Resource library

Amplify Alliance

Platforms

The Amplify Alliance supports not-for-profit organisations delivering employment and community services across Australia. It advocates for fair labour policies, offers training resources, and fosters collaboration to enhance workforce development.

Arts Law Info Sheets

Platforms

Arts Law offers free/low-cost legal advice and resources to Australian artists, with targeted services for Indigenous artists and resources for social enterprises.

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF): Advocating for a Healthy Environment

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The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is a leading environmental organisation dedicated to protecting Australia’s ecosystems, addressing climate change, and promoting sustainable development. Through advocacy, community engagement, and research, ACF empowers individuals and communities to take action on critical environmental issues, from biodiversity and land conservation to climate change. ACF’s work fosters systemic change, driving the transition to a more sustainable future for Australia and the planet.

Australian Copyright Council (ACC)

Platforms

The ACC is a non-profit legal service offering resources on copyright law, with guides and fact sheets for creators, including social enterprises.

Australian Tax Office (ATO)

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The ATO offers essential tax and super info for businesses, including social enterprises, covering worker status, payments, and related obligations.

Bush Heritage Australia: Protecting and Restoring Australia’s Ecosystems

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Bush Heritage Australia is dedicated to conserving Australia’s unique biodiversity by managing ecologically significant land. Through collaboration with Traditional Owners, the organisation restores ecosystems and protects wildlife habitats, contributing to environmental resilience. Bush Heritage’s work focuses on land conservation, Indigenous knowledge integration, and ecological restoration, ensuring the preservation of Australia’s natural heritage for future generations.

Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT)

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The Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT) delivers innovative, community-driven solutions for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. By integrating Indigenous knowledge with modern technology, CfAT develops essential infrastructure, provides training, and supports sustainable development to enhance self-determination.

'Civic Imagination Toolkit', USC

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The Civic Imagination Toolkit, developed by USC, helps communities collaboratively envision equitable futures through storytelling and creative activities. It fosters dialogue, inclusion, and trust while empowering groups to address systemic challenges through imagination and innovation.

Climate Council: Expert Advice on Climate Solutions

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The Climate Council is an independent organisation offering science-based insights into climate change and solutions. It empowers Australians to take informed action on sustainability through research, public education, and community engagement. The organisation provides accessible reports on renewable energy, climate risks, and adaptation strategies, while also supporting citizens with campaigns and resources for climate advocacy, driving awareness and promoting a sustainable future.

Connecting Up (Infoxchange)

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Connecting Up helps Australian and New Zealand nonprofits strengthen their organisations through technology. This free platform, run by Infoxchange, offers discounted IT products, cloud services, hardware, software, and training by partnering with leading tech companies to empower social impact organisations.

Design for Wellbeing: A Social Enterprise Story

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This resource showcases findings from Australian Research Council studies on Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISE). It emphasises the role of social enterprises in enhancing individual and community wellbeing, particularly in disadvantaged and regional areas. The platform offers tools, insights, and strategies for social enterprises, policymakers, and ecosystem supporters to design workplaces and practices that integrate wellbeing principles, address systemic disadvantage, and foster resilience. Key focus areas include regional community wellbeing, youth health equity, and leveraging organisational design to influence positive social outcomes.

Financial management and governance - resource centre, Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA)

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ICDA supports community sector governance with training, accredited courses, tech tools, free resources, and financial guides for not-for-profits and social enterprises.

First Nations Co-Design Platform (AIATSIS)

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The AIATSIS First Nations Co-Design Platform supports culturally safe, community-led service design with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It promotes Indigenous knowledge, participatory decision-making, and co-ownership to ensure services align with local needs and aspirations.

Global Footprint Network: Measuring Humanity’s Impact on the Planet

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The Global Footprint Network is an international nonprofit organisation focused on measuring and tracking ecological footprints. By providing tools and data, it supports governments, businesses, and individuals in making informed decisions that promote sustainability and help live within Earth's ecological limits. The organisation works on ecological footprint accounting, policy support, and public education, offering resources to guide sustainable living and ecological resilience.

Greening Australia: Large-Scale Environmental Restoration

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Greening Australia addresses key environmental challenges through reforestation, habitat restoration, and climate resilience projects. By combining scientific research, community engagement, and innovative solutions, it works to restore degraded ecosystems. Its efforts include reforestation, carbon sequestration, waterway protection, and collaboration with local communities and Traditional Owners, strengthening environmental resilience and restoring Australia’s natural habitats on a national scale.

Health Justice Australia

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Health Justice Australia integrates legal services into healthcare to address social factors affecting health. Through partnerships, resources, and training, it supports healthcare and legal professionals in delivering holistic care, particularly for vulnerable communities.

ILO Decent Work Agenda

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The ILO Decent Work Agenda promotes fair, secure, and productive employment worldwide. It provides policy guidance, resources, and best practices to support job creation, labour rights, and social protection.

