Australia’s New Business Hotspots Revealed

Small business is a much bigger deal in Australia than you would guess. As of June 2026, there were 2,814,778 actively trading businesses in Australia, of which around 97% were classified as small businesses with 0–19 employees, proving just how much we rely on small businesses across the country.

The domain experts at VentraIP see an average of over 15,000 new business domain registrations every month. As Australia’s largest private domain registrar, they are in a unique position to catch a birds eye view of the trends around new businesses, why, how and most importantly, where they are created. So, with the small business boom that we’re seeing in Australia, the experts wanted to delve into their data to uncover the trends they’re seeing and the areas they’re seeing this happen, as new and small businesses are often the clearest early signals of a community’s economic outlook.

The domain registrar experts analysed more than 500,000 new domain name records and found that Queensland is leading the state race for new business growth, up 104.90% year-on-year since 2025. The wider trends reveal a business landscape that looks very different from the usual Sydney-Melbourne-dominant narrative. New business growth is concentrated in outer-metro corridors, lifestyle towns and regional centres as much as in the big capitals.

To identify the new business hubs, they assessed new domain name registrations, linked to an ABN number, as a leading indicator of new business activity, across 2,444 postcodes from July 2023 to June 2026. The result of this analysis is one of the most detailed, current pictures available of where and why entrepreneurship is actually happening in Australia today.

“80% of Australia’s fastest-growing new business suburbs sit 10km+ from a capital CBD”

Discover how entrepreneurial your postcode is via our interactive map

Section One

The Australian States Seeing a New Business Boom in 2026

Queensland is reported as the state with the strongest growth across all of Australia, with new business domain registrations up nearly 105% between 2025-2026. The recent boom of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are both major drivers of this increase, and lifestyle migration to areas like Coolum Beach, Robina and Arundel are creating growth corridors around the city centres.

Second on the state and territory list is New South Wales, with 100.82% year-on-year growth between 2025 and 2026. The Western Sydney Aerotropolis is doing a lot of the heavy lifting behind these numbers. It is a massive 11,200 hectare development of urban and economic activity surrounding the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, driving growth in suburbs like Camden, Liverpool and Blacktown.

Coming in third with a close 97.96% growth is Victoria, mostly driven by the expansion of large-scale master-planned estates in areas like Cranbourne, Tarneit and Werribee. These new households and businesses are marking Melbourne’s outer-metro growth corridors as some of the busiest hubs for new business in the country.

New Business Growth by State, According To Domain Registration Data

Rank	State	% Increase in Domain Registrations (2025 vs. 2026)
1	Queensland (QLD)	104.90%
2	New South Wales (NSW)	100.82%
3	Victoria (VIC)	97.96%
4	Northern Territory (NT)	88.89%
5	Western Australia (WA)	83.83%
6	South Australia (SA)	79.27%
7	Australian Capital Territory (ACT)	72.97%
8	Tasmania (TAS)	56.80%

Section Two

Australia’s Fastest-Growing New Business Hotspots

It’s not just on a state-by-state level that the researchers spotted trends – by zooming in to get a closer look, they ranked the individual postcodes by the change in average domain registrations between 2023 and 2026.

It’s clear that Australia’s true business hotspots are areas that span capital city fringes, regional hubs and lifestyle towns, proving that growth is dispersing far beyond the usual centres of Sydney and Melbourne.

“Wanneroo tops Australia for new-business growth at 722%, nearly double Werribee coming in second at 387%”

Australia’s Top 20 Fastest-Growing Postcodes

Postcode	State	Suburbs/Towns	% Increase
6065	WA	Wanneroo, Landsdale, Wangara, Madeley & Hocking	722.22%
3030	VIC	Werribee, Point Cook, Werribee South, Cocoroc & Quandong	387.25%
2145	NSW	Wentworthville, Girraween, Pendle Hill & Toongabbie	355.00%
3806	VIC	Berwick & Harkaway	351.61%
2155	NSW	Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge & Rouse Hill	346.67%
2148	NSW	Blacktown, Kings Park, Marayong & Prospect	326.09%
4870	QLD	Cairns	321.30%
2113	NSW	East Ryde, Macquarie Park & North Ryde	320.83%
2010	NSW	Darlinghurst & Surry Hills	320.44%
3228	VIC	Torquay, Jan Juc & Bellbrae	310.67%
2570	NSW	Camden, Elderslie & Narellan	298.61%
2060	NSW	North Sydney, Waverton & McMahons Point	297.73%
2765	NSW	Marsden Park, Riverstone & Box Hill	290.99%
4211	QLD	Nerang, Carrara & Gaven	280.70%
3166	VIC	Oakleigh, Hughesdale & Oakleigh South	273.33%
6027	WA	Joondalup, Edgewater & Heathridge	270.29%
4215	QLD	Southport, Labrador & Chirn Park	265.22%
3207	VIC	Port Melbourne & Garden City	250.00%
6163	WA	Bibra Lake, Coolbellup & Spearwood	224.48%
6018	WA	Innaloo, Wembley Downs & Woodlands	199.28%

