New research reveals that Tasmania is lagging at just fourth of the states and territories in business growth rates in Australia since 2019.

Tasmania is also under the national average business growth by almost a percentage point.

The research by Tapt analysed ABS data on the number of active businesses in LGAs and states to reveal where business numbers are growing the fastest in Australia.

Nationally the ACT and Victoria are the standouts with over 20% change in the number of registered businesses in five years.

They are followed by Queensland, Tasmania and NSW all with growth rates of around 16%.

The picture is rounded out by WA, NT and SA all in the low 15% range.

Across the board, every state showed positive momentum, with not a single year of decline recorded nationwide.

Much of this growth has come from non-employing businesses – sole traders, freelancers, and contractors – which expanded rapidly in the ACT (+24.9%), Victoria (+25.8%), Tasmania (+18.8%) and New South Wales (+18.4%).

Medium-sized businesses also grew steadily, especially in Victoria (+19.7%), Western Australia (+24.4%) and Queensland (+24.7%), suggesting more businesses are successfully scaling beyond the startup phase.

While large corporations remain few, they posted the sharpest percentage growth, led by the ACT (+57.9%), South Australia (+37.5%), and Western Australia (+32.7%).

The areas in TAS with the fastest-growing number of businesses

Rank LGA Name 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 AAGR % % Change
1 Glenorchy 2,503 2,773 2,913 3,066 3,207 3,313 5.80% 32.4%
2 Clarence 3,240 3,467 3,687 3,842 4,037 4,157 5.12% 28.3%
3 West Tamar 1,433 1,499 1,580 1,640 1,730 1,751 4.10% 22.2%
4 Kingborough 2,435 2,562 2,647 2,795 2,852 2,882 3.44% 18.4%
5 Huon Valley 1,192 1,247 1,277 1,333 1,343 1,385 3.06% 16.2%
6 Launceston 5,284 5,406 5,611 5,936 6,009 6,072 2.83% 14.9%
7 Devonport 1,496 1,549 1,596 1,691 1,724 1,706 2.69% 14.0%
8 Central Coast 1,363 1,423 1,467 1,475 1,508 1,551 2.63% 13.8%
9 Northern Midlands 1,099 1,129 1,153 1,209 1,224 1,246 2.55% 13.4%
10 Hobart 6,249 6,557 6,767 6,864 6,996 6,995 2.29% 11.9%

Tasmania’s business growth is driven by urban fringes and key regional centres. Glenorchy takes the lead with a 32.4% increase in registered businesses since 2019 (2,503 to 3,313, respectively). Clarence follows closely, with registered businesses increasing from 3,240 to 4,157, a 28.3% hike.

West Tamar (22.2%), Kingborough (18.4%) and Huon Valley (16.2%) round out the top five.

Surprisingly, Hobart ranks low on the list, at position ten with only a 11.9% growth. This may be a reflection of the city’s maturity as a business centre and the shifting dynamics of growth toward more affordable and emerging areas around the city.

See the interactive map below for more on the key areas.


You can view the full study and explanation of methodology here.

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