Congratulations are in order! We are congratulating you for taking the first step in researching profitable business ideas in Australia. If you are considering starting a business with little or minimal capital, then you are in the right place.You can start some of these businesses with 20k, 10k, 5k or with just your skills. We also shared small business ideas in other regions like Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany e.t.c. Curating this list of small businesses in Australia, also opened up other areas of small business ideas from home that you can take advantage of if you have no capital.
What We Covered In This Article
How easy is it to start a new business in Australia?
Statista reported that in 2022, 252,389 new businesses were registered in Australia. The figure of new business in Australia is expected to grow to 259,883 in 2025. This data tells us that it is relatively easy to start a business in Australia. If you are considering starting one, this is the best time to do that. The Australian Government’s Business Registration Service is a portal designed by the government to make business names and company registration easier. You can register a business name using the online portal, and it combines several business and tax registrations in one place.
Cost of registering your business name
According to the official website, the cost of registering your business name (a new business in Australia) with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) is $39 for 1 year or $92 for 3 years.
Checklist of Information you’ll need to provide
To start a new business in Australia you would need the following information to process your registration through the government portal.
- name and contact details of the applicant
- address and contact details of the business or organisation
- details of each person or organisation associated with the business (e.g. partner, director, secretary or shareholder)
- tax agent number (if you wish to use an agent)
- proposed business name (you can apply for up to five names per application)
- business name transfer number (if buying an existing business)
- credit card details (please note that we only accept Visa and MasterCard)
How can a foreigner start a business in Australia?
Yes. A non-citizen can start a business in Australia but you need nomination by a state or territory government. The process for foreigners or immigrants to start a business in Australia involves the following:
- submitting an expression of interest through the Department of Home Affairs’ online service.
- Receive an invitation to apply for a visa. Usually you can wait for a state or territory government to contact you, or you can contact them directly.
- With your invitation, you can then apply for a visa. Check out the requirements and documents needed to support your application.
There are a lot of business opportunities in Australia for foreigners, in case you don’t want to set up your own business. According to the International Trade Administration, Australia has over 1,100 franchisors, 65,000 franchise units, and 8,000 company-owned units in Australia.
Based on their recommendation some of the promising sectors for franchise investment are home building, carpet cleaning, repair systems, waste management, and financial planning. However, the most popular opportunities for franchising in Australia are in the non-food retail industry, which accounts for over 25% of franchise systems. You can search for franchising opportunities on Top Franchise
Is Australia a good country to start a business
With approximately 26 million people and a per capita income of $66,408, there is a lot of room for small businesses to thrive. The service sector contributes about 71.2% of the country’s total GDP, with the industrial sector contributing 25.3%, and the agriculture sector contributing only 3.6%. However, the agricultural sector also holds a lot of [potential for growth and a small business with innovative strategies can easily dominate this sector and build a high value business. With an international tourism receipts of $45.7 billion in 2019 and access to over 9.5 million international tourists yearly; a tourist based small business also has potential for exponential growth. Australian-based companies also have access to over A$70 billion in federal, state and local grants and incentives. There are grants and incentives that are accessible through states and territories, and for specific industries.
30 profitable small business ideas in the Australia
Do you want to know the most profitable small businesses in Australia? Are you looking for ideas to build successful small businesses in Australia? Or you want to know examples of small businesses in Australia, where you can start with very little capital and a high return? If you answer yes to any of the questions above then this section would give you the information on profitable small business ideas to start in Australia.
Note: (include estimated startup cost and average revenue that can be earned from each business idea)
Digital and technology business ideas
Technology and the digital landscape is fast becoming an enabler of wealth creation and business transformation. Starting a digital related business helps you minimise your startup and operating cost while increasing your profit margins. Digital businesses also scale fast and serve as a tool for building an international business.
1. Game development agency
Global Australia reported that about over 2,000 software developers are working in Australia’s games industry. The video game industry in Australia alone is worth $2.96 billion annually. Taking out time to learn game development or using your skills in game development to start a business. The business of building interactive games either for educational or entertainment purposes is a very profitable one in Australia. This business requires high time input and with high powered computers and development softwares you can start a game development agency from home with $0. The success of this business depends on creating a viral game or offering your services as a freelance game development agency. You can charge between $20,000 to $500,000 or more depending on the complexity of the game.
