying the responsibilities, risks and rewards that come with being in business. It’s a reminder that the enterprising spirit is alive and well, showing up in all sorts of flexible, modern ways — and that our policy thinking needs to keep pace with how Australians are actually “having a go” today.
Who Are Our Sole Traders?
Gender: Women Surge Ahead
The new data reveals a striking trend: female sole traders grew by 31% over five years, more than double the rate for males (15%). Women now account for 40% of Australian sole traders, up from 37% in 2017-18. Their strongest growth was in the 30-49 age range, but there were also notable increases among women under 30 and over 50.
Age: A Slight Youth Movement
While the 30-49 age group remains dominant (48%), there’s a gentle shift toward youth: sole traders under 30 increased their share from 14% to 16% over five years. It’s a subtle but important sign of generational change in the small business landscape.
Cultural Diversity
CALD sole traders make up 37% of the total, a stable proportion even as absolute numbers grow. CALD sole traders are concentrated in metro areas and certain industries, particularly transport, postal and warehousing, which saw a 35% growth in CALD sole traders compared to a decline among non-CALD counterparts.
Geography: The Metro Majority, Regional Steadiness
Metro areas are home to nearly two-thirds of sole traders, a figure that rose from 58% to 64%. Yet regional sole traders, particularly women and carers, are growing. A quarter of sole traders are based outside major cities, providing vital services and economic activity in regional Australia.
Industry Patterns: Old Structures, New Surges
Construction remains the top industry for sole traders, especially men, but the fastest growth in the number of sole traders came from transport, postal and warehousing, and health care and social assistance – sectors where sole traders are meeting emerging needs, from gig economy delivery to aged care and disability support services. Gender segregation persists: women dominate health care and social assistance, education and training, retail trade, and personal and other services while men cluster in construction and transport, postal and warehousing. CALD sole traders are particularly prominent in the transport, postal and warehousing sector.
Invisible Challenges: Health, Caring, and Exclusion
One of the most striking findings is the prevalence of sole traders with long-term health conditions or disabilities. In 2021-22, 18,553 sole traders required assistance with core activities – a fall from previous years, but still significant. The gender gap in this group has narrowed, with the proportion of women increasing. One third of sole traders with long-term health conditions or disability operate in regional areas.
Sole traders also carry significant caring responsibilities. Over 193,000 provided unpaid care to others in 2021-22, with women again leading this increase. Their dual role as business operators and carers is often invisible in policy debates but is central to many families and communities.
Implications for Policy and the Economy
The economy has changed, and Australians’ working lives have become more fluid and multifaceted. Today, many people weave enterprise into their livelihoods in ways that don’t fit the old mould — and policy thinking needs to catch up with that reality.
Each dataset tells part of this evolving story. But when woven together, as the ASBFEO analysis does, they reveal a richer tapestry: Australians turning ideas into enterprise, earning a living while enriching their communities, juggling work, family and caring roles, carving out opportunities in emerging industries, and showing the grit, goodwill and get on with it spirit that defines our small business community.
This more human centred perspective helps policymakers and program designers appreciate sole traders not as faceless economic units, but as people — resourceful, community minded, adaptable and ready to respond when opportunities arise. It’s an authentic picture of the enterprising Australians who help power our nation.
This narrative rich perspective helps policymakers and program designers better appreciate sole traders not just as economic units, but as people — resourceful, community minded, and ready to respond when opportunities arise.
It’s time for policymakers to genuinely ‘see’ sole traders for who they really are: a dynamic, diverse, and resilient group, meeting Australia’s needs in sectors and communities often not front of mind. Supporting the full breadth of sole traders means recognising their true number, scale and lived realities, accounting for their care and health responsibilities, and embracing their cultural and geographic diversity.
If Australia is truly the land of opportunity, self-reliance and entrepreneurship, and the fair go, it’s time to give sole traders – in all their variety – the recognition and support they deserve.
Sex1
The accessed ABS data sets for this DataLab analysis utilised binary sex classifications. Where there were conflicting records or no response, ABS randomly assign records as either male or female.