1) 6065

Wanneroo, Landsdale, Wangara, Madeley & Hocking (WA)

Leading the pack of the fastest growing business and commercial suburbs in Australia are the areas surrounding Landsdale, Wanneroo, and Tapping, approximately 25 kilometres north of Perth’s CBD. At 722% year-on-year growth, this postcode is running well clear of the rest, nearly 1.9 times ahead of the runner up. Driven by both strategic council planning and a massive boom in population (the City of Wanneroo LGA reached 209,111 residents at the 2021 Census, up from 186,613 in 2016), the area has shifted from a commuter residential zone into a thriving hub of small businesses and industrial enterprises. The recently completed extensions of the METRONET Yanchep Rail and Mitchell Freeway have had a major impact; the increased access is supporting the well-established trades and logistics businesses in Wanagara, and the highly sought-after residential corridors across Landsdale, Madeley and Hocking keep demand high for local services. The City of Wanneroo’s plans to release new land continue to draw young families and first-time business owners.

2) 3030

Werribee, Point Cook, Werribee South, Cocoroc & Quandong (VIC) 

The areas of Werribee and Point Cook are consistently ranked among the fastest growing suburbs in Australia, having experienced rapid residential developments, coupled with a wide range of ongoing growth initiatives. This immense boom has driven the revitalisation of the Werribee City Centre, currently supports approximately 4,520 local jobs and generates $1.15 billion in annual economic output. Upgrades to the freeway around the West Gate Tunnel are improving access to the CBD and the recent expansion of the Werribee Mercy Hospital is adding local infrastructure for the growing population of young, family-heavy demographics.

3) 2145

Wentworthville, Girraween, Pendle Hill & Toongabbie (NSW)

Just beyond Parramatta, the second largest city in Sydney, sits the thriving suburb of Wentworthville, which recorded a massive 33% increase in population, growing from 11,318 in the 2016 Census to 15,098 in the 2021 Census. This growth is driven by proximity to the Westmead Health and Education Precinct, one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and apartment infill along the rail line. The area’s demographic is primarily made up of 25-34 year olds, with a high share of overseas-born residents, which are contributing to the boom of new migrant-run small businesses, such as multicultural food & retail services, complementary B2B services, NDIS agencies, and private education and childcare services.

4) 3806

Berwick & Harkaway (VIC)

Casey is one of Victoria’s largest and fastest-growing municipalities, quickly transitioning into a highly affluent, established commercial hub. The local workforce is dominated by highly skilled professionals, whose income supports specialised retail and upscale lifestyle brands in the area. Localised franchising is strong in the food, beverage and hospitality industries, and ancillary businesses support the high density of premier educational and healthcare institutions in Berwick. Local government policy explicitly ensures that these major learning and medical institutions are intentionally complemented by specialty retail, hospitality, and high-density residential uses to service the high volume of daily workers, students, and visitors.

5) 2155

Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge & Rouse Hill (NSW)

The areas surrounding Kellyville and Rouse Hill were previously considered a suburban commuter belt, but since the development of the Sydney Metro Northwest, which opened in 2019, the micro-business boom has taken over. Local residents with a high median household income of $3,044/week have driven this spike in enterprise with a large number of new technology and finance home-based businesses. Rouse Hill Town Centre has seen multiple retail expansions, and the North West Growth Area continues to release new land, sustaining a pipeline of young families and first-home buyers.

