Rising costs leave owners working for less than their own staff
An ACCI survey of over 1,000 small businesses found 38.5% of owners paid themselves under $40,000 or nothing at all in 2025.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's latest Small Business Conditions Survey paints a grim picture of owner pay. Nearly four in 10 owners took home less than $40,000 or paid themselves nothing as rising costs ate into margins.
Rent, rates, suppliers and staff wages come out first; owners get what remains, which is often nothing. Some 62.9% identified increasing costs as one of their biggest challenges, while 48.9% cited maintaining profitability.
The stress is visible: almost half of respondents rated their stress at seven out of 10 or higher. Cash flow pressure was cited as stressful or extremely stressful by 53%.
The pressure is pushing owners toward the exit, 33.7% considered closing in the past year, and 24.7% are now considering closure in the next 12 months.
- 38.5%
- Owners earning under $40k or nothing
- 62.9%
- Businesses identifying rising costs as
- 24.7%
- Considering closure in next 12 months
- Over 1,000 small businesses
- Survey size
Why it mattersFor hundreds of thousands of Australians working in small business, owner income has become a real problem, signalling deeper economic pressure on the backbone of the economy.
AustraliaThis affects Australian small business owners and their families directly, and signals mounting economic stress across the self-employed sector that props up local communities and employment.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 9 d ago
