Initiatives that support small businesses to grow and succeed
South Australia's Small Business Strategy identifies 20 initiatives that the South Australian Government are undertaking over the next three years to help address the themes identified by small businesses. Additional initiatives may be developed in future years until 2030 as the needs of small businesses change.
The following key initiatives will be implemented in collaboration with a broad range of partners, including local government, industry associations, chambers of commerce, not-for-profit organisations and private enterprises.
Initiatives to help you build a stronger future
The Small Business Fundamentals Program will support partner organisations to deliver business fundamentals and capability-building services such as:
- mentoring and coaching
- legal and financial management
- human resources management
- workforce development and planning
- becoming an employer of choice
- transition or succession planning
- digital literacy and planning
- developing digital business models
- growth strategies
- strategic planning.
This program will have a focus on supporting regional businesses and specific target groups, including First Nations people, women, business owners living with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) business owners.
Dedicated Small Business Support Officers within the Office for Small and Family Business will provide consistent, in-person and online support to small businesses located in regional and metropolitan areas.
These support officers will consider the unique needs of each business to provide relevant information and facilitate connections to services and advice.
Initiatives to help build a team to grow with you
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Program will provide support for small businesses, including referrals to existing services and developing new targeted industry specific programs.
New programs may include collaborations with mental health service providers, local government, industry associations and small business groups to deliver targeted support for business owners experiencing mental health challenges, and to better support their workers with mental health concerns – including Mental Health First Aid Training.
Programs that help small businesses address key skills and workforce shortages are critical to support growth and success.
Small businesses will be connected to initiatives such as technical colleges, fee-free TAFE and vocational education and skills centres; and can connect to school students by promoting appropriate career and immersion opportunities through the Department for Education’s Student Pathways website, and raise student awareness by working with the Industry Engagement team.
The Small Business Fundamentals Program will support partner organisations to deliver business fundamentals and capability-building services such as:
- mentoring and coaching
- legal and financial management
- human resources management
- workforce development and planning
- becoming an employer of choice
- transition or succession planning
- digital literacy and planning
- developing digital business models
- growth strategies
- strategic planning.
This program will have a focus on supporting regional businesses and specific target groups, including First Nations people, women, business owners living with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) business owners.
Helping your business in a digital world
The Small Business Digital Capability Program will help businesses increase digital readiness and capability and help them protect their digital business assets through two elements:
- Digital Readiness - new online, digital readiness resources, including checklists and assessments for small businesses.
- Small Business Cyber Uplift Step Program (CUSP) – this program will provide small businesses with introductory cyber awareness training, support to evaluate and understand their cyber risk profile, education to help them understand the key areas of risk and simple mitigation strategies and solutions that they can implement.
The Small Business Fundamentals Program will support partner organisations to deliver business fundamentals and capability-building services such as:
- mentoring and coaching
- legal and financial management
- human resources management
- workforce development and planning
- becoming an employer of choice
- transition or succession planning
- digital literacy and planning
- developing digital business models
- growth strategies
- strategic planning.
This program will have a focus on supporting regional businesses and specific target groups, including First Nations people, women, business owners living with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) business owners.
Helping you create a greener future
The Small Business Sustainability Support Program will assist small businesses to develop strategies to improve their environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
It will also build skills and capability to implement environmental, social and governance (ESG), net zero, circular economy and other sustainable business practices.
The Small Business Fundamentals Program will support partner organisations to deliver business fundamentals and capability-building services such as:
- mentoring and coaching
- legal and financial management
- human resources management
- workforce development and planning
- becoming an employer of choice
- transition or succession planning
- digital literacy and planning
- developing digital business models
- growth strategies
- strategic planning.
This program will have a focus on supporting regional businesses and specific target groups, including First Nations people, women, business owners living with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) business owners.
Helping you support diversity in business
The Women in Business Program is a $4 million state government election commitment to support women-owned businesses in South Australia. The Women in Business Program addresses the specific challenges women face when starting, operating and growing a business:
- The Women in Business Foundations Program will deliver capability and skills development opportunities.
- The Women in Business Advisory Program will equip women leading high-growth businesses to establish best practice governance and strategic planning.
The Office for Small and Family Business will continue to work with industry and business partners to develop further programs under this initiative.
The Small Business Fundamentals Program will support partner organisations to deliver business fundamentals and capability-building services such as:
- mentoring and coaching
- legal and financial management
- human resources management
- workforce development and planning
- becoming an employer of choice
- transition or succession planning
- digital literacy and planning
- developing digital business models
- growth strategies
- strategic planning.
This program will have a focus on supporting regional businesses and specific target groups, including First Nations people, women, business owners living with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) business owners.
Helping you find what you need
Meet the Buyer events provide businesses with an opportunity to raise their profile, match their product or service with the right state government buyer and receive updates on upcoming opportunities.
Supply to Government workshops are aimed at local businesses with little to no experience in tendering for government work, or have some experience but want to increase their success. These workshops cover:
- Knowing your customer
- Understanding the rules and processes
- Finding opportunities
- Building relationships.
Tender Ready workshops provide businesses the opportunity to:
- Identify how local businesses can deliver projects, goods or services to government
- Understand the government’s procurement process
- Build positive relationships with head contractors.
The South Australian Government has set a $425 million per year target to increase government work awarded to local businesses through several measures:
- Local businesses are provided with assistance to become tender ready through regular, industry-specific workshops conducted by the Industry Advocate, helping more businesses win work.
- All contracts worth more than $55,000 must be awarded to South Australian businesses or require an explanation from the department’s Chief Executive as to why the work could not be done locally.
- Government projects worth more than $55,000 must use local project managers, architects, designers, engineers, surveyors, planners, and other professional service providers.
- A broad market assessment will be undertaken to identify South Australian businesses that can deliver projects, goods and services to government.
- An independent complaints process will be established for tenderers who feel they have unreasonably missed out on government work.
- An annual project pipeline will be published detailing upcoming infrastructure projects over $10 million to enable lead contractors to prepare thoroughly.
- Public projects above $500 million will be broken into smaller stages or components to allow multiple South Australian companies an opportunity to participate in projects, unless the nature of the project makes this unfeasible.
- South Australian workers must deliver a minimum 90 per cent of labour hours on major infrastructure projects worth more than $50 million.
- 20 per cent of all labour hours on major projects must be delivered by apprentices, trainees, Aboriginal workers, or long-term unemployed.
We will embark on a series of workshops, networking opportunities, seminars and engagements across a range of topics, delivered direct to businesses in metropolitan and regional areas. Direct engagement with small businesses will improve awareness and uptake of new and existing support and services for small businesses.
Dedicated Small Business Support Officers within the Office for Small and Family Business will provide consistent, in-person and online support to small businesses located in regional and metropolitan areas.
These support officers will consider the unique needs of each business to provide relevant information and facilitate connections to services and advice.