There were 680,115 female sole traders in 2021-22. The number of female sole traders increased by nearly one third (31%) between 2017-18 and 2021-22. This compares to 15% for males. Female sole traders accounted for 40% of sole traders in 2021-22, up from 37% in 2017-18.
| Sex | Number of sole traders 2017/18 | Number of sole traders 2018/19 | Number of sole traders 2019/20 | Number of sole traders 2020/21 | Number of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 886,846 | 916,676 | 953,052 | 990,149 | 1,016,406 |
| Female | 518,889 | 555,229 | 588,087 | 643,274 | 680,115 |
| Total | 1,405,735 | 1,471,905 | 1,541,139 | 1,633,423 | 1,696,521 |
Note: The accessed ABS data sets for this DataLab analysis utilised binary sex classifications.
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
Female sole traders are most commonly aged 30 to 49 years, accounting for 42% of total sole traders in this age range in 2021-22. This has only increased slightly since 2017-18, from 40%.
The strongest increase in the number of female sole traders between 2017-18 and 2021-22 occurred in females aged 30 to 49 years. In percentage terms, the strongest growth occurred in females aged under 302 and those aged 50 and over. Females accounted for 39% of sole traders aged 50 and over in 2021-22, an increase from 35% in 2017-18.
Includes records where age is unknown to protect confidentiality. These are minimal as Datalab integrates a wide range of administrative data sources.
In 2021–22, 44% of sole traders born in Australia and/or speak English at home were female, compared to 38% among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) sole traders. This gap has been stable in percentage terms since 2017-18.
Growth in female sole traders in regional areas has outpaced that of males, both in numbers and percentage terms. They accounted for 41% of regional sole traders in 2021-22.
There were 8,661 female sole traders who require assistance with core activities in 2021-223 . They accounted for 47% of all sole traders requiring assistance in 2021-22, up from 39% in 2017-18.
Has need for assistance with core activities. The ABS define this as having a long-term health condition (lasting 6 months or more) or disability (lasting 6 months or more). People have the option of selecting ‘old or young age’. Where this is the only response, the ABS classify them as requiring assistance with core activities if they are aged 40 years or over. If they are aged under 40, the ABS classifies them as not requiring assistance with core activities. ABS are unable to quantify how often this occurs due to restrictions to such granular sensitive information. In the 2016 Census Dictionary, ABS reported that their testing found that from this age, some people who need assistance due to a long-term health condition or disability, may state that this need is due to ageing. It’s likely that this testing was for the general population rather than sampling designed to obtain representative estimates of sole traders.
Age
There has been a slight shift in the age composition in sole traders, with those aged under 304 accounting for 16% of sole traders in 2021-22 – a two-percentage point increase from 2017-18.
Includes records where age is unknown to protect confidentiality. These are minimal as Datalab integrates a wide range of administrative data sources.
| Age (years) | % of sole traders 2017/18 | % of sole traders 2018/19 | % of sole traders 2019/20 | % of sole traders 2020/21 | % of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | 14% | 15% | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| 30-49 | 49% | 49% | 48% | 48% | 48% |
| 50+ | 37% | 36% | 36% | 36% | 36% |
Under 30 : Includes records where age is unknown to protect confidentiality. These are minimal as Datalab integrates a wide range of administrative data sources.
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
CALD5
A business owner is classified as culturally and linguistically diverse in this analysis if they were born overseas or speak a language other than English at home. Records that used supplementary codes or were unable to be matched across multiple sources are reported separately.
The culturally and linguistically diverse component of sole traders has remained steady, with 37% of sole traders born overseas or speaking a language other than English at home in 2021-22. CALD sole traders tend to be concentrated in metro areas, with over three quarters operating in metro areas in 2021-22.
| CALD flag | % of sole traders 2017/18 | % of sole traders 2018/19 | % of sole traders 2019/20 | % of sole traders 2020/21 | % of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not CALD | 52% | 51% | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| CALD | 36% | 36% | 37% | 38% | 37% |
| ABS supplementary codes | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Unknown | 12% | 12% | 12% | 12% | 13% |
An individual is classified as CALD if they are born overseas or speak a language other than English at home. ABS supplementary codes include not stated, overseas visitors and records where ABS can’t apply the relevant classification based on the individual’s response e.g. if someone reports that they are born in Czechoslovakia, ABS classify this as a supplementary code as it’s unclear if they were born in Czechia or Slovakia.
