Top Industries to Start a Business in Australia in 2026
Synopsis
Starting a business in Australia in 2026 offers exciting opportunities across fast-growing industries. This guide explores the top sectors with strong demand, including technology, e-commerce, renewable energy, healthcare, and digital services. Learn which industries are thriving, why they are growing, and how you can position your business for success. Whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur or looking to invest in a new venture, discover where the real opportunities are and how to choose the right industry for long-term growth in Australia’s evolving business landscape.
Australia had 2,729,648 businesses that were actively trading (ABS, 2025), and of these 85.9% were trading as small businesses based on June 2025 figures. That volume indicated a market with real entrepreneurial activity in multiple industries, but not every industry provides a level playing field for new entrants to compete.
ABS recorded that an approximate average of 40.8% of businesses in all industries survive beyond three years. Choose your industry wisely but also choose how you move into it. This guide addresses sectors where structural demand, government support and business model diversity will provide the most conducive conditions for a new entry in 2026.
These are the best businesses to start in Australia for 2026:
- Health Care & Social Assistance: fastest-growing industry by business count.
- Technology and AI Services: highest projected revenue growth.
- Cybersecurity: government-backed, undersupplied
- Software Development: very scalable, with low overheads coupled with a high growth in employment
- Construction and Trades: the largest sector by number of businesses
- Renewable Energy Services: policy-driven, long-term demand.
- Real Estate Services: fastest year-over-year earnings gain of all major sectors
Health Care and Social Assistance
Health Care and Social Assistance reached a total of 213,177 businesses in March 2024–25 (ABS via Scalesuite) and is currently the fastest growing industry in Australia by number of businesses. Sector revenue in 2025 was $217.3 billion, with 2.2 million employees and received a government commitment of $140 billion for the sector over 2025–26.
Business models in this space:
- NDIS ( National Disability Insurance Scheme ) provider businesses
- Allied Health practices (Physiotherapy, Psychology, Occupational Therapy)
- Home support and aged care services
- HealthTech Platforms (digital health, telehealth, patient management solutions))
HealthTech means technology-based solutions for healthcare, from apps, platforms and software that help people to improve patient outcomes or delivery costs. Along with traditional care businesses, this segment is experiencing fast growth.
Entry barriers — Medium to high. Setting it all up requires time and money due to NDIS registration, professional licensing, and compliance requirements. Most commonly the entry points are sole traders and small practice models.
Government backing: The NDIS is still broadening, commanded by the federation budget with a substantial amount of funds committed to incapacity and elderly care. That provides more demand-side certainty than most other industries can.
Survival Signal: Healthcare and social assistance always beats the national average on biz survival metrics, driven by nondiscretionary demand.
Technology and AI Services
The AI market in Australia is anticipated to grow at an annual rate (CAGR) of 32.03% from 2025 to 2031, and reach US$29.39 billion by 2031(Kaplan Business School). 68% of Australian businesses have implemented AI in some form (CSIRO) which means continued demand points to implementation, training and consulting services.
Business models that can be found in this sector:
- Artificial intelligence implementation and consultation for SMEs
- Vertical SaaS (software designed to meet the needs of a specific industry)
- Automation and workflow tools
- Data analytics services
SaaS (software as a service) and vertical SaaS are both subscription software products, usually designed to solve problems in one industry such as: legal, construction or healthcare. Once built, these models are scalable with a relatively low marginal cost.
Entry barriers: Low to medium depending on the model. Anyone can start a consulting and service business with minimal money. Product development involves a greater upfront investment but the $17m AI Adopt Program by the Australian Government is specifically designed to assist SMEs in adopting and developing AI.
Government support: The federal government runs the AI Adopt Program, which offers funding and resources to small businesses utilizing AI technology, useful for those selling or buying such products.
Survival signal: Businesses in tech are aided by their scalable revenue models, allowing them to have less reliance on traditional local market dynamics than service-only businesses would.
Cybersecurity
By 2030, the size of the Australian cybersecurity market is expected to grow US$16.68 billion in 2030 from US$8.85 billion in 2025 (CAGR: 13.5%) (Kaplan Business School). The federal government has commitment $2.3 billion towards its Cyber Security Strategy, which represents long-term structural investment in this space.