2. Content creation (blogging, youtube, seo, translation)
You must have heard the expression, “content is king”. You can create written content you are passionate about in a blog and monetize the blog through affiliate marketing, ad revenue from platforms like adsterra or brand sponsorships. Creating video contents on Youtube is another profitable small business idea to start with little capital. With just your computer, phone and the internet, you can start creating content right away. Another way to make money is to offer Search Engine Optimization services for small businesses or translation services for businesses with international reach. Businesses would pay anywhere from a few $100 to thousands of dollars for your services.
3. Website and graphics design
Web agencies like Weblingo in Australia charge between $1000 for starter websites to $7188 for enterprise websites. With your web agency and 10 clients you can earn between $10,000 to $71,880 annually. You can combine web design services to graphics design services and increase your earnings. However, several surveys show that the average salary or earnings for a graphics designer in Australia is $73,032 per year.
4. Virtual assistance
Indeed stated that the average salary for a Virtual Assistant in Australia is $83503 annually. Even though with the right business strategies you can earn more as a freelancer. Another area of consideration is to start a virtual assistant marketplace platform. A successful marketplace can generate millions of dollars in transaction fees. You can sign up on platforms like https://linkedva.com
5. Digital marketing and social media management
Businesses are looking for ways to get more customers and increase their sales via social media channels. Positioning yourself to provide these services for business would guarantee a monthly stream of income for you. The more businesses you work with the higher the amount you can earn. Managing 10 businesses that pay you $200 monthly would earn you $2000 monthly.
Professional services business ideas
We have already seen that the service sector accounts for over 70% of the GDP. This is a good indication that starting a professional service business is a profitable route. As a result of this, starting a service based business in Australia would be a guaranteed way to build a profitable small business.
6. Consultancy business (financial, business, tax, digital and others)
Do you have specialised knowledge in finance, business, tax accounting? You can start a consultancy agency from the comfort of your home providing solutions to problems that individuals and businesses have. Chances are you already have a professional certification or qualification that enables you to practise. Consultants can charge thousands of dollars depending on the problems they are helping to solve.
7. Laundromat
People will always wear clothes, which means they would need a way to keep them clean especially for busy professionals. The laundromat business is an evergreen business because of the daily cash flow. With a few well placed strategies you can build a very successful and profitable laundromat business.
8. Daycare
Daycare is a very profitable business. According to reports the national day care average cost is $118.36 per day and can be as high as $200 per day per child. Although you would need proper regulatory oversight to set up a daycare, this is a very profitable business.
9. Interior designing
Helping individuals and businesses remodel their homes or office space is quite profitable. For people who love the DIY route, selling home items can significantly improve your revenue from this business.
Agribusiness ideas
With a 3.6% contribution to the national GDP we mentioned that this could be a promising sector that starts a profitable business.
10. Arable farming and food processing
11. Animal farming business
12. Agro processing business
13. Storage facility
14. Agro equipment sales
Consumer services business ideas
15. Catering services and meal delivery platforms
16. Fitness trainer
17. Moving services
18. Videography and Photography
19. Personal shopper
Technical service business ideas
20. Electrical repair shop
21. Auto repair shop
22. Plumbing services
23. DJ Services
24. Network security business
25. Recycling business ideas
Waste management and recycling business could be capital intensive especially when you need to set up a recycling plant. However, starting a waste collection and sorting business is a lot easier. You have to target high end neighbourhoods that generate a lot of waste to ensure that you have a good source of continuous flow of raw materials.
26. Manufacturing business ideas
Manufacturing is one of the tough businesses to get into because it often involves large equipment. manufacturing business ideas in Australia.
Tourism business ideas
With 9.5 million international tourists yearly, the tourism business related ideas are small scale business ideas in australia with potentials to build very profitable businesses in Australia
27. Airport shuttle
Tourists would need to move from the airport to their various hotels or lodging. Setting up an airport shuttle fleet is a nice way to generate daily income and build a very profitable business. You can upsell these tourists to provide additional services like tour guides or have a special brochure that describes the major places to see in town or the best places to eat.
28. Travel agency
As a local travel agency with local experience tour packages. In this way you can partner with international agencies to handle the local experience aspect of guiding tourists through the best spots in town.
29. Professional tour guide agency
As a professional tour guide company you can have complimentary services like photography and videography packages to help tourists with keeping amazing memories.
30. Local arts business
Most tourists buy souvenirs and memorabilia to remember their trips. Building a local arts business that provides local artistry like paintings, crafts e.t.c would generate a good income stream for you.