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
Growth in different cohorts has been different in CALD compared to non-CALD populations:
- Growth in the number of CALD sole traders has been evenly split between males and females. In contrast, females who are not CALD have led the growth in sole traders in this cohort.
- Growth in the number of CALD sole traders was strongest in people aged 30 – 49, compared to 50 and over for non-CALD. In percentage terms, both cohorts had the highest growth in those aged 30 and under6 between 2017-18 and 2021-22.
Includes records where age is unknown to protect confidentiality. These are minimal as Datalab integrates a wide range of administrative data sources.
Regional7
Defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). This population-based geography is maintained by the ABS. Metro areas are defined as Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, Greater Brisbane, Greater Adelaide, Greater Perth, Greater Hobart, Greater Darwin, ACT. Regional areas are defined as Rest of NSW, Rest of Vic, Rest of Qld, Rest of SA, Rest of WA, Rest of Tas, Rest of NT, Other Territories.
Nearly two thirds (64%) of sole traders are in metro areas – an increase from 58% in 2017-18. The number of metro male sole traders increased slightly more than females. In contrast, the proportion of regional sole traders has been relatively steady over time, accounting for around one quarter of sole traders. Growth in the number of regional female sole traders has outpaced males, although both have increased.
| Business location | % of sole traders 2017/18 | % of sole traders 2018/19 | % of sole traders 2019/20 | % of sole traders 2020/21 | % of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro | 58% | 59% | 60% | 62% | 64% |
| Regional | 25% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 26% |
| Multiple locations or unknowns | 17% | 16% | 16% | 13% | 9% |
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
Industry8
Industry commentary refers to sole traders operating in a single industry. Records where sole traders were operating in multiple industries or industry unknown are included in totals but not in individual industries to avoid double counting and retain confidentiality. There will be some statistical noise between years if people shift into multiple industries between each year, as they will shift from a particular industry to the category of multiple businesses.
The number of sole traders has increased by 290,786 from 1,405,735 in 2017-18 to 1,696,521 in 2021-22. The transport, postal and warehousing and health care and social assistance industries were the main drivers of the increase9.
Where a single industry could be identified in DataLab.
| Industry | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 | % of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 196,603 | 200,262 | 203,265 | 206,558 | 209,530 | 12% |
| Professional Scientific & Technical Services | 142,660 | 151,311 | 157,840 | 164,805 | 167,767 | 10% |
| Transport Postal & Warehousing | 104,855 | 116,733 | 125,282 | 126,177 | 137,656 | 8% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 103,757 | 109,696 | 116,867 | 125,798 | 135,551 | 8% |
| Other Services | 76,236 | 81,231 | 85,432 | 91,487 | 97,740 | 6% |
| Administrative & Support Services | 68,457 | 76,202 | 81,688 | 87,885 | 94,712 | 6% |
| Agriculture Forestry & Fishing | 61,158 | 60,316 | 60,047 | 59,889 | 60,095 | 4% |
| Retail Trade | 41,992 | 44,563 | 46,388 | 49,663 | 52,867 | 3% |
| Arts & Recreation Services | 40,115 | 43,802 | 45,599 | 47,490 | 50,130 | 3% |
| Education & Training | 32,184 | 35,908 | 37,947 | 39,923 | 42,140 | 2% |
| Manufacturing | 27,711 | 29,204 | 29,492 | 30,412 | 31,575 | 2% |
| Rental Hiring & Real Estate Services | 21,822 | 22,260 | 22,963 | 23,627 | 24,015 | 1% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 16,867 | 17,553 | 18,041 | 18,863 | 19,665 | 1% |
| Wholesale Trade | 12,386 | 12,977 | 12,971 | 13,211 | 13,375 | 1% |
| Finance & Insurance Services | 12,765 | 12,755 | 12,971 | 13,407 | 13,218 | 1% |
| Information Media & Telecommunications | 10,113 | 11,494 | 11,451 | 12,175 | 12,702 | 1% |
| Public Administration & Safety | 3,925 | 4,149 | 3,993 | 3,581 | 3,607 | 0.2% |
| Electricity Water & Waste Services | 1,534 | 1,655 | 1,687 | 1,684 | 1,728 | 0.1% |
| Mining | 936 | 925 | 925 | 931 | 918 | 0.1% |
| Unknown or Missing Industry | 27,965 | 10,678 | 8,890 | 8,093 | 7,881 | 0.5% |
| Multiple or Undefined Industry | 401,694 | 428,231 | 457,400 | 507,764 | 519,649 | 31% |
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
Gender segregation remains, with men and women clustered in different industries. This has remained consistent over time. Male sole traders are particularly prevalent in construction and transport, postal and warehousing, accounting for over 90% of total sole traders in these industries. The health care and social assistance and education and training industries are mainly comprised of female sole traders, accounting for 66% and 61% of total sole traders respectively. Other industries where females accounted for most sole traders were retail trade (57%) and other services including a broad range of personal services such as hair and beauty services (54%).
