COSBOA has launched its 2026 Small Business Perspectives Survey focused exclusively on regional, rural and remote businesses. Responses close 30 April.
What’s happening: The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has launched its 2026 Small Business Perspectives Survey, focused exclusively on small businesses operating in regional, rural and remote Australia.
Why this matters: For regional small business owners, this is one of the most direct mechanisms available to ensure their on-the-ground experience is reflected in national policy discussions.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has opened its 2026 Small Business Perspectives Survey, calling on small business owners in regional, rural and remote Australia to participate before the 30 April 2026 closing date.
The annual research initiative is designed to capture the lived experience of businesses operating outside major cities, ensuring regional conditions are clearly represented in national policy discussions throughout the year. The survey covers business performance and outlook, workforce and skills, housing and childcare access, health services, digital connectivity, banking access, energy and insurance costs, disaster impacts and small business wellbeing.
COSBOA CEO Skye Cappuccio said the regional evidence base is critical to ensuring national reform conversations reflect real experience from across the country.
“Running a small business in regional Australia can be fundamentally different to operating in a capital city,” Cappuccio said. “Workforce shortages, constrained housing supply, service gaps, connectivity limitations, disaster recovery and the cost of doing business can have amplified impacts in regional and remote communities. If national decisions are going to work for small business, they must reflect the realities faced outside metropolitan centres. That starts with credible, on-the-ground data.”
The findings will form part of COSBOA’s annual Small Business Perspectives Report and directly inform its engagement with government, regulators and policymakers. Cappuccio said broad participation across industries and geographic regions is essential to building a robust and representative picture.
“Regional small businesses sustain local economies and communities across Australia. Their experience must be clearly represented in the national policy conversation,” she said.
The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Responses are confidential and independently managed by research agency Survey Matters. Regional small business owners can participate through the COSBOA website. The survey closes 30 April 2026.
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