2,729,648
Australia had 2,729,648 actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025.
Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025
All GST or ABN registered actively trading businesses, national count at 30 June 2025.
Reference
Australian Workplace and HR Statistics 2026
Every figure on this page is checked against the primary source linked beside it. Government data is cited to the ABS, the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, Safe Work Australia, the AHRC, and the ATO. Industry survey data is labelled as such.
Last updated 4 July 2026
Compiled by Daniel Holbrook, MBA, Cert IV Investigations, Cert IV WHS
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Theme 1
Workforce and the SME landscape
The ABS counts every actively trading business in the country each June. The 2025 release shows a market dominated by very small employers.
For businesses weighing structured HR support without an in-house function, see Fractional HR and Ongoing HR Support.
994,178
Just under 1 million of them (994,178) employ staff.
Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025
Subset of the total with at least one employee.
63.6%
1.74 million businesses (63.6%) have no employees at all.
Source: ABS Table 13, June 2025; shares calculated by ASBFEO
Businesses with zero employees as a share of all actively trading businesses. ASBFEO calculation excludes businesses not registered for GST.
25.2%
One in four businesses (25.2%) employs between 1 and 4 people.
Source: ABS Table 13, June 2025; shares calculated by ASBFEO
1 to 4 employee band share of the total, June 2025.
232,129
232,129 businesses (8.5%) employ between 5 and 19 people.
Source: ABS Table 13, June 2025; shares calculated by ASBFEO
5 to 19 employee band, June 2025.
67,857
67,857 businesses (2.5%) employ between 20 and 199 people.
Source: ABS Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025; share calculated by ASBFEO
20 to 199 employee band count, June 2025.
5,322
Only 5,322 businesses (0.2%) employ 200 or more people.
Source: ABS Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025; share calculated by ASBFEO
200 plus employee band, June 2025.
437,150
437,150 businesses entered the market in 2024-25 and 370,500 exited.
Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025
Entries and exits of actively trading businesses during the 2024-25 financial year, counts as published by the ABS.
+2.5%
The business count grew 2.5% in 2024-25.
Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, June 2025
Net change in total actively trading businesses, 2024-25.
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Theme 2
Recruitment and retention
How hard is it to hire, and how often do people move? The ABS tracks both through its vacancy and job mobility series; industry surveys add the intent side.
If hiring is the pressure point, see Recruitment Coordination.
329,500
Employers had 329,500 unfilled job vacancies in May 2026.
Source: ABS, Job Vacancies, Australia, May 2026
Seasonally adjusted count of vacant positions, private and public sector, national.
-30.3%
Vacancies are 30.3% below their May 2022 peak of 473,100.
Source: ABS, Job Vacancies, Australia, May 2026
Same series, latest quarter vs the May 2022 peak, seasonally adjusted.
7.7%
1.1 million employed Australians (7.7%) changed employer in the year to February 2025, down from 8.0% the year before.
Source: ABS, Participation, Job Search and Mobility, February 2025
Share of all employed persons who changed employer or business in the prior 12 months.
~12x
Workers aged 15 to 24 changed jobs at around 12 times the rate of workers 65 and over (about 12% versus 1%).
Source: ABS media release, job mobility, 2025
Mobility rate by age cohort, year to February 2025.
9.9%
Sales and community and personal service roles had the highest job-change rates (9.9% and 9.5%).
Source: ABS media release, job mobility, 2025
Mobility rate by occupation of employed persons, year to February 2025.
61%
In Hays’ FY25/26 survey of 12,000+ people across Australia and New Zealand, 33% had changed jobs in the past year and 61% expected to leave within 12 months.
Source: Hays, FY25/26 Salary Guide (industry survey)
Survey respondents across Australia and New Zealand, 25 plus industries; not a national labour force statistic.
35%
Those who moved most often cited low salary (35%) and lack of career progression (32%). ("Most often cited" is the survey’s own ranking.)
Source: Hays, FY25/26 Salary Guide (industry survey)
Reasons given by respondents in the same survey who changed jobs.
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Theme 3
Wages, pay, and compliance
Wage compliance is now a criminal-law issue as well as a regulatory one. The Fair Work Ombudsman and the ATO publish the enforcement numbers; the Fair Work Commission sets the wage floor each July.
For the practical side, see the Wage Compliance Audit and Payday Super Compliance guide.
$6.25B
The ATO estimates a net super guarantee gap of 6%, about $6.25 billion, for 2022-23.
Source: ATO, super guarantee employer compliance results, 2022-23
Modelled national gap between theoretical SG obligation and reported contributions, 2022-23, across around 942,500 employers and 14.9 million eligible workers. A modelled estimate, not an audit-detection rate.
$1.73B
The ATO raised $1.73 billion in super guarantee charge liabilities covering around 855,000 employees.
Source: ATO, super guarantee employer compliance results, 2022-23
SGC liabilities from compliance action and voluntary disclosures; includes penalties and $172 million interest.