CALD sole traders increased in transport, postal and warehousing by 22,838 (35%) between 2017-18 and 2021-22. In contrast, non-CALD sole traders fell 1,448 (-6%) over the same period.
Sole traders in health care and social assistance increased for both CALD and non-CALD sole traders, rising 30% and 33% respectively.
Construction was consistently the most common industry of non-CALD sole traders each year between 2018-19 and 2021-22. Transport, postal and warehousing was the most common industry of CALD sole traders over the same period.
Sole traders predominately operate from metro areas except for agriculture, forestry and fishing. Metro sole traders are particularly dominant in the transport, postal and warehousing industry, accounting for 79% of all sole traders in this industry in 2021-22. This distribution has been relatively stable since 2017-18. Construction remains the top industry for sole traders in both metro and regional areas. Transport, postal and warehousing has recorded the highest increase in metro sole traders over this period, while growth in health care and social assistance sole traders was highest in regional areas.
Small businesses in transport, postal, and warehousing are facing mounting challenges, driving the sharpest rise in requests for ASBFEO’s assistance. At the heart of these disputes is a familiar struggle: getting paid the money they’re owed. In 202510, nearly half (49%) of disputes in this sector were payment-related, up from 46% in 2024. By contrast, across all other industries, payment disputes declined to 34% in 2025 from 39% the previous year—underscoring just how acute the problem is for transport, postal, and warehousing small businesses.
Calendar year.
Sole traders requiring assistance with core activities11
Defined as a profound or severe core activity limitation. People with a profound or severe core activity limitation are those needing assistance in their day to day lives in one or more of the 3 core activity areas of self-care, mobility and communication because of a long-term health condition (6 months or more), a disability (lasting 6 months or more) and old age. If someone’s only response is ‘old or young age’, the ABS classifies them as needing assistance with core activities if they are aged 40 and over and not requiring this assistance if they are aged under 40. The ABS are unable to quantify the extent of this due to limitations on access to granular information. In the 2016 Census Dictionary, ABS reported that their testing found that from this age, some people who need assistance due to a long-term health condition or disability, may state that this need is due to ageing. It’s likely that this testing was for the general population rather than sampling designed to obtain representative estimates of sole traders.
There were 18,553 sole traders requiring assistance with core activities in 2021-22. This is a fall from 22,658 in 2017- 18. This fall was more prevalent for male sole traders. As a result, the gap between the sexes has narrowed over this period, with the proportion of male sole traders requiring assistance with core activities falling from 61% in 2017-18 to 53% in 2021-22.
| Sex | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males requiring assistance | 13,823 | 12,691 | 11.614 | 10,599 | 9,892 |
| Females requiring assistance | 8,835 | 8,644 | 8,493 | 8,619 | 8,661 |
| Total | 22,685 | 21,335 | 20,107 | 19,218 | 18,553 |
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
One third of sole traders requiring assistance with core activities were operating in regional areas in 2021-22. This compared to 26% in the general sole trader population.
Carers12
Defined as unpaid assistance to a person living with disability, health condition or due to old age. ABS exclude care provided through a voluntary organisation or group. Occasional help or assistance, such as shopping, is included if the person needs this type of assistance because of their condition.
