Australia’s business population has topped 2.7 million, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting a 2.5% rise in 2024–25. The total number of actively trading businesses increased by 66,650 to 2,729,648, up from about 2.663 million a year earlier.
New entries outpaced exits, with 437,150 businesses starting and 370,500 closing during the year. The ABS said both figures were higher than in the previous two years, underscoring robust business churn as conditions shift across sectors and states.
Western Australia recorded the fastest growth in business counts, up 4.3% (an additional 10,877 businesses). Queensland was next, rising 2.7% (13,579). Queensland also attracted the most relocations from elsewhere in Australia, with 1,250 businesses moving operations into the state.
Health Care and Social Assistance was the fastest-growing industry by business count, up 6.6%, followed by Transport, Postal and Warehousing, up 5.1%. Construction registered the largest number of new businesses, with 76,414 entrants, highlighting ongoing dynamism in the building trades even as pressures from costs and capacity continue to shape the sector.
Partnership structures continued a long-running decline. The ABS reported a 4.3% fall in partnership businesses in 2024–25, equating to 9,226 fewer, and noted partnerships have not posted an annual increase since 2002, when the publication first began reporting by business type.
The ABS said detailed counts by geographic areas and ANZSIC classes will be added to this 2024–25 release later this year. All figures are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