$358M
The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $358 million in unpaid wages in 2024-25.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Report 2024-25 media release, October 2025
Total FWO recoveries across all enforcement channels, 2024-25. Not an estimate of total underpayment in the economy.
249,000+
More than 249,000 underpaid workers were back-paid through FWO action.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Report 2024-25 media release, October 2025
Count of workers receiving back-payment via FWO action, 2024-25.
$2B+
FWO action has recovered more than $2 billion over the past five years.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Report 2024-25 media release, October 2025
Cumulative recoveries, 2020-21 to 2024-25.
~60%
About 60% of 2024-25 recoveries, almost $213 million, came from large corporate employers and covered nearly 118,000 workers.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Report 2024-25 media release, October 2025
Large corporate segment share of 2024-25 recoveries only.
$23.7M
FWO filed 73 new litigations and secured a record $23.7 million in court penalties, including a single $15.3 million penalty.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Report 2024-25 media release, October 2025
New court proceedings and court-imposed penalties, 2024-25. The record total includes one exceptional single-case penalty.
1 Jan 2025
Intentional underpayment of wages, leave, or super has been a criminal offence since 1 January 2025.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, criminal underpayment laws, January 2025
Fair Work Act amendment commencement date, a legislative fact, not an incidence statistic. Excludes honest mistakes; small business employers compliant with the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code are protected from criminal referral.
$26.44
From 1 July 2026, the national minimum wage is $26.44 an hour, or $1,004.90 a week, and modern award minimum rates increased by 4.75%.
Source: Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026 decision, 2 June 2026
Annual Wage Review 2026 Expert Panel decision [2026] FWCFB 3500, effective 1 July 2026.
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Theme 4
Complaints, bullying, and sexual harassment
The national evidence base on workplace sexual harassment is the AHRC’s five-yearly survey, most recently run in 2022 with more than 10,000 workers.
If a complaint has landed on your desk, see Received a Complaint, Workplace Investigations and Positive Duty Plan.
1 in 3
One in three Australian workers experienced sexual harassment at work in the five years to 2022.
Source: AHRC, Time for Respect, November 2022
Five-year prevalence among more than 10,000 surveyed workers, nationally representative; not current or ongoing incidence.
41%
Prevalence was 41% for women and 26% for men.
Source: AHRC, Time for Respect, November 2022
Same survey, gender breakdown.
18%
Only 18% of people who experienced it made a formal report or complaint.
Source: AHRC, Time for Respect, November 2022
Share of those who experienced harassment who formally reported the most recent incident. The AIHW records the 2018 baseline at 17%.
1,474
Workers lodged 1,474 workplace bullying and sexual harassment applications with the Fair Work Commission in 2024-25.
Source: Fair Work Commission, Annual Report 2024-25
Lodgments in the FWC Annual Report 2024-25 combined workplace bullying and sexual harassment case category (stop-bullying orders, stop-sexual-harassment orders, and sexual harassment disputes). Applications lodged, not substantiated cases.
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Theme 6
Unfair dismissal and termination
Dismissal disputes are the Fair Work Commission’s largest caseload, and the financial thresholds reset every 1 July.
Before you act on a termination, see Letting Someone Go and Employee Management.
44,075
The FWC received 44,075 lodgments in 2024-25, 24% above its five-year average, driven substantially by its two largest case types: unfair dismissal and general protections dismissal applications.
Source: Fair Work Commission, President’s statement, 12 November 2025
All case types lodged with the FWC, 2024-25, per the FWC Annual Report as quoted in the President’s statement.
6,209
General protections dismissal applications reached 6,209 in 2024-25, up 13% year on year and 27% above the five-year average.
Source: Fair Work Commission, President’s statement, 12 November 2025
Section 365 general protections dismissal applications: a legally distinct claim type from unfair dismissal.
$190,100
Employees earning above $190,100 generally cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim unless award or agreement covered (from 1 July 2026).
Source: Fair Work Commission, high income threshold
Annually indexed statutory ceiling, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The prior-period threshold, for dismissals before 1 July 2026, was $183,100.
$95,050
The maximum unfair dismissal compensation the FWC can order is $95,050 for dismissals from 1 July 2026.
Source: Fair Work Commission, compensation cap
Statutory cap: the lesser of 26 weeks’ pay or half the high income threshold. Published FWC figure.
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Theme 7
Engagement, culture, and flexible work
The ABS measures formal flexibility arrangements across the workforce; engagement figures come from industry surveys and are labelled as such.
For the capability side, see Leadership and Training and Ongoing HR Support.
36%
36% of employed Australians usually work from home, down from 40% in August 2021.
Source: ABS, Working Arrangements, August 2025
Share of all employed people who usually work from home; the 40% is the ABS’s own published August 2021 comparison figure.
30%
Three in ten employees have a formal agreement to work flexible hours.
Source: ABS, Working Arrangements, August 2025
Share of employees (not all employed persons), August 2025.
47% vs 22%
Employees who work from home are more than twice as likely to hold a flexible-hours agreement (47% versus 22%).