There were 193,130 sole traders who provided unpaid care to others in 2021-22. More than half (52%) were females. Females were the main driver in the 13% increase in sole traders who provide unpaid care to others since 2017-18, although male sole traders have also increased slightly.
| Provided unpaid assistance | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provided unpaid assistance | 87,543 | 88,544 | 90,157 | 91,116 | 91,960 |
| Did not provide unpaid assistance | 666,661 | 688,554 | 717,364 | 746,170 | 756,888 |
| Supplementary codes | 11,595 | 12,328 | 13,084 | 13,901 | 14,354 |
| Unknown | 121,047 | 127,250 | 132,447 | 138,962 | 153,204 |
| Provided unpaid assistance | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provided unpaid assistance | 83,991 | 88,071 | 91,445 | 97,080 | 101,170 |
| Did not provide unpaid assistance | 380,318 | 408,131 | 434,503 | 478,229 | 504,795 |
| Supplementary codes | 5,017 | 5,428 | 5,912 | 6,707 | 7,258 |
| Unknown | 49,563 | 53,599 | 56,227 | 61,258 | 66,892 |
| Provided unpaid assistance | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provided unpaid assistance | 171,534 | 176,615 | 181,602 | 188,196 | 193,130 |
| Did not provide unpaid assistance | 1,046,979 | 1,096,685 | 1,151,867 | 1,224,399 | 1,261,683 |
| Supplementary codes | 16,612 | 17,756 | 18,996 | 20,608 | 21,612 |
| Unknown | 170,610 | 180,849 | 188,674 | 200,220 | 220,096 |
Supplementary codes include responses where the ABS could not reliably classify the information, not stated and overseas visitors. The accessed ABS data sets for this DataLab analysis utilised binary sex classifications.
Source: Based on ABS, Customised report, 2025.
Regional sole traders who are carers comprised 29% of all carer sole traders in 2021-22. This proportion has steadily increased since 2017-18, when it was 26%.
Religion
Sole traders most commonly report secular or spiritual beliefs or no religious affiliation13. Christianity remains the most common disclosed religion for both female and male sole traders (38% and 33% respectively). Christian females had the highest rise in number of sole traders of any religion in either sex between 2017-18 and 2021-22, increasing by 49,455 sole traders.
These are a combined category in Datalab.
The most common single religions amongst sole traders in regional areas were Christianity and Buddhism.
| Religion | No. of sole traders 2017/18 | No. of sole traders 2018/19 | No. of sole traders 2019/20 | No. of sole traders 2020/21 | No. of sole traders 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddhism | 34,570 | 37,665 | 40,653 | 43,907 | 45,623 |
| Christianity | 522,767 | 534,533 | 551,683 | 574,625 | 588,968 |
| Hinduism | 36,576 | 43,383 | 50,210 | 57,632 | 58,561 |
| Islam | 55,974 | 60,618 | 64,625 | 68,331 | 71,255 |
| Judaism | 9,175 | 9,391 | 9,668 | 9,919 | 10,049 |
| Other Religions | 30,950 | 35,353 | 40,343 | 43,605 | 45,062 |
| Secular/Spiritual/No Affiliation | 513,719 | 537,319 | 561,018 | 598,944 | 619,273 |
| Supplementary | 30,770 | 32,152 | 33,562 | 35,478 | 36,797 |
| No Religion Data | 170,610 | 180,849 | 188,674 | 200,220 | 220,096 |
| Multiple Religions | 624 | 642 | 703 | 762 | 837 |
About the data
The Datalab analysis includes all sole traders that the Datalab has a record of existing between 2017-18 and 2021- 22. Sole traders are defined in this dataset as any ABN that appeared in the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE) Business Income Tax and Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) Business Ownership (Sole traders) datasets.
Additional definition notes are included for each variable in this paper.
The following statement is provided as per ABS Datalab citation requirements:
“The results of these studies are based, in part, on data supplied to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999, Australian Border Force Act 2015, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 and/or the Student Assistance Act 1973. Such data may only used for the purpose of administering the Census and Statistics Act 1905 or performance of functions of the ABS as set out in section 6 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided back to custodians for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes and is not related to the ability of the data to support the Australian Taxation Office, Australian Business Register, Department of Social Services and/or Department of Home Affairs’ core operational requirements.
Legislative requirements to ensure privacy and secrecy of these data have been followed. For access to PLIDA and/or BLADE data under Section 16A of the ABS Act 1975 or enabled by section 15 of the Census and Statistics (Information Release and Access) Determination 2018, source data are de-identified and so data about specific individuals has not been viewed in conducting this analysis. In accordance with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, results have been treated where necessary to ensure that they are not likely to enable identification of a particular person or organisation."