Australian Small Business Online Statistics (2026)

Australia had 2,729,648 actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025, and 97.3% of them were small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Yet only around a third receive orders online, and the most recent dedicated study on the question found a majority of small businesses had no website at all. That gap between where customers are and where businesses show up is the single biggest commercial opportunity in Australian digital marketing right now.

We compiled this page as a reference for journalists, researchers, students, and business owners who want verified numbers rather than recycled guesses. Every statistic below is linked to its original source, with a strong preference for Australian government data: the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and the .au Domain Administration (auDA). You are welcome to cite anything here with credit.

Key statistics at a glance

1. There were 2,729,648 actively trading businesses in Australia at 30 June 2025, according to the ABS Counts of Australian Businesses (2025).
2. 97.3% of Australian businesses are small businesses (0-19 employees), a total of 2,656,469, per the ASBFEO Small Business Counts report (August 2025).
3. Small businesses employed 5.165 million people, 39% of the private sector workforce, in 2023-24, per the ASBFEO Contribution to Australian Employment report (July 2025).
4. Only 32% of Australian businesses received orders online in 2024-25, per the ABS Characteristics of Australian Business (2024-25).
5. 51% of businesses used social media for their online presence in 2024-25, up from 47% in 2021-22, per the ABS (2024-25).
6. 12% of businesses reported using AI in 2024-25, up from just 1% in 2022-23, per the ABS (2024-25).
7. 59% of Australian small businesses had no website, rising to 65% in regional areas, in GoDaddy research on Australian small businesses (2019 survey), still the most-cited dedicated study on the question.
8. Australians spent $82.6 billion online in 2025, up 14% year on year, per the Australia Post eCommerce Report (2026).
9. Three in four Australians are more likely to trust a business whose website ends in .au, and half will only purchase online from a business with a .au website, per auDA research (2025).
10. 85% of small businesses say they would struggle to function without the internet, per auDA's Digital Lives of Australians report (2026).

How many small businesses are there in Australia?

The foundation numbers come from the ABS, which counts businesses actively remitting GST.

• At 30 June 2025 there were 2,729,648 actively trading businesses in Australia, with 994,178 employing businesses and roughly 1.74 million non-employing businesses, per the ABS Counts of Australian Businesses (2025).
• In 2024-25, 437,150 businesses started trading (a 16.4% entry rate) and 370,500 exited (a 13.9% exit rate), a net gain of 66,650 businesses or 2.5% growth, per the ABS (2025).
• 97.3% of all Australian businesses are small businesses under the ABS definition of fewer than 20 employees, per the ASBFEO (August 2025).
• 64% of Australian businesses are self-employed or non-employing, 25% employ 1-4 people, and 9% employ 5-19 people, per the ASBFEO (August 2025).
• Using the ATO's turnover definition (under $10 million), 98% of Australian businesses are small, and 92% of those turn over less than $2 million a year, per the ASBFEO (August 2025).
• Small business employment is heavily concentrated in service trades: construction small businesses employed 804,000 people at June 2024, and small businesses account for 62% of all construction employment, per the ASBFEO Contribution to Australian Employment report (July 2025).

The service-business context matters here. Most Australian small businesses are one-person or micro operations in trades, professional services, and personal services. These are exactly the businesses where a single extra enquiry a week changes the year, and where the owner is also the marketing department.

Website and online presence adoption

This is where the numbers get uncomfortable.

• The most recent dedicated Australian study found 59% of small businesses did not have a website, and in regional areas that figure climbed to 65%, per GoDaddy's survey of Australian small businesses (2019).
• The reasons given: 44% believed their business was too small to justify a website, 30% said it was too expensive, and 17% said they lacked the time, per GoDaddy (2019).
• Among businesses without a website, 47% said they were considering building one within 12 months, per GoDaddy (2019).
• More current government data shows the gap persists: only 32% of Australian businesses received orders via the internet in 2024-25, barely changed from 30% in 2021-22, per the ABS Characteristics of Australian Business (2024-25).
• On the trust side, seven in ten Australian businesses with a domain name choose .au, and two in five consumers check a .au website first when shopping online, per auDA (2025).

Meanwhile, the customers those businesses want to reach are almost universally online. 98% of Australian adults had internet access at home at June 2024, and 98% used at least one communication or social media service, per the ACMA's How we communicate report (2024). The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (2023) puts the national digital inclusion score at 73.2, up 2.1 points since 2021, though 23.6% of Australians remain excluded or highly excluded, a reminder that a good website still needs to be fast, simple and mobile-friendly for everyone.

For a service business, the takeaway is blunt: your customers are online even if you are not, and a large share of your competitors still have not built a serious web presence. That is why professional web design paired with local SEO remains the highest-leverage marketing investment for most Australian small businesses. If you are weighing up the cost side, our guide to how much SEO costs in Australia breaks down real numbers.

