Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) is the first and to date only CENSUS of social enterprise in Australia.
In 2009 Social Traders partnered with the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at Queensland University of Technology to define social enterprise and, for the first time in Australia, to identify and map the social enterprise sector: its scope, its variety of forms, its reasons for trading, its financial dimensions, and the individuals and communities social enterprises aim to benefit.
Led by Associate Professor Jo Barraket, Australia’s leading social enterprise academic, FASES produced its first report in June 2010. Since then the findings of this research have been downloaded over 15,000 times and have played a critical role in supporting social enterprise development in Australia.
In 2016, supported by Social Traders and led by Professor Barraket now at the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University, the latest national Finding Australia’s social enterprise sector 2016 research, has been launched. This most recent census is based on data from 370 social enterprise practitioners, social enterprise intermediaries and policy makers.
Looking at this research and its findings, Social Traders Finding Australia social enterprise sector analysis outlines the major changes in the sector over the past six years and the main opportunities and barriers for social enterprise growth and development into the future.
You can know view Australia's only directory of certified social enterprises via our Social Enterprise Finder.