Source: ABS, Working Arrangements, August 2025
Flexible-hours agreement rate, work-from-home employees vs employees who do not work from home.
22.5%
The most common single reason for working from home is to work more flexibly or choose own hours (22.5%). ("Most common" is the ABS’s own ranking. The next most common reasons are operating a business from home or a home-based job at 21.9% and catching up on work after hours at 20.8%.)
Source: ABS, Working Arrangements, August 2025
Main reason cited by people who usually work from home; category wording per the ABS release.
21%
Gallup measures employee engagement in Australia and New Zealand at 21%, in line with the 20% global average (2025 survey data).
Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026 (industry survey)
Employed adults aged 15 and over surveyed in the combined Australia and New Zealand region, classified engaged by Gallup’s method.
eNPS 13
Across roughly 1,000 Australian organisations in Culture Amp’s benchmark, median eNPS is 13 and 21% of employees are considering or seeking another job.
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) measures how likely employees are to recommend their workplace as a place to work, scored from minus 100 to plus 100; above zero means promoters outnumber detractors.
Source: Culture Amp, Australia insights, January 2026 (industry benchmark)
Culture Amp customer dataset (around 18 million question responses, January to December 2025). Self-selected customer base, not nationally representative.
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Theme 8
Work health and safety
Safe Work Australia’s 2025 statistics report covers worker fatalities for 2024 and preliminary claims data for 2023-24.
WHS obligations overlap heavily with psychosocial duties; see Psychosocial Risks.
188
188 Australian workers died from traumatic injuries at work in 2024, down from 200 in 2023.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Traumatic worker fatality counts, calendar years, national.
1.3
The fatality rate was 1.3 per 100,000 workers, slightly below the five-year averages (191 deaths, 1.4 rate).
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Deaths per 100,000 workers, 2024; five-year averages cover 2020 to 2024.
-24%
The fatality rate has fallen 24% since 2014 but has been relatively steady in recent years.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Rate change from 1.7 (2014) to 1.3 (2024).
42%
Vehicle incidents caused 42% of worker deaths (79 fatalities); falls from a height 13% (24).
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Mechanism shares of 2024 worker fatalities.
6.7
Machinery operators and drivers had the highest fatality share (32%) and rate (6.7 per 100,000), more than five times the all-worker rate.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Occupation group fatality data, 2024.
13.7
Agriculture, forestry and fishing recorded the highest industry fatality rate, 13.7 per 100,000 workers.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Industry fatality rate, 2024.
146,700
There were 146,700 serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, up 34.5% over the decade, though the hours-adjusted frequency rate rose a more subdued 12.6%.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Accepted claims with at least one working week lost, 2023-24 preliminary; decade change plus 37,600 claims. The frequency-rate caveat is part of the claim.
83.8%
Four mechanisms account for 83.8% of all serious claims: body stressing (34.5%), falls, slips and trips (21.8%), being hit by moving objects (16.0%), and mental stress (11.5%).
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
Mechanism of incident major groups, 2023-24 preliminary.
3.5%
3.5% of Australian workers experienced a work-related injury or illness in a year (ABS survey, 2021-22, as published by Safe Work Australia), roughly one-third of the 12.1% global rate Safe Work Australia cites.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key WHS Statistics Australia 2025
ABS Work-related Injuries Survey 2021-22 (published February 2023) as quoted in the SWA report, with SWA’s own international comparison.
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Cite this page
Holbrook, D. (2026). Australian Workplace and HR Statistics 2026. Brookvale HR Solutions. https://brookvalehrsolutions.com.au/australian-workplace-hr-statistics/ (accessed [date]).
Source: Australian Workplace and HR Statistics 2026, Brookvale HR Solutions, brookvalehrsolutions.com.au/australian-workplace-hr-statistics/
Methodology
How these figures are verified
I compiled this page and checked every figure against the primary source linked beside it: the publishing agency's own release, report, or decision document. Where a figure comes from an industry survey rather than a government collection (Gallup, Hays, Culture Amp), the card says so. If a widely quoted number could not be confirmed at its original source, it does not appear on this page.
Two dating notes. Safe Work Australia's workers' compensation claims data for 2023-24 is preliminary and may be revised, and its median time-lost and compensation figures are on a 2022-23 basis per the report. The national minimum wage rose by more than the 4.75% award increase because the Expert Panel aligned it with the lowest ongoing award classification as part of a structural adjustment phasing out the C13 entry rate.
When this page updates
Figures tied to the financial year cycle (the minimum wage, the high income threshold, and the compensation cap) update each 1 July. The page carries a visible last-updated date and is reviewed annually.
Full source list
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Fair Work Commission
Fair Work Ombudsman
Safe Work Australia
Australian Human Rights Commission
Australian Taxation Office
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
Industry sources (labelled as industry data on every card)
FAQ
Quick answers on Australian workplace statistics
Next step
Need help acting on these numbers?
The statistics describe the risk landscape. Daniel Holbrook works with Australian businesses on the practical side of it: wages, complaints, terminations, and safety obligations. A direct conversation, no obligation.