Digital marketing, social media and AI adoption

• 51% of Australian businesses used social media for their online presence in 2024-25, up from 47% in 2021-22, per the ABS (2024-25).
• Over 91% of businesses said their internet connection met most or all of their needs in 2024-25, up from 88% in 2021-22, per the ABS (2024-25).
• 12% of businesses reported using AI in 2024-25, a twelvefold jump from 1% in 2022-23, with Information, Media and Telecommunications leading at 38%, per the ABS (2024-25).
• auDA's survey-based research paints an even faster adoption curve: 72% of small businesses reported using AI in 2026, up from 64% in 2025, per the Digital Lives of Australians report (2026).
• Cyber security remains a weak spot: 21% of businesses experienced a cyber security incident in 2024-25, per the ABS (2024-25), while 38% of small businesses believe they are too small to be a target for cyber criminals, per auDA (2026).

The AI numbers deserve a pause. When most small businesses are experimenting with AI tools, and their customers are asking AI assistants for recommendations, showing up in AI-generated answers becomes a marketing channel in its own right. That is the thinking behind answer engine optimisation, which we cover across our SEO articles.

Ecommerce and online spending in Australia

Australia Post processes a large share of the nation's parcels, which makes its annual eCommerce Report the benchmark dataset for online retail.

• Australians spent $82.6 billion online in 2025, up 14% year on year, per the Australia Post eCommerce Report (2026).
• 24% of all Australian retail spend now happens online, per Australia Post (2026).
• A record 9.8 million Australian households, around 82%, shopped online in 2025, and 41% of them shopped online at least fortnightly, per Australia Post (2026).
• 32% of online shoppers are already using AI for shopping advice, and six in ten say they are comfortable using AI, per Australia Post (2026).
• On the trust layer beneath all of this, more than half of Australian consumers will only purchase from a business online if it has a .au website, per auDA (2025).

Even if you never sell a product online, these numbers shape buyer behaviour for services too. People who buy their groceries and clothes online at 9pm expect to be able to research a plumber, dentist or accountant the same way, compare options, read reviews, and book or enquire without a phone call.

The gap, and the opportunity for service businesses

Put the two halves of this page side by side:

• 98% of Australian adults are online, 82% of households shop online, and a quarter of retail spending has moved online.
• Yet only 32% of businesses take orders online, only about half use social media, and the best available research suggests a majority of small businesses still lack a website.

That mismatch is the opportunity. In most local service markets, the competitive bar is low: a fast, credible website with genuine reviews, clear pricing signals and locally targeted pages will outrank and outconvert the majority of competitors who have nothing, or who have a neglected site from 2015. Our SEO checklist for Australian small businesses is a practical starting point, and if your site exists but does not produce enquiries, start with why service business websites fail to convert.

The window is closing, though. Business entry rates are running at 16.4% a year, AI adoption among small businesses jumped eight percentage points in a single year, and every year the ABS digital indicators tick upward. The businesses that build their digital foundations now inherit the rankings, reviews and AI citations that latecomers will have to buy their way past.

Methodology and sources

All statistics on this page were verified against the original publisher in July 2026. We prioritised Australian government and industry-body sources, then large-sample industry reports. Where a statistic comes from an older study (the GoDaddy website survey, conducted in 2019 with 425 respondents), we have said so plainly rather than passing it off as current. Percentages are quoted as published; we have not derived or re-modelled any figures.

Primary sources:

• ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, 2021-2025
• ABS, Characteristics of Australian Business, 2024-25
• ASBFEO, Number of Small Businesses in Australia, August 2025
• ASBFEO, Contribution to Australian Employment, July 2025
• ACMA, Communications and Media in Australia: How We Communicate, December 2024
• auDA, Why .au? Trusted by Australians Online, February 2025
• auDA, Digital Lives of Australians, 2026
• Australia Post, eCommerce Report, 2026
• Australian Digital Inclusion Index, 2023
• GoDaddy, Australian Small Business Website Study, 2019

Frequently asked questions

How many small businesses are there in Australia?

There were 2,656,469 small businesses (0-19 employees) in Australia at 30 June 2025, which is 97.3% of the 2,729,648 actively trading businesses counted by the ABS, per ASBFEO calculations (2025).

What percentage of Australian small businesses have a website?

There is no current official census of small business websites. The most recent dedicated study, by GoDaddy (2019), found 59% of Australian small businesses had no website. The closest current government indicator is that only 32% of businesses received orders online in 2024-25 (ABS), which suggests the online presence gap remains large.

How much do Australians spend online each year?

Australians spent $82.6 billion online in 2025, up 14% on the previous year, representing 24% of all retail spend, according to the Australia Post eCommerce Report (2026).

Are Australian small businesses using AI?

Yes, and adoption is accelerating. The ABS (2024-25) found 12% of businesses used AI, up from 1% in 2022-23, while auDA's survey-based Digital Lives of Australians report (2026) found 72% of small businesses reported using AI in some form.

Why does a .au domain matter for an Australian business?

Because it is a trust signal. auDA research (2025) found three in four Australians are more likely to trust a business with a .au website, and half of consumers will only buy online from a business with one.

Cite these statistics

You are welcome to use any statistic on this page in articles, reports, presentations or coursework. Please credit the original source named beside each figure, and if this compilation saved you research time, a link back to Orkkid (orkkid.com) is appreciated. If you spot a figure that has been superseded by a newer official release, we would genuinely like to hear about it so we can keep this page accurate.