6) 2148 

Blacktown, Kings Park, Marayong & Prospect (NSW)

The main catalyst for commercial growth in the suburbs of postcode 2148 has been the Blacktown Quarter precinct development. It is a $2.5 billion urban transformation initiative that involves the sale of council land in the central business district to facilitate rapid high-density development. The area is set to deliver 150,000 square metres of advanced commercial office space, along with a dedicated private hospital and medical research institute. It will also support 4,500 jobs and around $1 billion in annual economic activity, with transport, logistics and construction-related supply accounting for the boom in new businesses.

7) 4870

Cairns (QLD)

As the commercial and administrative capital of Far North Queensland, Cairns’ economy leans heavily on tourism for the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. New engineering, eco-tourism, and specialised manufacturing start-ups are growing around the Cairns Marine Precinct. The local council is committed to supporting new and small business, with the Small Business Friendly Council programme, which focuses on cutting operational red tape, expediting approvals for new business storefronts, and streamlining onboarding for new businesses.

8) 2113

East Ryde, Macquarie Park & North Ryde (NSW) 

Macquarie Park is one of Sydney’s largest precincts for business, technology and finance. Home to major corporate campuses, Macquarie University and a growing cluster of health organisations around Macquarie University Hospital, the area is a thriving commercial hub. New office-based and consultancy businesses are drawn in by the direct Metro Northwest station and the redeveloped Macquarie Centre.

9) 2010

Darlinghurst & Surry Hills (NSW)

Coming in ninth on our list of new business growth suburbs, this inner-Sydney pocket has grown even as its resident population fell; ABS Census figures show a 3.6% decline between 2016 and 2021. Ongoing gentrification among the converted warehouses and terraces Darlo areas like Crown Street and Oxford Street, are now home to creative-economy businesses, like design studios, and hospitality operators.

10) 3228 

Torquay, Jan Juc & Bellbrae (VIC) 

The commercial boom in Torquay is underpinned by the huge population growth of nearly 40% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, largely driven by a strong sea-change and remote-work migration wave. The town has evolved from a sleepy surf village into the Surf Coast’s commercial hub, home to brands Rip Curl and Quiksilver and the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. New residential estates continue to roll out around Torquay and neighbouring Armstrong Creek.

Section Three

Australia’s Most Entrepreneurial Suburbs Per Capita

To look beyond the larger population centres of the country, and find where entrepreneurship is accelerating fastest relative to the size of the community, they analysed new business registrations against each postcode’s population to give us the full entrepreneurial picture. The results highlight a different type of growth, the clearest of which is happening on the urban fringes. The areas of Kingston and Kingston Beach, at the foot of Hobart’s Mount Wellington, are picking up residents priced out of the inner city, along with the new trades, hospitality and retail businesses that follow them.

Christies Beach, in Adelaide’s Noarlunga renewal corridor, is seeing a similar resurgence along a stretch of coast that was previously considered affordable. Townsville’s northern beaches corridor also stands out, the rise in population is driving new trades, childcare and local retail.

Everywhere else, the story is more about renewal than growth. Yeronga, Dulwich Hill, and Bicton and Palmyra are established, largely built-out suburbs, either riverside or inner-city, and well-service by rail lines. Gentrification and knockdown-rebuild activity are feeding home-based and trade businesses from a small population base. Bass Hill and Ashfield add a sharper edge to this story, both are established multicultural hubs (Ashfield anchors Sydney’s Chinese-Australian community) where the growth patterns are following generational succession and migrant entrepreneurship inside already-mature retail strips, rather than a fresh population influx.

Australia’s Top 20 Postcodes by Per-Capita Growth In Domain Registrations

Postcode	State	Suburbs/Towns	% Change in Yearly Average Registrations Per-Capita
4104	QLD	Yeronga	2483.33%
7050	TAS	Kingston & Kingston Beach	2250.00%
2197	NSW	Bass Hill	2016.67%
2203	NSW	Dulwich Hill	1200.00%
5165	SA	Christie Downs & Christies Beach	1141.67%
6157	WA	Bicton & Palmyra	1083.33%
3442	VIC	Woodend	1083.33%
2131	NSW	Ashfield	995.83%
4818	QLD	Deeragun, Bushland Beach & Burdell	966.67%
2019	NSW	Banksmeadow & Botany	966.67%
2111	NSW	Gladesville	947.22%
3218	VIC	Fyansford & Geelong West	927.78%
2090	NSW	Cremorne & Cremorne Point	888.89%
2138	NSW	Concord West & Rhodes	879.17%
2009	NSW	Pyrmont	866.67%
2018	NSW	Eastlakes & Rosebery	830.56%
3226	VIC	Ocean Grove	791.67%
3019	VIC	Braybrook	733.33%
3104	VIC	Balwyn North	713.89%
3336	VIC	Aintree, Deanside & Fraser Rise	704.17%

