# STATE OF SOCIAL PROCUREMENTCountry Profile: Australia Driving social impact through strong frameworks and leading case studies ## Overview Australia’s social enterprise and supplier diversity ecosystem is vibrant and increasingly central to economic inclusion and resilience. Intentional purchasing by governments and corporations from Indigenous-owned businesses, social enterprises and women-owned enterprises demonstrates how trade can deliver measurable social and economic outcomes, building on deep historical roots, particularly in First Nations communities, while responding to contemporary economic and social challenges. ## Environment and context Australia has a relatively mature and enabling environment for social procurement, supported by strong intermediaries, certification systems and increasingly aligned public policy. Social enterprises operate across a broad range of sectors and beneficiary groups, delivering goods and services while generating the majority of their income through trade. Evidence from the 2024 Report of Identified Social Enterprises (RISE) shows that social enterprises derive 86% of revenue from trading activity, report higher profitability than charities and small businesses, and collectively employ tens of thousands of people facing barriers to work.Public policy continues to play a central role in strengthening this ecosystem, with procurement increasingly recognised as a lever for inclusion, economic participation and social outcomes. Together, these frameworks create market confidence, support scale, and signal that inclusive procurement is becoming part of mainstream public-sector practice. ### Federal level The Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) provides clear targets, mandatory set-asides and verified supplier registers, embedding Indigenous participation in government supply chains. ### Victoria Victoria has gone further by operationalising social procurement through its Social Procurement Framework and Gender Equality Act 2020, integrating social and gender considerations into procurement decisions. ### New South Wales New South Wales promotes supplier diversity through its Procurement Policy Framework, including supplier tagging and partnerships with intermediaries to support implementation and accountability. ## Current State of Social Procurement Social procurement is gaining traction as a practical tool for addressing social and economic challenges in Australia. Governments and large buyers are increasingly embedding inclusive purchasing into policy and practice, with supplier diversity models demonstrating measurable outcomes at scale. ### Indigenous-owned businesses LIndigenous-owned businesses represent Australia’s most established supplier diversity success story. Supply Nation supports over 6,000 registered and certified Indigenous businesses operating across all major industries. Procurement spend through its business and government members reached $5.83 billion in FY25, despite challenging economic conditions. This progress is closely linked to the Indigenous Procurement Policy, which has strengthened confidence, reduced risk and accountability through verified supplier registers. ### Social enterprises Building on this foundation, social enterprises are emerging as the next frontier for embedding social value in supply chains. Australia is home to an estimated 12,000 social enterprises, generating $21.3 billion annually and employing more than 200,000 people. Social Traders connects over 750 certified social enterprises with more than 150 business and government buyers. Since 2017, spending with certified social enterprises has exceeded $1.1 billion, delivering employment, training and environmental outcomes. Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework demonstrates the scale of impact, with more than $115 million directed to certified social enterprises since 2018. ### Women-owned enterprises Women-owned enterprises play a growing role in Australia’s economy, although structural disparities persist in income and access to capital. Supplier diversity initiatives and certification, including those led by WEConnect International, are helping to reduce buyer friction, track inclusive spend and support access to major contracts. Momentum is building as governments and corporations increasingly recognise the value of women-owned suppliers in resilient supply chains. ## Key programme and initiatives ## Frequently Asked Questions *Common questions and answers* ## Outlook Australia is well-positioned to deepen and scale social procurement. The next phase of progress will require moving from identification to measurable action. This includes setting clear spending targets, improving transparency and strengthening accountability across both public and private buyers.For social enterprises, a Commonwealth Social Enterprise Procurement Policy, modelled on the IPP, could significantly amplify impact. Estimates suggest this could create 44,000 jobs for disadvantaged Australians by 2030 while reducing government welfare costs.For women-owned enterprises, progress will depend on investment in market-access infrastructure, including simplified prequalification, clear tender pipelines, procurement capability roles and tailored finance mechanisms.Across all supplier groups, alignment between policy, certification and procurement practice will be essential to institutionalise social value creation. ## Case Study: The “Trident Group” – driving supplier diversity at scale A group of ten Australian organisations across financial services, professional services, real estate and infrastructure demonstrates what scale-ready social procurement can look like. As members of Supply Nation, Social Traders and WEConnect International, these organisations intentionally align procurement with Indigenous-owned, social enterprise and women-owned suppliers.Examples include:Lion’s formal commitment to consider diverse suppliers and track social procurement impact.Westpac’s Supplier Inclusion and Diversity Principles covering Indigenous, social enterprise and women-owned suppliers.ANZ’s explicit engagement with diverse business groups. JLL’s emphasis on long-term relationships with underrepresented suppliers.Together, this cohort illustrates how large buyers can reduce friction, de-risk procurement and signal that supplier diversity is becoming business as usual. Their engagement across three overlapping supplier networks also helps build cross-cutting inclusive markets, reinforcing legitimacy and encouraging uptake by smaller buyers. ### National Partners This country profile has been prepared by Social Traders in partnership with Supply Nation and WeConnect. *Partner organizations and sponsors* Last update was made on 13 January 2026.