'Inclusive Service Standards', Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing

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The Inclusive Service Standards provide a framework for culturally safe and inclusive service delivery, particularly in aged care. They offer training, self-assessment tools, and case studies to help organisations embed inclusivity and improve service practices.

‘Indigenous Governance Toolkit’, The Australia Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI)

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The AIGI Indigenous Governance Toolkit supports Indigenous organisations in building strong, culturally-rooted governance.

Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC): Supporting Indigenous Stewardship

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The ILSC supports Indigenous communities in reclaiming and managing land and sea Country. By providing funding and fostering partnerships, it helps restore ecosystems, creates economic opportunities, and strengthens environmental governance. Through projects that integrate Indigenous knowledge with modern conservation practices, the ILSC promotes leadership and sustainable development, ensuring the restoration of cultural and ecological heritage for Traditional Owners.

Intellectual Property Australia (IP Australia)

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Protecting intellectual property is essential for social enterprises. IP Australia offers info on patents, trademarks, and more, including registration support.

Landcare Australia: Community-Led Conservation

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Landcare Australia empowers local communities to take action on environmental issues through conservation and sustainable agriculture. By supporting land restoration, revegetation, and sustainable farming, Landcare fosters community engagement and provides funding, training, and resources. The organisation also focuses on biodiversity conservation through collaborative projects that protect native species and ecosystems, ensuring long-term, sustainable environmental solutions.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Co-Design Hub

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The NDIS Co-Design Hub supports inclusive disability service design by involving people with disabilities and their families. It provides resources, case studies, and best practices to foster collaboration between participants, service providers, and policymakers.

National Employment Services Association (NESA)

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The National Employment Services Association (NESA) is Australia's peak body for employment services, advocating for systemic improvements, workforce development, and inclusive hiring. It supports employment practitioners and promotes job access for disadvantaged groups.

People and Planet First (PPF)

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People and Planet First is a participatory verification and a global collective that’s helping accelerate the transition to an economy that puts people and the planet first.

Permaculture Australia: Sustainable Living Through Design

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Permaculture Australia promotes sustainable living and growing practices through the principles of permaculture, tailored to Australia’s unique climate and ecosystems. The organisation provides education, training, and certification in permaculture design, supports local projects focused on food security and regenerative agriculture, and advocates for ecological and social resilience. By fostering self-sufficient, sustainable communities, Permaculture Australia helps communities work in harmony with the environment.

Platform Cooperatives Toolkit

Platforms

The Platform Cooperatives Toolkit provides practical resources for building fair, worker-owned cooperatives in the digital economy. It includes step-by-step guides, case studies, and tools to promote equitable ownership and sustainable employment.

Raise Finance, BCCM

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This guide offers essential insights into how social enterprises can expand funding beyond grants and donations by involving their community and members. This guide focusses on how you can achieve this by using a co-operative structure for your social enterprise.

Seedkit

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Seedkit is a nationwide project and platform that helps social enterprises measure and communicate their impact. Its self-managed reporting platform allows social enterprises to measure, track, and communicate operations and impacts via customised dashboards and reports.

Service Design Tools: A Resource for Co-Creation and Innovation

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Service Design Tools is an open-access platform offering methods and templates for designing user-centered services. With tools spanning research, ideation, and implementation, it supports collaboration and co-creation across diverse contexts like healthcare, education, and social innovation. Suitable for both beginners and experienced designers, the platform provides resources to facilitate inclusive and impactful service development.

Social Shifters

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Social Shifters is an international charity helping the next generation of young leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to tackle the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues in new ways. Their website offers e-learning, videos and downloadable digital tools to support social enterprise startups.

Social Startup Studio

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Social Startup Studio is an initiative by Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Its goal is to support and foster the development of social enterprises. The studio website offers a huge range of practical resources for social enterprise startups.

Support for businesses in Australia

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This Australian Government website offers essential legal and governance info, covering business laws, risk management, health and safety, plus tools and templates.

SVA's 'Employer Innovation Lab'

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The Employer Innovation Lab by Social Ventures Australia helps employers improve recruitment and retention by addressing barriers young people face in the workforce. Through a structured, collaborative program, businesses develop and scale inclusive employment strategies to create meaningful career pathways.

The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI)

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TACSI is a social innovation lab that supports organisations and communities in designing impactful solutions to complex social challenges. Using human-centred design and co-design methods, it provides toolkits, case studies, and frameworks to transform services in areas like ageing, mental health, housing, and disability.

'The Community Well', Benefolk Foundation

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The Community Well, also known as the Social Sector Wellbeing and Resilience Hub, is an online resource designed to support charities, not-for-profits, and social enterprises. Created to address stress and burnout in the social sector, it offers curated tools, practical strategies, and advocacy for systemic change, fostering sustainable mental health and resilience practices.

The Funding Centre

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The Funding Centre is a portal providing information on grants and fundraising in Australia. It is an initiative of Our Community, a social enterprise that provides advice, tools and training for Australia’s community sector, as well as services for business and government.