Section Four

Australia’s Most Consistent Small Business Capitals Since 2023

While it’s great to see a new lease of life when it comes to new businesses in Australia, the experts at VentraIP also appreciate that consistency is a key indicator of long term success. So, the analysts dug further into the data to reveal where in the country is the most consistent small business hotspot over the past three years. This revealed the top 10 postcodes when it comes to sustained growth and positive year-on-year increase in new business domain registrations every year since January 2023, with no dips or one-off spikes.

Half of the top 10 postcodes are located in New South Wales; 2000 (Sydney, Barangaroo and Haymarket) takes the top spot for its consistency, 2010 (Darlinghurst, Surry Hills & Taylor Square) is third, 2145 (Wentworthville, Girraween & Pendle Hill) is sixth, 2155 (Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge & Rouse Hill) is eighth, and 2170 (Liverpool, Casula & Moorebank) round off the top 10.

Western Australia features in the top 20 just once with the 6065 postcode, covering Wanneroo, Landsdale & Madeley; the leader in the list of fastest growth. Meanwhile, Victoria features twice in the top 10, with 3030 (Werribee, Point Cook & Werribee South) claiming second place for Australia’s most consistent small business capitals, and 3029 (Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit & Truganina) is fourth in the country.

“In Darlinghurst & Surry Hills, the population fell 3.6% between the 2016 and 2021 Censuses. Since 2023, new business registrations have grown over 320%.”

Australia’s Top 20 Postcodes for Sustained Small Business Growth Since 2023

Postcode	Suburbs/Towns	State
2000	Sydney, Barangaroo & Haymarket	NSW
3030	Werribee, Point Cook & Werribee South	VIC
2010	Darlinghurst, Surry Hills & Taylor Square	NSW
3029	Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit & Truganina	VIC
6065	Wanneroo, Landsdale & Madeley	WA
2145	Wentworthville, Girraween & Pendle Hill	NSW
4215	Southport, Labrador & Chirn Park	QLD
2155	Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge & Rouse Hill	NSW
4870	Cairns, Manunda & Edge Hill	QLD
2170	Liverpool, Casula & Moorebank	NSW
3806	Berwick & Harkaway	VIC
2765	Marsden Park, Riverstone & Box Hill	NSW
2570	Camden, Elderslie & Narellan	NSW
4211	Nerang, Carrara & Gaven	QLD
4069	Kenmore, Chapel Hill & Fig Tree Pocket	QLD
2113	East Ryde, Macquarie Park & North Ryde	NSW
4210	Oxenford, Maudsland & Wongawallan	QLD
2148	Blacktown, Kings Park & Marayong	NSW
4350	Toowoomba, Darling Heights & Wilsonton	QLD
6163	Bibra Lake, Coolbellup & Spearwood	WA

 

Angelo Giuffrida, CEO of VentraIP, commented: “As an Australian owned and operated business, we know how important it is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in the country. Looking solely at our data, it’s fascinating to see how many domains have been created over the past few years, but particularly between 2025 and 2026. Obviously, in a digital-first world, even the smallest of businesses require a website that raises awareness of their brand, so it’s interesting to see the year-on-year growth in registrations as business owners look to support their ventures.

“We already know that cities like Sydney and Melbourne are hotspots for enterprise, so we wanted to paint a better picture of what’s really going on across the country. Our postcode-by-postcode analysis really highlights how the outer metropolis areas are really digging into the entrepreneurial spirit and even leading the way when it comes to consistent growth. We hope our reliable and affordable hosting makes this possible for even more business owners in the years to come.”