This sector offers the following business model(s):
- Managed security service providers (MSSPs)
- Cybersecurity auditing and compliance consulting
- Security awareness training for businesses
- Specialized software creation (endpoint security, threat tracking applications)
Barriers to entry: Medium. While enterprise sales requires certifications and credibility, the SMEs cybersecurity market, where most is still not being catered for, can be serviced by smaller operators with the appropriate skills.
Government support: In addition to the $2.3 billion strategy, compliance consulting has emerged as a growth category due to businesses of all sizes seeking regulated standards linked to the Essential Eight cyber framework implemented by the government.
Software Development
The software development industry in Australia will exceed A$49.7 billion and reach 6% year on year employment growth until 2030 (Kaplan Business School). There is demand across all sectors, from retail to agriculture to government, and it is not slowing.
Business Models available in this Sector:
- Custom software development agencies
- Freelance development and contracting
- SaaS product businesses
- No-code/low-code consulting for non-technical clients
Entry barriers: Low to medium. It doesn't require a huge amount of capital to start and you can start as a sole trader development business. Hiring and business development investment is requisite to scaling into an agency model.
Survival signal: Software companies tend to be remote working and have clients across the nation or around the world, which allows them for more favourably distributed revenue risks as opposed to locally dependent businesses.
Construction and Trades
With a stock of 462,939 businesses (ABS) construction is the largest industry in Australia by count of businesses. Year-over-year,exports of real estate services, manufacturing and retail also helped earnings. Infrastructure spending, housing demand and green building conversion are all fuelling activity.
Types of Business Models Available in This Sector:
- Registered licensed trade business (electrical, plumbing and carpentry).
- Subcontracting to larger construction firms
- Project Management, and site supervision services
- Sustainable building and energy-efficiency retrofitting
Entry barriers: Moderate to high. Licensing requirements are trade and state specific. New tools and equipment hold large capital investment. One of the benefits is that the subcontracting model offers entry with less overhead.
Survival signal: Agriculture has the highest three year survival rate at 61.% (ABS), however in terms of scale, construction produces more businesses each year than nearly any other sector. Demand for trades with licensing requirements is more stable as they face barriers to entry that limit new competition.
Renewable Energy Services
The transition in Australia to net zero is a long-term, policy-driven structural adjustment not a trend. By committing to emissions targets, both federal and state governments need infrastructure build-out (solar, battery storage, grid upgrades and energy efficiency works etc) creating sustained demand for service businesses in this space.
Business Models Available in This Domain:
- Solar installation and maintenance
- Home & business efficiency consulting & energy auditing
- Battery storage installation
- Services for sustainability reporting as well as carbon accounting
Net zero business opportunity is a category of businesses that assist organisations and/or households to reduce, measure or offset emissions, an ever-expanding category as regulatory scrutiny stiffens.
Barriers to entry: Medium. Solar installation businesses must receive Clean Energy Council accreditation for this work. On the other hand, consulting and auditing models can enter with less capital investment.
Government Support: Customers of residential and commercial solar continue to benefit from federal and state rebates, providing a form of customer-acquisition assist for businesses in this sector.
Real Estate Services
Real estate services comes into the list of major Australian industries which recorded the largest year-on-year earnings growth at 9.4% in 2023–24 (ABS). That is, population growth and migration continuing to underpin activity, on top of the lingering housing deficit.
Business Models Opportunities In This Industry:
- Buyer Agents and Property Advisory Services
- Property management businesses
- Short-term rental management
- Conveyancing and settlement services
Barriers to entry: Medium. While buyer’s agent and property management businesses have some licensing and compliance requirements, they can run a smaller team with lower overheads than traditional agencies.
Picking An Industry That Suits You
The right industry depends on your skills, the money you have to invest and how much risk you can bear.
- Low cost of entry: Most tech, software and consulting models can be set up as sole trader operations with little upfront costs.
- Reduced volatility: Structural demand in sectors like healthcare and construction does not swing with changes in consumer sentiment.
- Software and technology (specifically SaaS models) tend to scale fastest with the least amount of increasing cost.
Combining the fact that 63.6% of all Australian businesses have no employees (ABS, 2025) means the sole trader model is a dominant entry point spanning industries. Opting for an industry that allows you the ability to start small, validate demand and scale gradually is a safer bet than going where that 40.8% three-year survival rate lurks behind your business idea. The data suggests the opportunity for 2026, but what converts to business still comes down to execution.
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At Inspirepreneurs Magazine, covering entrepreneurship, business failures, and the human stories behind the world's most ambitious founders. She writes at the intersection of strategy and storytelling.
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