Social Enterprise National Strategy
Working together to ensure all people, places and the planet thrive.
Social Enterprise Australia works with the social enterprise sector in Australia to lead its national strategy. We focus on four priority areas where social enterprise can make the biggest difference:
environmental care
people-centred services
access to decent work
community-led innovation.
How we implement the national strategy
Advocate — we advocate with and for the sector, focusing on the Australian Government and national issues. We work to advance policy, build support, expand participation, grow markets, and mobilise resources for the sector.
Connect and learn — we connect the sector to plan, act and learn together. We run events and provide pathways to learn, exchange and collaborate, and we collect and share data and knowledge.
Partner — we form partnerships that strengthen the conditions for the sector to work with others to grow impact.
Our foundations
Our approach to strategy is sector-led and based on research by Griffith University that set a clear framework for working together.
The national strategy has evolved through sector co-designs that established:
A shared direction:
Vision: Working together to ensure all people, places and the planet thrive.
Mission: To foster a vibrant, connected sector that provides environmental care, people-centred services, access to decent work, and community-led innovation.
Agreed ways to work:
Values and principles: authenticity, creativity, justice, collaboration, and diversity.
How we organise:
Pathways for engagement and knowledge sharing
Shared direction and action.
A challenge-led approach:
Focusing on the four priority areas where social enterprise can drive the most impact.
A commitment to decolonisation:
Active support for First Nations leadership, knowledge, and self-determination.
The sector co-designs also inform Social Enterprise Australia’s theory of change, how we develop as an organisation, and our engagement with the Australian Government.
What we advocate for
Through the sector co-designs and ongoing engagement, we've identified key priorities for our work with the Australian Government and other partners:
Support for organising infrastructure at national, state, and local levels
Reliable social enterprise identification and data
Social procurement frameworks and market access
Appropriate finance and diverse capital options
Payment for outcomes mechanisms
Capability building across the sector and within government
Enabling meaningful participation, particularly for underrepresented enterprises.
Moving forward together
Social Enterprise Australia is evolving our collective national strategy with the sector, guided by these key principles:
Transparency and trust must underpin all engagement
Inclusive participation ensures diverse voices shape the strategy
Respect for plurality acknowledges the sector's richness and diversity
Appropriate metrics capture both direct outcomes and systemic effects.
We focus on what can most effectively be achieved at the national level:
Creating enabling conditions for long-term, whole-of-sector development
Advocating for policy and resources at the federal level
Coordinating efforts where national action adds distinct value
Supporting knowledge sharing across regions and priority areas
Directing, connecting and amplifying efforts around our shared mission
Fostering alignment while respecting diversity.
Join us in shaping what comes next
Our Members help govern Social Enterprise Australia and set the direction for our work through input on the national strategy.
This creates a powerful feedback loop: membership gives people a formal way to participate, engaged members ensure strategy reflects real-world needs, and member-endorsed strategy strengthens our work and advocacy, which strengthens the whole sector.
By building on shared foundations and embracing new approaches, we strengthen our collective impact in addressing Australia's most pressing challenges.
Help shape what comes next as we create the conditions for lasting change that none of us could achieve alone.
Vision and mission
Our vision is working together to ensure all people, places and the planet thrive.
Our mission is to foster a vibrant and connected Australian social enterprise sector that provides:
Environmental care
People-centred services
Access to decent work
Community-led innovation
Values and principles
Authenticity: I strive to be honest with myself and with others
I seek to be transparent and clear in my communications, talk with others not about them, and do what I say I will. I take on difficult conversations, decisions and actions rather than avoid them. I aim to own my mistakes and limitations. I seek to be kind to myself and others.
Creativity: I help create space for imagination and innovation.
I see that the future is not determined and is ours to create. I foster space to dream big, explore, and make mistakes or get it right. I recognise that it’s ok and sometimes good to change my mind and for others to change theirs. I seek to emerge ideas, take action and learn together.
Justice: I seek to enable the full participation of all.
I recognise that some people are excluded and their voices are not heard. I aim to identify and reject discrimination and to value lived experience and self-determination. I seek to be aware of any exclusion or privilege of my own.
Collaboration: I plan, act and learn with others. I will be generous.
I aim to be aware of my ego, assumptions and emotions and to keep in check how they affect me and others. I seek joint responsibility rather than credit. I am upfront about my own interests to identify when they could undermine or help shared goals.
Diversity: I seek out views that are different from my own.
I recognise that there are different ways to participate and create impact. I ask people what they mean, listen with curiosity and seek to understand rather than make assumptions or speak for them. I celebrate the contribution of others and recognise that I always have things to learn.
Theory of change
Our theory of change sets out how we work to connect, advocate for, and strengthen the social enterprise sector, ensuring it has the support, visibility, and resources needed to grow its impact.