Section Five

Website Set Up Tips For Small Business Owners

If you’re setting up a business for the first time, it can be extremely daunting to go from deciding the concept right the way through setting up a website so people can find you. So, the experts at VentraIP have given their top tips on setting up a domain for your company:

1. 1. Register a Domain Name
      Every business needs a strong online presence, and it starts with securing your domain name. Choosing a relevant, memorable domain is key to branding your business online. You can easily register your domain name through VentraIP.
   2. Create a Website
      Once you have your domain, it’s time to create a website to showcase your business. You don’t need to be a web designer to do this, VentraIP’s website builder allows you to create a professional-looking site with minimal effort. If you’re looking for a simple solution, check out our guide on how to build a website for free.
   3. Setup Your Email
      A professional email address that matches your domain name adds credibility to your business and helps you look more legitimate in the eyes of your customers. Setting up an email with your own domain (e.g. yourname@yourbusiness.com.au) is simple and can be done through most hosting providers.

      Why You Need a Professional Email
      Brand Consistency: Having a business-branded email address keeps your branding consistent across all communication channels.Trust and Professionalism: Customers are more likely to trust and engage with businesses that use professional email addresses, rather than generic ones like Gmail or Yahoo.Better Control: With a custom business email, you have more control over your inbox and can create multiple addresses (e.g. support@yourbusiness.com.au) for different departments or functions.VentraIP offers Australian email hosting, allowing you to easily create and manage your business email.

   4. Keep Your Data Safe
      Safeguarding your business’s data is more important than ever. With the rise of online transactions, cloud storage, and remote work, businesses are more increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. In Australia, several high-profile data breaches have occurred in recent years, affecting businesses of all sizes. Notably, breaches like the ones involving Optus and Medibank in 2022 highlighted the growing threat of cybercrime, causing significant financial and reputational damage.To protect your business and customer data, it’s crucial to be proactive about cyber security:

      Use Strong Passwords: Ensure that all your accounts, including your website, email, and hosting platforms, are protected by strong, unique passwords. Consider using a password manager to keep track of them.

      Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): 2FA adds an extra layer of security and can help prevent unauthorized access to your accounts.

      Regular Backups: Back up your website and important data regularly. This will ensure that if a breach does occur, you can restore your system quickly.

      Update Software: Keep all software, including WordPress, plugins, and any third-party tools, up to date to patch security vulnerabilities.

      Educate Your Team: Make sure your staff are aware of cyber security risks and how to recognise phishing attempts or suspicious activity.Cyber security is not something to overlook. These precautions will reduce the risk of data breaches and keep your business and customer information safe.

Starting a small business in Australia is an exciting journey and, hopefully, by following these steps, you’re laying a solid foundation for success.

If this research has inspired you to embark on a new venture, remember to explore other helpful resources, such as how to build your first website or choosing the right domain name.

Methodology

This report is based on VentraIP’s proprietary domain name registration data. VentraIP analysed more than 500,000 new domain name records to identify where new business formation is occurring across the country, using four complementary approaches: state-level growth, suburb-level year-on-year growth, per-capita growth, and sustained growth since January 2023.

State-level growth (Section One) was calculated by comparing the total number of new business domain registrations recorded in each Australian state and territory over the past year against the equivalent period in 2025, expressed as a year-on-year percentage change.

Suburb-level growth (Section Two) was assessed by aggregating monthly new business domain registrations into annual averages for each postcode, then ranking postcodes by the percentage change between their 2023 and 2026 averages. Postcodes with unusually low starting volumes or large one-off monthly spikes were excluded from this ranking to avoid distortion.

Per-capita growth (Section Three) was measured by normalising new business domain registrations against 2021 ABS Census population data for each postal area, expressed as registrations per 10,000 residents. Average per-capita registration rates were calculated for 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, and postcodes were ranked by the increase in this rate over that period, with year-on-year percentage growth included as supporting context. Postcodes with an extremely low recorded population, typically areas that cover commercial or industrial land rather than residential communities, were excluded from this analysis, as a small population base can significantly inflate per-capita results.

Sustained growth (Section Four) was assessed using annual new business domain registration volumes from 2023 to 2026. To qualify, a postcode was required to record positive year-on-year growth in every annual period across that window. Absolute registration growth was included as a secondary measure, and postcodes with unusually low starting volumes, a one-off spike, or a single year of low growth were excluded from the ranking.

Postcode-to-CBD distances were measured as straight-line distance to the nearest state capital’s CBD. Four of the postcodes furthest from a capital (Cairns, Torquay, Nerang and Southport) sit within their own separate regional economies rather than a capital’s fringe, and are noted separately from genuine outer-metro growth corridors.

All data is correct as of September 2026.