Small Business Month has been about supporting small and family businesses across Queensland to renew, recharge and rebuild. We were so pleased to be a part of so many events across the state that focused on supporting small business. This month we visited businesses in far North Queensland including in Townsville, Mareeba, Atherton, Innisfail, Mission Beach and Port Douglas, who are still recovering from a number of weather events that occurred earlier in the year. We also visited Gympie, Moreton Bay, Sommerset, Bribie Island, Rockhampton and Yeppoon. Businesses in each of these locations told us about their personal experiences with red tape and their concerns about insurance, energy costs, freight, access to capital, crime and labour shortages. We appreciate the opportunity to speak with so many business owners in order to test the information from our assistance line and other sources.
This month we have seen some exceptional announcements from the state government in relation to small and family business which will help alleviate some of the pressures you told us about. If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, check out the Queensland Governments Small Business First, Action Statement. This initiative commits an additional $100 million dollars to small and family business across all industries and areas of Queensland.
To further assist small and family businesses in locations across the state, our office has refreshed our Small Business Friendly Program in partnership with 51 of the 77 councils across Queensland. The councils involved represent approximately 97 % of small and family business across our state and continues into its fifth year of operation. This month we held our annual conference for our member councils and their local chamber representatives. It was wonderful to see so many of our committed members at both the workshop and our conference. We are also pleased to announce that the winners of our annual Small Business Friendly awards show casing some of the initiatives to come out of this program:
Initiative of the Year – Livingstone Shire Council
Council’s “Agritourism Program” was the standout helping small farms branch out into tourism, building supply chains, launching new ventures, and strengthening rural innovation. It’s a great blueprint for turning challenges into growth opportunities.
Regional Member of the Year – Balonne Shire Council
Council consistently exceeds its SBF Commitment with award-winning initiatives, strong procurement strategies, great monitoring and analysis of data, and meaningful partnerships that support small business resilience and growth.
Member of the Year – Rockhampton Regional Council
Council, through ‘Advance Rockhampton’, empowers more than 5,400 small businesses with tailored grants, a strong procurement strategy, and vibrant precinct development—embedding small business success into the region’s DNA.
We couldn’t be more proud of the members of our program who year on year push themselves to meet their commitment to continuously enhance the operating environment for small and family businesses in their areas. Well done to all of the finalists and congratulations to our winners!
In order to assist Queensland small and family businesses with their concerns relating to crime, the Queensland Government has also announced a commitment of $40 million dollars to the Secure Communities Partnership Program to deter crime against small and family businesses. This funding will be used to support councils to install critical safety upgrades including CCTV, alarm systems, security lighting and fencing to make local small and family businesses safer. For more information check out Business Queensland.
Thank you very much to all of the small and family businesses that have given us their time this month. We are so grateful to hear your stories and to connect you to the supports and services that allow you to renew, recharge and rebuild. Happy Small Business Month!
Upcoming activities
- 11 June – Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce Business Networking Event
- 16 June – Combined Junior Senior Breakfast – Young Business Leaders Event
- 19 June – M4G Mentor Networking Event
- 25 June – Local Link Networking Event
Connect with us
If you are new to our newsletter or want to learn more about our services, resources, initiatives, and projects, visit the QSBC website. If you need more information, call us on 1300 312 344 or submit an enquiry.
Dominique Lamb
Queensland Small Business Commissioner
For more details, read the QSBC newsletter May 2025