5 Reasons Why Brisbane Has Become Australia’s ‘City of Startups’

It’s no secret that Brisbane has been appearing on the radar for many startups like tech enterprises across Australia. Over the past few years in particular, the city has experienced an influx of professionals, eager students, and even transnational companies carving out their own corner of the bustling Brisbane skyline. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to stumble across internationally renowned game studios, fintech companies, and even app developers in Brisbane, with all these novel tech disciplines taking advantage of some of Brisbane’s most attractive elements.

But what exactly has made Brisbane such a strong contender against Melbourne and Sydney, which have historically been Australia’s most industrial and technologically innovative city centres? We’ll be seeking to answer this question today by outlining 5 of the most compelling reasons behind Brisbane’s meteoric rise to becoming Australia’s bona fide ‘City of Startups’.

Photo by ROMAIN TERPREAU on Unsplash

1. A diverse local talent pool

With professionals across the globe wanting to make a ‘sea change’ following the COVID-19 pandemic, Brisbane presented a nice change of pace to many who were feeling fatigued with the trials of city life. And with the new paradigm of hybrid and remote working arrangements allowing professionals the freedom of choice to select where they’d like to be based, making the move to Brisbane was inarguably a no-brainer for many.

As a result, the city has experienced a massive shift in the size and sheer diversity of its talent pool across some of Australia’s top growth industries. This is ideal for not just startups, but also established enterprises based in Australia’s other city centres who may be looking to expand their operations to Brisbane.

2. State support for startup enterprises

There’s strong evidence that Australians are leaning more towards working for or even developing their own startup enterprises over finding employment with established companies. Earlier this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducted a study into Australia’s business landscape. The report unearthed that a whopping 60.3% of all Australian businesses were operating as non-employing businesses (i.e. sole traders), with an additional 28.4% of businesses being classified as small businesses that maintained a staff of just 1-4 employees. The percentage of non-employing and smaller sized enterprises in Australia has also been increasing over the past two years. These growth trends correlate to the COVID-19 pandemic and the innovation Australia experienced during the months in lockdown.

The public sector has been responding to these growth trends both over COVID-19 lockdowns and prior to the pandemic, seeking to provide additional support and services for a newer generation of Australian business owners. That’s precisely why Queensland’s own state government developed their Advance Queensland initiative. The initiative seeks to provide support like a startup incubator program alongside research funds, grants, and collaborative or community outreach opportunities for Queensland-based startups. Since the initiative’s inception in 2015, they’ve gone on to help hundreds of Australian startups find their footing in and around Brisbane. With these resources at their disposal, it’s no wonder why more and more startup enterprises are opting to establish their headquarters in Brisbane.

3. Availability of office space

Speaking of establishing a headquarters, the lower cost of living in Brisbane in comparison to Sydney is also a contributing factor towards the city being a highly attractive option for startups looking to lay down roots. Thanks to the city’s generally lower rental rates and energy rates, Brisbane provides plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs to rent out office spaces and maintain an Australian headquarters without having to bear the brunt of excessive overhead costs.

The CBD and surrounding suburbs also boast superb connectivity, with buses, trains, and even ferries running to set schedules every day. The city’s expansive public transport network paired with Brisbane’s reasonable cost of living, allows entrepreneurs to secure business premises that are well-located and easily accessible, regardless of whether they’re located in the heart of the CBD or in inner city suburbs.

4. Proximity to Asian tech giants

Australia has often held some difficulty becoming a major player in global industries simply due to our position at the bottom of the world. Thankfully, as the future of business is looking more and more global and Australia’s tech sector has been making its own great impact on this future, our local urban tech hubs have the potential to become international hotspots for tech professionals.

Of all of Australia’s burgeoning tech hubs, Brisbane is best positioned to facilitate collaborations between Asia-based tech companies. The city’s proximity to the wider Asia-Pacific region allows startups based in Brisbane to both conduct business internationally as well as collaborate with other professionals or corporations based in Asia with minimal concern for logistics.

5. A fantastic lifestyle

Finally, there’s no denying that Brisbane is an ideal location for many across Australia due to the region’s generally warm and sunny weather. Queensland’s tropical climate and expansive list of natural attractions like beaches, reefs, and rainforests, makes the state both a fantastic tourist destination, as well as an idyllic location for Aussies looking to experience the best that their homeland has to offer.

And for fans of breweries, wineries, and locally grown produce and artisanal chocolates and cheeses, Queensland’s diverse rural townships provide plenty of options for weekend day trips. You can even try some local wares from as close as Burleigh Heads to the south of the Gold Coast, a location well-known for being home to many local breweries. And of course, the Gold Coast’s iconic theme parks are also a major selling point for families with younger children.

This unique arrangement of urban amenities and salt-of-the-earth country living that Brisbane and its surrounding suburbs offer, means that your downtime can be just as enriching as your working week.

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As you can see, there’s more to Australia’s ‘City of Startups’ than just office spaces and local talent. There are a number of factors behind Brisbane’s rapid development, some of which arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and others that have been prevalent since before Australia’s first round of lockdowns.

For businesses hoping to connect with transnational corporations, Brisbane provides the opportunity to maintain a local yet still internationally connected presence. Brisbane’s growing infrastructure also ensures that startups can develop alongside the city itself, getting in on the ground floor of this flourishing economic hub.